September 5, 2007

Dear Friends,

Greetings in the name of our Lord from the Satterfield family in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We have appreciated the many cards, letters, and emails we have received from friends and from congregations where we have spoken about our ministry. Your words of encouragement, your interest in our ministry, your friendship, and your prayers mean so much to us.

Please keep writing, as we love to hear from you and catch up with what's been happening in your church, as well as the news of friends we've made. Khanita is very good about making sure I write back, something she is very good at, as some of you know already.

This letter, though, is not about us. We want to share with you the news about a big event that’s about to unfold in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). It’s called Mission Challenge ’07. This October, 47 PC(USA) missionaries will spend a week sharing the stories of their ministry in 143 presbyteries. That’s more than 80 percent of our presbyteries.

There will be missionary speakers in 700 churches that month to share the news that every day, in Christ's name—and thanks to your faithful support—lives are being saved, wells are being dug, and hope is being shared with people in need around the world.

Another part of Mission Challenge ’07 is an appeal to every church in the denomination to support Presbyterian missionaries like us.

In mid-September, a letter will go to the pastors and clerks of session in all 10,884 churches in our denomination. This will inform them of materials coming in early October that interpret the excellence of the Presbyterian Church as a mission-sending agency and invite them to offer financial support to Presbyterian missionaries through World Mission.

During the first week of October, a box will arrive in every church with bulletin inserts equal to the church's average Sunday attendance. The inserts include a call to action, inviting all to participate in mission by praying faithfully and giving generously. These are accompanied by a DVD featuring our new director, Hunter Farrell. It contains two brief but compelling videos that bring to life a representative sample of our missionaries.

While it's not possible to send a missionary to every church this October, any church can participate in Mission Challenge ’07 by choosing a Sunday to view the DVD and distribute the bulletin inserts. This is an exciting time as the church seeks to share the good news that is being done by Presbyterian missionaries around the world. Please support and encourage your church’s participation in Mission Challenge ’07.

Your servants in Christ,

Scott and Khanita Satterfield

The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 119