Presbyterian Missions (11th of 12). This is not the end. New Wineskins.
The Holy Spirit Enables New Mission Initiatives.
The great arc of Presbyterian Church (USA) missions seems to have ended. The overseas missionaries have been paid and have received a letter of appreciation. A golden parachute brought the last ones home, or, if the missionaries wanted to stay on the field, they joined another mission agency. (Actually, there was no gold, just “Thank you, this is your stop”).
The two hundred year arc of Presbyterian missions sent by the Presbyterian Church USA came to an end. But not a final end. Presbyterians are still strongly involved in mission in “the regions beyond.” The Holy Spirit is still sending Presbyterian missionaries to unreached peoples. Presbyterians are creating partnerships with mission agencies. Two of those agencies are Antioch Partners and Frontiers.
Many Presbyterians have joined with Antioch Partners to continue our Lord’s mission. “Antioch Partners is sending followers of Jesus to participate in God’s mission in the world. We are committed to inviting people to follow Jesus, social justice and establishing worshipping communities among unreached and least-reached peoples throughout the world.”
The Antioch Partners vision: Presbyterians effectively equipped, sent out and supported as they participate in God’s mission in the world, and every Presbyterian congregation extensively, strategically, and radically involved in this process. The reader can find out more about Antioch Partners here.
A second great partner for Presbyterians is Frontiers. “With Love and Respect inviting all Muslim peoples to follow Jesus.” Frontiers has a special partnership with churches that want to send church-based missionary teams. You can find out more about Frontiers church based teams here.
Presbyterian Mission History. This is Blog #11 in a series 12:
- What Francis Makemie Envisioned : Beneficial Relationships between Presbyterian Churches and Mission Agencies
- What Early Presbyterian Churches Enjoyed: Denominational Support for Voluntary Societies
- How the General Assembly of 1837 Expelled 60,000 church members on account of their partnership with mission agencies.
- The General Assembly Establishes the Board of Foreign Missions. An Extraordinary Mission Era Begins.
- Exemplary Presbyterian Missionaries of the 19th Century
- Exemplary Presbyterian Missionaries of the 20th Century
- Ninety-Five Notable Presbyterian Missionaries in Gerald Anderson’s Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions
- The Extraordinary Rise of Presbyterian Women’s Mission Societies following the Civil War
- What the General Assembly of 1902 Endorsed: Recognition and Regulation of “Special Interest Organizations.”
- Time to say Good-bye, Perhaps. How Everything Seems to be Ending.
- This is not the End. The Holy Spirit Enables New Mission Initiatives.
- Presbyterian Mission History: A Bibliography
Hi Bob,
I’m puzzled by your May 2 comments that seem to imply that the entire PCUSA missionary force is coming home, as in laid off with a not-so- golden “thank you.”
Back in my PCMS days I raised concern about the shrinking numbers of missionaries, tracing it to a fading mission theology, but I can’t find anything on the PCUSA website about a total abandonment of the mission co-worker enterprise. There are almost 80 serving in over 50 countries. Kindly explain.
By grace through faith for all the ethne.
Tom
Hi Tom, I will answer privately. Sincerely, Bob B.
Thank you for your chronicling the history. I read about each of the 95 missionaries, it was so encouraging! We truly stand in their shoulders. I greatly appreciate your book reviews, as well. Say hello to your bride for me!