October 3, 2008

The challenge for regional liaisons

Major winds of change have been begun to blow in Presbyterian World Mission (PWM) with the recent appointment of Hunter Farrell as director of World Mission. I became aware of these changes through news releases and when I attended  a consultation held in Dallas last January called "Renewed Call to Presbyterian Mission in the World.” A wide range of leaders representing diverse groups and networks were invited to the consultation, including international guests such as Marylien Khoa from Vietnam. While acknowledging PC(USA)’s rich mission heritage, the assembled group affirmed the need to develop new patterns of collaboration and clearly expressed the importance of PWM working more closely with mission initiators and with partners like Khoa.

As regional liaison for Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, I have primarily related with mission initiators, so PWM’s commitment to doing this well resonated with me. Indeed, my primary task since being hired in 2002 has been to find out who the initiators are and what they are doing and then come alongside them in an effective partnership. To accomplish this task I have sought to contact and correspond with those engaged in mission in my assigned area and then arrange my travel schedule to coincide with their field visits. My goal has been to build trust with the wide range of mission initiators and bridge the cultural divide that often exists. I have met a lot of great people and been exposed to a wide spectrum of values, commitments, and ways of engaging in ministry. In the process I have also learned a lot about the challenges and opportunities before us.

Critical to the task of doing ministry in partnership is the formation of formal and informal networks that exist within and outside the PC(USA). I have learned that meeting one person in a network often leads to meeting others in another network. Knowing about and understanding that connection then becomes a vital part of building a shared understanding of how we are to partner together. The ability to develop good strategies, determine achievable goals, and engage in best practices depends on shared beliefs, values, and practices. Unless we are able to take the time for extended conversations that deepen our understanding in all of these areas, collaboration and cooperation will remain only buzz words.

Would you pray that God would grant us grace and patience as we learn to serve together? Would you pray that the name of Christ would be lifted up in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam though our partnerships?

Serving together,

Paul Friesen

The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 213