Make Mission Happen

The goal of Mission Challenge ’07 is to connect Presbyterian missionaries and Presbyterian churches.

Be in touch with your missionaries

Nearly all PC(USA) missionaries have home pages on the Mission Connections site. On each home page, you can read the archive of their newsletters and send them greetings via the link to their email.

Pray for your missionaries

It’s crucial that missionaries feel that the church is interested in their ministry and interested in the people the missionary has been sent to serve. How will they know that their stories are being heard unless you tell them?

Here are some suggestions for spiritual and emotional support of your missionary.

• Missionaries often have prayer requests. Honor those requests, and then let the missionary know you’ve done so.
• Assign someone to be responsible for being in regular contact with your mission family. Email is fine, but an occasional letter, photograph or postcard also makes a good impression. It’s important to let the missionary know that you care.
• Keep your missionary’s name and address in the bulletin where the names of other church staff are listed. Lift them up in prayer regularly during worship. Be as specific as possible, using missionary prayer requests.
• Include the missionary’s name and address in your church directory.
• Make a bulletin board about your missionary and the country where he or she serves. Keep it updated.
• Include updates about your missionary in the church newsletter to help keep interest and awareness high.
• Arrange to have a telephone call with the missionary occasionally. By using a speaker phone, the missionary can address a meeting, a dinner or even the whole congregation while at worship.
• Check the Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study and note the day that the church lifts up the missionary in prayer. Be sure to send him or her greetings on that day.

Increase your contribution to World Mission

The most effective way to expand the church’s capacity to respond to our partners’ many requests for international mission workers is to give to Second Mile Missionary Support. Write “E132192” on the subject line of the check.

Individuals send checks to

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Individual Remittance Processing
P.O. Box 643700
Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700

Churches send checks to normal receiving site or:

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Church Remittance Processing
P.O. Box 643678
Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3678

Or click the give button to contribute online.

Ideas for increasing support for missionary giving

• Pledge a percentage of the church’s annual budget.
• Check to see if any endowment funds could be used for mission support.
• If the church undertakes a capital campaign, tithe the amount raised and contribute to missionary support.
• When church members go on mission trips, tithe the cost of the trip to a PC(USA) missionary serving in the country where they’re going.
• Have a special fundraiser for the missionary you’re supporting. This will raise awareness and interest as well as money. You could have a meal featuring food from the country where your missionary serves. Or a movie night with a film from that country.
• Put birthday jars in Sunday school classrooms. On the week of each person’s birthday, students put in a penny or a dime or a dollar for each year of the missionary’s life. Include the children of the missionaries.
• Offer church members a chance for alternative giving. Instead of giving your dad one more tie, send a gift in your dad’s name to support your church’s missionary.

Keep informed about World Mission

The most current and complete information about PC(USA) missionaries is the Mission Connections site. The Frequently Asked Questions give up-to-date statistics about how many missionaries are under appointment, where they serve and what they do.

Highlights is a twice-yearly magazine focused on the global work of the PC(USA). It offers news and feature stories about missionaries, international partners and grassroots Presbyterians involved in God’s mission in the world. Free.

Two key recent PC(USA) mission policy statements are available online:

"Presbyterians Do Mission In Partnership"
Read the document online.
Download a printable copy of this document.
Order the document from the Presbyterian Marketplace:

and

"Gathering for God’s Future"
Read the document online.
Order the document from the Presbyterian Marketplace.

Share Mission Stories

Visit the Witness Season Web site for mission stories. See also the archive of Minutes for Mission.

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