Dear Friends,

On the Day of Pentecost, a great sound of rushing wind filled the upper room where the disciples met and tongues as of fire rested on them. In explaining this strange happening, Peter reaches back into Scripture and brings forth the words of the prophet Joel:

“‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my
Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall
prophesy, and your young men shall see visions’” (Acts 2:17).

The Spirit of God was poured out on the church that day and is still God’s gift to all believers, unto children’s children. The Spirit is no respecter of age—it often uses children and youth to accomplish God’s purposes in this world. The stories of young Miriam, David, and Samuel remind us that God chooses people not because of age, but because of heart.

What a precious gift young people are. Yet, in today’s world, many live without hope for the future or support to meet daily needs. What better place could there be to make spiritual and financial investments than in our children and youth?

The Pentecost Offering, while the newest of the PC(USA) special offerings, is also one of the most exciting. When a congregation receives this Offering, 40 percent stays with the congregation to fund mission and ministry with children at risk. At the General Assembly level, the Pentecost Offering funds ministries with children at risk, youth, and young adults. Youth ministries provide opportunities for spiritual growth and leadership development for Presbyterian youth. Young adults explore their call to mission service through the Young Adult Volunteer program. Child advocacy ministries speak and act on behalf of those who cannot protect themselves. All of these ministries act to help bring God’s love and care to younger members of God’s family.

I say again, What better place could there be to make spiritual and financial investments than in our children and youth? I encourage you to search out the needs in your community and find ways to show Jesus’ love to these “little ones” and give generously to the Pentecost Offering. Let the Holy Spirit who moved the disciples out to the ends of the earth on that first Pentecost move you to give sacrificially. Together we can have a significant positive impact on the children and youth of our churches and of the world.

Joan S. Gray
Moderator, 217th General Assembly (2006)

The Pentecost Offering provides a way to directly meet the needs of children at risk, youth, and young adults. The benefits can be seen all around us. Congregations are trying new ways to minister with the children at risk in their communities. General Assembly programs are advocating for children and providing leadership development opportunities for our youth and young adults. Since 1998, Presbyterians of all ages have raised over $4.8 million for these ministries that benefit younger members of God’s family.

40 percent of the Pentecost Offering is kept by congregations for use on behalf of children at risk. See some of the creative ways congregations used their portion of the 2007 Offering.

10 percent supports General Assembly Child Advocacy Ministries in 2008 to:

• Empower children on behalf of other children through the launch of the Kids 4 Kids Web site for older elementary children.
• Facilitate the denomination’s ongoing emphasis, the Decade of the Child (2001–2011). Resources and initiatives are being developed on such issues as child soldiers, child trafficking, child sexual abuse, bullying, and violent video games. Action initiatives include increasing health care coverage for impoverished families with children and advocating for a just minimum wage to help lift families with children out of poverty.

25 percent of the Offering supports General Assembly ministries with youth in 2008 to:

• Provide scholarships to faithful adult youth workers who will attend the fall 2008 Presbyterian Youth Workers’ Association gathering in New Orleans, Louisiana.
• Create four new specialty resources for youth and youth leaders: More Motion, Be Tween, Youth Ministry and Learning Disabilities, and a new resource for planning youth-related mission trips.
• Support the new resource The Thoughtful Christian for Teens, an online series geared toward youth groups engaging in powerful and provocative Christian study.
• Assist staff in preparing the Parents of Teens Initiative, a new Web site and online resource.
• Support the faithful members of the church who minister with young people through the Presbyterian Youth Workers’ Association.

25 percent supports Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) opportunities, which in 2008 will:

• Prepare young adults from the United States and around the world to serve as YAVs in the United States. The Offering funds are matched with funds that each YAV raises to participate in this year of mission involvement. These young adults serve in communities of need within the United States and explore their call to the work of Jesus Christ.
• Help pay the travel and living expenses of young adults (ages 19–30) serving overseas in the International Young Adult Volunteer program. Offering funds match those raised by the young adults as they prepare for this life-changing opportunity to experience and share God in a community of need in another culture for one year.

Forty percent of the receipts are retained by congregations, and 60 percent are forwarded to General Assembly ministries for children at risk, youth, and young adults. A detailed report of how 2007 Pentecost Offering funds were used by the GA will be prepared after the 2007 financial year closes. The report will be posted on the Offering’s Web site. Look for it in Spring 2008.

