Over a period of several years a survey of critical needs has been made and is being presented to the General Assembly and the church at large for action. The initiative is of critical importance, both to offset current budget shortfalls and for the PC(USA) mission program in the future. I wish to comment on the international component of the initiative.
The General Assembly’s approval of this initiative is just the beginning. For it to succeed, it must have the enthusiastic backing of the whole church. Here are some observations about what must be done.
1. We must communicate to our people the seriousness of the crisis through which we are passing. These are not normal times. We are facing not just one but a series of overlapping disasters, any one of which is an overwhelming catastrophe. Consider the following:
* In Sub-Sahara Africa, 22.5 million people now have AIDS. Most of these are expected to die in the next five years. These are not cases, they are human beings. Worldwide, 11 million children have been orphaned by AIDS. This number will rise to 40 million in the next 10 years.1
* The word “genocide” has been used to describe what happened in Rwanda and Kosovo, and what continues to happen in Sudan. There, more than one million people have died from warfare and famine in the last 10 years. More than four million Sudanese have been forced from their land and from their homes.2
* The aftermath of the war in Afghanistan has brought starvation and chaos. Hordes of refugees have spilled over into Pakistan and threaten to destabilize the region that has known nothing but war and revolution for more than 10 years.
* In Congo, peace negotiations have again failed to resolve the civil war that has raged for 15 years.
* Israeli tanks have overrun Palestinian cities and reduced them to rubble. To an economy already overloaded with refugee settlements comes a new wave of displaced people. Today, worldwide, there are 8.4 million Palestinian refugees.3
* At least five million children live on the streets in the cities of Brazil.4
* Worldwide, nearly 600 million children live in absolute poverty. And their numbers are growing.5
* David Barrett estimates that last year 164,000 Christians were martyred.6 Have we become inured to the sufferings of the world so that these numbers no longer move us?
2. In each of the critical areas mentioned above we have missionary teams working with their national partners to bring health, hope and the gospel of Jesus Christ. They are serving faithfully in churches, schools, seminaries, hospitals, clinics, orphanages and emergency relief centers. In places where Christians are reviled, they are “in harm’s way.” They are in these places of danger because they have been sent there by the PC(USA). They represent us. We have an obligation and a duty to support them.
The shortfall in income and the resulting reduction of mission workers could not have come at a worse time. The loss of Louisville staff might well cripple the PC(USA) linkage with these areas of the world. A reduction in missionary numbers means that those who are left will be all the more overworked. And for the long haul it might well mean a disruption of relationships with overseas partners that have taken years to put together. Perhaps this New Initiative will be able to keep this from happening. In the year 2002, the appointment of a missionary is an act of faith in the future of the PC(USA).
3. What to do? The General Assembly Council and the Worldwide Ministry Division will be putting together the nuts and bolts for this campaign. Here are some observations as to what may be helpful.
The New Initiative will be competing with all kinds of causes — secular charities and independent missions — which aggressively compete for the same dollars. Our appeals must be just as effective as theirs. Fortunately, the causes that we represent will have an appeal that will be second to none.
The Worldwide Ministry Division must give a clear and convincing explanation of the “shortfall” and how donated funds will be used. Options must be given. Designated funds must go in their entirety to the cause specified. Louisville staff must give first priority to interpreting the initiative and in giving a prompt response to requests for information. Acknowledgement of funds received must be meticulous.
The three “validated agencies” (Medical Benevolence Foundation, Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship and the Outreach Foundation) must plan important roles. The enthusiastic support of presbyteries is essential. If they are only lukewarm to the initiative, its goal may well be beyond reach. Retired and former missionaries will be eager to add their support. They have time and they have credibility. But they must be given training as to how they can best help. Congregations unhappy with certain aspects of the program will need to be “brought on board.” At this time in the life of the church the withholding of funds is, indeed, unthinkable.
These are not normal times. The future of the PC(USA) mission program may be linked with the success or failure of the New Initiative.
1 Time, Dec. 13, 1999; New York Times, Aug. 6, 1998.
2 Duncan Hanson, “Europe Update,” April 21, 1999; “Sudan,” Africa Office, PC(USA).
3 The Jerusalem Saebeel Document, “Principals for a Just Peace in Palestine-Israel.”
4 Together, October-December, 1991.
5 Global Future, 3rd Quarter, 2001, p. 12.
6 David Barrett, “Annual Statistical Table on Global Mission: 2002” in International Bulletin of Missionary Research, vol. 26, No. 1, Jan. 2002, p. 23.
Posted July 19, 2002
G. Thompson Brown of Decatur, Ga., was a long-time PC(USA) missionary to Korea.
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