Mission to the U.S.A.

Local congregations benefit from the experience

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) believes that we in the United States have a great deal to learn and to receive from Christians in other parts of the world.

The Mission to the U.S.A. (MUSA) program is one attempt to embody that belief. Mission to the U.S.A. (MUSA) is a program that brings a "mission partner" (a pastor or lay leader) from an international partner church to a serve and participate in the life of a local PC(USA) congregation for a period of four to eight weeks. This Christian colleague from abroad can help the U.S. congregation see the world through new eyes and hear the gospel through new ears! Overseas colleagues may preach, participate in worship, lead Bible study classes, address small discussion groups, and assist with pastoral care. The Mission to the U.S.A. participant is a colleague in ministry with the pastor and the members of the congregation.

Through this service the worldwide body of Christ becomes a tangible reality, as congregations share together with the mission partner in Christ’s service. Mission ceases to be "us the giver, you the receiver," but becomes a practice of mutual exchange, growth, and acknowledgement of the power, grace and joy of the Holy Spirit throughout the world.

If your congregation would like to be enriched by the lives of international Christian partners, please contact Shannon Langley, coordinator of the Direct Mission Involvement office.

Download an application

Listen to the voices of other congregations:

"Their perspective on evangelism and the dynamics of bringing unchurched people to faith gave our session new vocabulary, insight, and energy to do this work ourselves. They encouraged a fresh interaction between the sacred and the secular realms of life. Already our leaders are using new concepts in planning outreach and mission…. Most important, they were an inspiration and truly a great joy to be with. It became obvious from the very start that they were most dedicated and were able, in such a beautiful way, to pass on to us much of that Christian understanding." — Central Presbyterian Church, Lafayette, Ind.

“There were several people who shared their concern with me that this was not the time to have a foreigner in our midst. But by the time I am writing this I am hearing quite the opposite. We needed her — to bring us honesty — to keep our tongues less sharp and judgmental — less aggressive — and you know what we found when we did so — we are less afraid and do not need to run and hide or strike out at those different from us.” — Immanuel Presbyterian Church, Waterloo, Iowa

- Files marked with this icon can be downloaded in printable Adobe Acrobat format. This file requires the free Acrobat Reader. For best results, right-click the link (or click and hold for Macintosh), select " save target as" and save the document to your desktop for viewing and printing.