Here are some of the ways congregations used their share of the 2007 Pentecost Offering on behalf of children at risk. This is a great place to start if your congregation is looking for ideas

Becoming a Partner

• Support existing children-at-risk programs in your presbytery or synod
• Combine your share of the Offering with that of other congregations in your area to support a common community need
• Combine congregational portions of the Peacemaking and Pentecost Offerings to meet community needs that satisfy the criteria of both offerings

Providing for Needs of Children at Risk

• Contribute to the local childrens’ home
• Fund scholarships for the communityday-care program
• Support a program that ministers to children with severe emotional needs
• Provide support for children at the local Presbyterian home
• Support a youth mission trip to work with at-risk children
• Assist an organization that works on behalf of children with developmental difficulties

Supporting Families of Children at Risk

• Help fund a community resource center that helps families in need
• Assist families of foster and adoptive children
• Provide support to a ministry that helps homeless and working poor families
• Assist at-risk ministries at a Native American reservation
• Support a homeless shelter

Responding to Abuse or Violence

• Assist a ministry helping to break the abuse cycle by teaching healthy parenting skills
• Support a shelter for children who have been abused

Sponsoring Ministry with At-risk Youth and Teens

• Assist a community ministry that advocates and provides services for at-risk youth
• Support a group home for middle school girls
• Contribute to a task force to study neighborhood gang-related violence
• rovide support for the Boys & Girls Club in an inner-city school
• Contribute to a Christ-centered teen after-school program
• upport a home/school for pregnant teens

Providing Support to Education of Children at Risk

• Contribute to the Head Start program or other preschool program
• Provide a back-to-school shopping trip for children at risk
• Provide vouchers for new school shoes
• Support an elementary school’s fund for children at risk
• Provide an after-school enrichment program
• Collect and provide school supplies for children at risk

Giving Support in the Summertime

• Provide scholarships for summer camp
• Contribute to a summer lunch program for children at risk
• Support summer programs for at-risk children and youth
• Contribute to a summer reading program at local libraries
• Support a gardening program that gives children the chance to grow their own vegetables

February

• Ask the session to set a date to receive the Pentecost Offering. The Offering is traditionally received on Pentecost Sunday (May 11, 2008), but some congregations receive it on other youth-focused Sundays in the church year.
• Encourage the session to set a fund-raising goal and to consider options for using the congregational portion (40 percent).
• Develop your interpretation plan by reviewing the promotional packet. See above for ideas.
• Order the materials you need to interpret the Offering using the order form.
• Share the Children and Youth Activities sheet with your Christian education and worship committees.
• Review the PowerPoint and resource materials and “The Pentecost Offering Thanks You!” video on the Web site.

April

• Display Send forth your spirit! Pentecost Offering posters prominently throughout the church.
• Show the Pentecost Offering DVD at children’s worship and distribute a coin box and a photocopy of the Kid’s Kountdown to each child.
• Work with your pastor to help plan the worship service for Pentecost Sunday.
• Use Pentecost Offering place mats for congregational dinners and fellowship times.
• Talk with your pastor about sending the reminder postcard, a promotional e-mail, or a letter to every person in your congregation.
• April 27
  Place the Send forth your spirit! insert in the worship bulletins and place offering envelopes in pew racks.
  
  Introduce the Pentecost Offering from the pulpit using the Send forth your spirit! minute for mission, showing the Pentecost Offering DVD or PowerPoint.

May

• May 4
  Ask a young person to present a minute for mission from the pulpit and place the corresponding insert in the bulletin.
• May 11
  Ask someone representing the ministry receiving the congregation’s 40 percent to present a minute for mission from the pulpit.
  
  Place a bulletin insert and offering envelope in the worship bulletin.

Follow Up

• Thank the congregation for participating in the Offering.
• Report how much was received and how the congregation’s 40 percent will be used.
• Remind the members they can still contribute.
• Fill out and return the evaluation form.

What to Do with the Offering After It Has Been Received

• Keep 40 percent of the Offering for your congregation’s use on behalf of children at risk.
• Make the check for the remaining 60 percent payable to PC(USA). Send it through the normal receiving process at your presbytery or synod. If your church does not have a receiving agency, the check can be sent to:
  
  PC(USA) Church Remittance Processing
  P.O. Box 643678
  Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3678.