Glen Avon Presbyterian Church

Mission News

WORLD MISSION BEING RETOOLED

New staff structure will serve grassroots mission initiators.

The Presbyterian World Mission program area is retooling its ministry to respond to the growing number of grassroots Presbyterians who are participating in God's mission around the globe, World Mission director Hunter Farrell announced today.

World Mission has created three associate director positions, including one charged with leading a work area dedicated to training congregational mission committees, mission networks and other mission initiators. A search will be launched for an associate director to lead that work area, which is called Equipping the Church for Mission, and for a mission training materials specialist who also will serve in that area.

"This 'retooling' responds to the needs of the 230 Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission leaders and global partners I have interviewed over the past six months," said Farrell, who began his current assignment last August 1. "Whereas for decades the General Assembly Council 'did' international mission in behalf of the denomination, changes in international travel and communication have opened up new possibilities for Presbyterians to participate in international mission."

Farrell said he found that World Mission's constituencies want it to continue to deploy high-quality, long-term mission personnel, serve as a nexus for the growing network of Presbyterians involved in mission work, and equip the church for mission.

Equipping the Church for Mission and two other work areas, Mission Partners and Programs, and Mission Personnel, will seek to meet the needs of World Mission's constituencies, Farrell said.

"In essence we are trying to take the highly effective ways we have been doing mission in partnership with global partners around the world and apply them to mission initiators and mission personnel from our own denomination."