“The General Assembly Council developed a budget, which in June was approved by the General Assembly, that enables the church to reverse a 50-year trend of decline in the number of mission co-workers serving internationally,” says Hunter Farrell, the church’s director of World Mission. “We are seeking to increase the number from fewer than 200 today to 215 in 2009 and 220 in 2010.”
Currently, 18 mission positions are posted on the Mission
Service Recruitment office’s Web site [www.pcusa.org/msr]. They are scattered around the world and call for a variety of skills and gifts. “Both the World Mission staff and our international partners agree that all these positions meet critical needs,” Farrell says. “Our partners have been requesting some of these positions for several years.”
The church, however, lacks candidates for some positions
and that is why World Mission is asking individual Presbyterians to consider their own call and giftedness for mission service and encourage others to do likewise, he adds.
“Many times people hear a call to service after somebody has affirmed their giftedness,” Farrell says. “I would like Presbyterians to think about individuals who worship in the pew behind them on Sunday mornings, who serve on the congregation’s Mission Committee with them, or who work with them on presbytery projects and in other areas of ministry.”
Nancy Cavalcante, coordinator of the Mission Service Recruitment office, says her staff is looking first within the Presbyterian family, but that being Presbyterian is not a requirement for Presbyterian mission service.
“We are looking for called and committed Christians who
possess the skills to perform the ministries requested by our partners,” she says. “We invite Presbyterians to ask friends from other Christian traditions to apply. For many years non-Presbyterians have served faithfully and effectively in Presbyterian mission service.”
Some of the openings include:
-A Christian educator/evangelist in the Democratic Republic
of Congo
-An English teacher in Indonesia
-A health coordinator in Sudan
-A women’s leadership facilitator in Guatemala
“In order to recruit, train and sustain the ministries of our mission workers, we need the prayers and financial support of Presbyterian individuals and congregations,” Farrell says. He noted that an additional $4 million must be raised over the next two years to fund this increase in mission personnel.
Presbyterians can be better informed about the work and
needs of mission workers by visiting the Mission Connections Web site [www.pcusa.org/missionconnections]. Financial support can be given through a Web site [www.pcusa.org/mission] dedicated to receiving gifts for mission personnel salary and benefits.
For more information about mission service, email the
Mission Service Recruitment office [msr@pcusa.org] or call
toll-free (888) 728 7228, x2530.
