2009: A turnaround year for mission sending

When historians look at Presbyterian mission, I believe 2009 will long be remembered as the “turnaround year” — the year that our church renewed its commitment to sending out mission workers.

The excitement was palpable in July when new mission workers and their families filled the stage to be commissioned during the Presbyterian Women’s Gathering. More than 2,000 participants gave a standing ovation as the mission workers were introduced. They saw called and committed people appointed to work alongside our global partners in places such as Colombia, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nicaragua, Sudan and Taiwan.

We will end 2009 with more than 200 mission co-workers, an increase over 2008. This was accomplished despite the daunting challenges posed by the economic downturn and the shrinking value of the dollar. We give thanks for generous Presbyterians whose gifts and prayers enabled this growth.

We will enter 2010 committed once again to increase the number of mission workers. We cannot ignore the requests of our partners who seek additional mission workers to help them minister to critical needs in education, evangelism, health, development and justice.

The General Assembly Mission Council (GAMC) has steadfastly supported efforts to grow the number of mission co-workers. We continue to seek the necessary funds to sustain the increase in 2010 and beyond. Linda Valentine, the GAMC’s executive director, noted the direct relationship between increased giving and increased sending:  “In a very real sense the more that Presbyterians give, the more mission workers we will be able to send. Our mission workers serve on behalf of the whole church. We need the support of the whole church to continue this long-sought growth.”

Your gifts and prayers will help keep our church on a trajectory of sustained growth in the number of mission co-workers serving internationally. This is, by God’s grace, a remarkable turnaround, and together we can anticipate future growth in our church’s renewed commitment to mission sending.

— Hunter Farrell, director, World Mission