July 12, 2005

Dear Partners in mission,

Stepping off the plane we faced a riot—of colors, of noises, and of more than a thousand waving and singing people, young and old. A dozen chiefs dressed in their hand-woven traditional clothes with bead necklaces accompanied their visitors on the walk from the grass airstrip to the church for a welcoming service, the children scurrying and hopping around.

The occasion was the arrival of a delegation for the consultation between the Presbyterian Community of Congo and the PC(USA), the place the village of Bulape, a center of African culture and art. The fact that both the moderator and vice-moderator of the PC(USA), Elder Rick Ufford-Chase and the Reverend Jean Marie Peacock, had accepted the invitation to attend was not lost on the crowd.

The Worldwide Ministries Division has advertised positions for over five years but finds few people willing to serve in difficult and instable places like the Congo. We failed to find words to explain why we as a church can give our blessing to soldiers who face the dangers of war, yet are not able to send people to serve the Church in places of danger. As someone in the delegation said, “our pastors used to talk about the call of God to be a pastor or a mission worker. We understood this to be a long-term commitment. Now people talk about two-week mission trips; we no longer talk about long-term mission service.”

Before we left Congo we joined an even larger procession. This time we were parading to church, celebrating with the Presbyterian Community of Kinshasa (CPK) their 50th anniversary. In our consultation with the CPK we talked much about evangelism, and learned how people are leaving the CPK for the many “prosperity churches,” those that promise wealth and quick solutions to a population in dire conditions. Their struggle to reconcile different styles of worship and music preferred by the members struck a chord. As in the United States, some of the youth are leaving for churches that offer more active forms of worship and contemporary styles of music.

We also talked about the weaknesses that characterize many Presbyterians in the United States—their inability or unwillingness to share their faith with others and even reluctance to invite neighbors, colleagues, or friends to church. For this and other reasons our church membership has declined for the past 40 years. Yet we could share stories of those who had overcome their fears and inhibitions. They exemplify the faith and hope that will keep our church alive.

The visits and consultations were at the same time wonderful and difficult. Rick Ufford-Chase took the initiative of keeping a Web log (“blog”) during those three weeks in the Congo. Aside from his interesting observations, he touches on missiological issues that we all should reflect on and discuss in our own congregations. I encourage you to read through his entries, particularly scroll down to those made in May. They can be found at Rick's blog.

Our sisters and brothers in the Congo ask that we pray for peace and justice in their land. They also ask that we advocate with our politicians to help push for the Congolese people to finally be able to elect a representative government.

In Christ,

Jeff Boyd

The 2005 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 317