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Shenandoah Presbyterians believe in mission, whatever or where ever it is. Evidence of this statement is that since World Wide Ministries (WWM) began promoting and tracking the known mission activities of its congregations, the number of churches supporting PCUSA related mission have grown from 39% to 63%. That is an excellent growth in just 5 years.
But of course we can do better. The Presbytery as a body pledged to have 100% of its congregations connected to PCUSA mission in some way. That could be by a direct connection to a PCUSA mission co-worker, or a connection to a PCUSA Validated Ministry such as Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship or The Outreach Foundation, or by providing general, undesignated support to PCUSA World Mission.
Shenandoah has been very welcoming to international visitors who visit across our presbytery while in the United States. Because so many congregations now have relationships with mission workers, we are blessed to have these workers and members of our partner groups to visit in the presbytery. This is a double blessing in that those who cannot GO to that foreign place still receive the blessing of a relationship with an international guest.
How is your congregation doing at establishing a relationship with a PCUSA mission worker? Check out what your church and your neighbor churches are doing in mission online at www.shenpres.org/missionchallenge.html For more information about adopting a PCUSA mission worker, contact the Rev. Carl Howard, chair, World Wide Ministries Committee at revcarlhoward@comcast.net, or call the presbytery office.
World Wide Ministries To Develop Guidelines
The World Wide Ministries Committee of the presbytery is currently developing guidelines for mission trips, for mission trip member selection, and for debriefing upon return from a mission trip.
This task was initiated in order to help congregations to plan and carry out better mission experiences and to do no harm when on a mission trip.
Therefore, World Wide Ministries is working on guidelines to help those planning and those going on trips to be better prepared for the cultural experiences and to do no harm while in another country.
To request a copy of these guidelines when they are ready, please contact the Rev. Carl Howard, chair, WWM, by email at revcarlhoward@comcast.net.
The Outward-Facing Church
It's not a new idea. Going out into the world and to the community around you is a concept for which there are examples all through the Bible. So why does it feel new?
Do these terms sound like a church you know?
..."the congregation faced critical challenges, including an aging and declining membership."
..."Faced with the hard reality that getting by would really mean winding down..."
While it proposes no quick fix to these concerns, "The outward-facing church," an exciting article found in the recent issue of Presbyterians Today, may stir up the creative juices in your church and point you toward New Beginnings. The article is all about community and relationships and helping your church "face outward toward the world" around it.
Read about the ideas in the magazine or pcusa.org/ministries/today and read the article there.