International mission by our denomination is ever renewing. Our national offices have encouraged creative new ways to connect people, congregations, and presbyteries more directly in responding to Christ’s call to mission. I am encouraged that congregations show a growing interest in being involved.
Creativity comes from various sources and dynamics.
Working with synods, presbyteries, and congregations has been fruitful, although most of these have been preoccupied with a spectrum of concerns. They typically are not primarily focused on international mission. The creative ferment has also come from interacting with organizations and networks in the denomination dedicated to specific types of mission. Some of these organizations have been more vocal and concerned about the decline in the denomination’s mission workforce and funding for international mission than have the governing bodies. Now, with the GAC shifting to devote more of its time and attention to meeting the needs of congregations and middle governing bodies, there are concerns that there might be a void into which others need to step to help the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) maintain a large and vital role in Christ’s mission around the world. A number organizations and networks have announced initiatives this summer that appear to relate to that perceived need, even while the new GAC leadership and structure are busy working on how to rise to the same occasion.
My fervent prayer is that we join together in assuring that we are faithful and responsible, doing good and not harm as we work in the world. I will describe some of the dynamic changes in how the denomination does mission today compared to 15 years ago, and then I will list some of the criteria and values I pray we will keep in mind as we all explore new initiatives.
Creative changes
More Presbyterians are working with our longtime partners. Starting about two decades ago in earnest, PC(USA) denominational offices set about to introduce presbyteries to equivalent governing bodies of the PC(USA)’s partner denominations in about 80 countries. My predecessors coached presbyteries as they entered into partnerships, and then stepped out of the teaching mode as presbyteries made international partnering a way of life and adopted additional relationships in mission. The result is a wonderful family of overlapping relationships, internationally.
Congregations and individuals are providing leadership. A web of relationships affected in part by the denomination’s programs and mission workers led to many congregations and individuals being involved in mission in places their official presbytery partnerships were not. My predecessors sponsored a conference on “congregations in global mission” in 1997. It was a cathartic moment. Congregational initiatives were truly acknowledged and honored. And national staff discovered that when we group people by the countries or regions they care about, they learn from each other very quickly and start to collaborate and coordinate their efforts with each other and with the denomination. We followed up by sponsoring five more conferences to help this movement take off.
Mission networks are thriving. Because combined grassroots energies produced good outcomes, national offices took a look at a few long-standing mission networks that had focused on single countries, especially the Sudan network. We catalyzed the founding of two dozen more such networks, where people pay their own way, choose their own leaders, pool resources to invite partner church leaders and mission workers to attend, and also benefit from the presence and input of national staff specialists. This summer, more than 20 networks had leaders present for a meeting in Louisville. They represent a large and sustained movement of congregational and middle governing body involvement in mission.
Mission workers are being fielded in new collaborations. The process of recruiting and sending mission personnel opened up a decade ago when a San Gabriel Presbytery overture spurred changes. Presbyteries could bring a person forward and if the purpose to be served was validated and the person passed through the screening process, the presbytery could provide up to 80 percent of the funding and the denomination would send the person in international mission. Since then, groups such as the National Korean Presbyterian Council and the Outreach Foundation have stepped up to analogous partnerships, even contributing up to 95 percent of the funds. And we have included these groups in the candidate screening process. In addition, the Joining Hearts and Hands campaign has added a new dimension in which now a single congregation can supply a mission co-worker’s entire support.
Groups with passionate mission interests partner with the denomination. The Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship, starting especially in the early 90s, set about to restore the denomination to its roots in frontier mission, that is, sharing the gospel message in places and with peoples with little or no self-sustaining indigenous church presence. In the year 2000, the denomination sponsored a mission conference in San Diego on this topic. Our annual commitments of funds and people to frontier mission are greatly increased. The Outreach Foundation has worked steadily to energize and fund the involvements of Presbyterians in evangelism and church growth, including important collaborations with denominational offices. In a newer initiative, the Witherspoon Society has undertaken its first mission conference and begun cultivating alumni of our Young Adult Volunteers program for future leadership on justice issues. And the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship is leveraging important collaborations as the denomination is now fielding a co-worker couple to help with the accompaniment delegations addressing the bad human rights situation in Colombia.
Criteria for excellence
All this creativity in partnerships with denominational offices is serving the church well. At each step, there have been consultations to make sure that new initiatives honor and embody the best of what Presbyterians have learned about doing mission well. There are some hallmarks of good Presbyterian mission and some lessons learned over the centuries. They include: good stewardship of the expertise and pooled resources represented by our national staff; honoring the guidance and the needs of the PC(USA)’s mission partners. They live with whatever we do in their lands. Good partners focus more on fellowship than on funding so that mission does not become a marketplace and Christians in other lands do not have to deal with a confusing array of needs of congregations who are expecting modern marketing methods to be used.
Whenever Presbyterians are gathered, we find we are committed to serving Christ with “energy, intelligence, imagination and love”! I look forward to the conversations after this summer’s initiatives in mission as well as all future initiatives that grow out of this foundational commitment.
Marian M. McClure is director of the Worldwide Ministries Division, PC(USA).
