07788
December 4, 2007

Mission Challenge ’07 transforms a congregation’s Mission Fair

Tulsa session to launch funds drive for Presbyterian World Mission

by Harriet Larson
Mission chair, John Calvin Presbyterian Church

A display of items representing John Calvin Presbyterian Church’s partnership in Malawi. Photo by Christopher Ittner

TULSA, OK — When I cam on the session last January at the 250-member John Calvin Presbyterian Church here, I was eager to be the mission chair. As a former Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) missionary, I felt I could bring a genuine passion for mission which I believe is the lifeblood of the church. 

I began by forming a large mission team, including the leaders most actively involved in ministries outside the congregation which we support.  Those leaders presented frequent brief messages during worship to explain and encourage others to participate. 

We also support three of the four special offerings the General Assembly promotes as well as Church World Service and its various programs. 

The climax of our “mission year” was a Mission Fair on Oct. 14, planned around the visit of PC(USA) mission worker Dennis Smith from Guatemala. 

In addition to our guest speaker, we included four other aspects to create a “fair” atmosphere: decorations, food, Guatemalan music, and displays of mission activities which people could explore like a country fair. 

A display of household items needed for the Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless, a ministry supported by John Calvin Presbyterian Church. Photo by Christopher Ittner

The event went well but the full impact of our mission involvement occurred when Dennis showed the Mission Challenge ’07 DVD and interpreted it to us. 

This presentation was a wake-up call for our congregation. Although John Calvin Presbyterian Church allocates monetary gifts to a few missionaries every year, we had previously perceived world mission as solely the responsibility of the General Assembly, without much required from us personally. 

On Oct. 14 our understanding changed. 

The focus of my second year as mission chair will now be education about the present challenge facing all of us as Presbyterians. We must be better informed in order to stir up excitement about supporting our missionaries already serving and sending those waiting to go. 

Presbyterian World Mission is a remarkable enterprise with a history we can be proud of and a future essential to proclaiming the gospel to the whole world.  At John Calvin, our Session has voted now to launch a major fund drive for Presbyterian World Mission after Easter 2008.