June 19, 2006
Dear Friends and Family,
Today is Monday June 19, exactly halfway through the biannual
meeting (General Assembly) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
here in Birmingham, Alabama. Simon is assisting the meetings by
providing simultaneous translation to Korean-speaking delegates
and guests. Not being trained in this special task, Simon’s
ability does not match his strong desire to provide accurate and
complete translation. One benefit of this duty is that Simon is
listening more carefully than other participants in this gathering.
On the first day of the meeting, a surprise gift to the Church
was made. Mr. Stan Anderson from Central Presbyterian Church in
Denver announced that he and his partners are donating $150 million
of personal funds to establish the Loaves and Fishes Church Growth
Fund to support church growth, mission, and theological education.
This generous act is being described as “historic”
and “electrifying” and some other seldom used adjectives.
Now that a few days have passed, the conversations begin to shift
from what he has done (gift) to who he is (faith in Christ and
the trust in the Church). Some of you already know that Haejung
and Simon are members of the same congregation, and we knew Stan
as a generous and faithful elder, but we did not know the extraordinary
extent of his commitment and the size of his love for the Lord.
We are proud to know him and his family.
Having said that, this letter is not about the “historic”
gift. Since our last letter, Simon made visits to Cameroon in
West Africa to work with our church partner, the French-speaking
Presbyterian Church of Cameroun (EPC) and to Presbyterian Disaster
Assistance’s Gulf Coast operations. Over the years, Simon
learned that every worthwhile venture requires the desire and
resolve for the work (commitment, heart) and the ability to carry
out the necessary tasks (capacity, hands). Simon’s translation
and Stan’s gift are the same in these requirements. The
work with the EPC was to explore together ways to improve the
EPC’s financial conditions by engaging poor but faithful
believers of the church. Simon trusted their genuine commitment
(heart) for this work, and worked on developing helpful tasks
that are within their capacity (hands). As a partner, we need
to walk with them and give them an opportunity to demonstrate
their desire and commitment to serve the Lord and God’s
children, and then provide assistance to develop their capacity
to carry out the work. We also know that we should be careful
not to ask of them tasks that are far beyond their capacity, lest
it kill their commitment out of despair. We need to be patient
and share hope that through hard work, and with God’s help,
that our capacity will grow to match our commitment.
Last month we shared our concern for the Church’s world
mission work, specifically the decline in the mission force, which
will be allowed to stabilize at the end of 2006 at about 240,
which represents one missionary for every 10,000 members of the
PC(USA). When Simon explains his work as a global missionary providing
assistance around the world wherever the needs are, he is often
asked whether that is the future of doing mission. Yes and no.
These days, sound management, accountability, and transparency
is necessary for all organizations, especially for the churches
in developing countries. Many of our mission personnel working
for these institutions do not possess professional skills in administration
and financial management. Simon is frequently invited to come
and help. It is precisely because we have missionaries who are
culturally sensitive and who have earned the trust of our partners
that Simon is able to work effectively with the partners during
short visits. In between visits, the resident missionaries are
able to assist our partners with routine matters and help in communications.
The answer is yes: We try to provide professional help in administration,
just as we do in medical, education, and evangelical ministries.
The answer is also no: We need long-term missionaries in place,
because doing God’s mission is being in relationship, not
doing our heroic acts.
Just as the boy’s act of sharing his loaves and fishes
was necessary to feed the thousands, so was the spirit of sharing
among the thousands for Jesus to minister to the multitudes. There’s
no doubt that Stan’s generous gift will be a spark for the
revival of the Church, but without sharing and broad participation
of the members in the pews it will just be a good campaign or
an event. In order to use the expected $30 million for mission
that the Loaves and Fishes Church Growth Fund is expected to generate,
we need dedicated and capable mission force in greater numbers
than we currently have.
Mission is not a campaign, but a life commitment. Mission cannot
sustain the ministries with large one-time gifts, but requires
small but continuing support from many. Let us dream big and plan
to double the current mission force of 240. What additional financial
support would it take to make this possible? It costs approximately
$50,000 per year to support one mission co-worker, including salary,
transportation, housing, and other benefits. For 2.4 million members
of PC(USA) it means $5 per year per member, or $0.10 per week.
Unfortunately for the Presbyterians, “everyone” means
only a small percentage. Let’s be very conservative and
say that 10 percent will participate. They need to give $1.00
per week for missionary support. That’s a cup of bad coffee,
or a can of soda from a vending machine, one copy of the New York
Times (weekday) or the downloading of one song for an iPod. This
is a question of commitment, not capacity. If motivating and mobilizing
10 percent of the members is a monumental task, let us start with
the young adults among us. If 4 percent of PC(USA) members would
give up one cup of Starbuck’s coffee each week and send
the money saved to support the mission force, we would have the
$12 million to double the current force. To affirm that Presbyterians
are missional and connected people, commitment is necessary, as
we already have the (financial) capacity. Life-long commitment
is required, not only during a campaign.
We are entering the part of the General Assembly when we make
decisions and commitments. Orderly and dignified examinations
of overtures and resolutions in various committees are over, and
now we need to make commitments. May God bless our representatives
with wisdom, compassion, and humility to listen to the voice of
God and make life-long commitments to live as forgiven children
of God to witness Jesus to the world.
We will write again in July from the triannual Women’s
Gathering in Louisville, Kentucky.
Haejung and Simon
The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
261 |
