Missions

SENDING OUT: We were blessed this year with the opportunity to send out Chris and Kay Smoes and Katie K. The Smoes, who have been preparing with Wycliffe Bible Translators for work in Cameroon, finally left for their initial French language training. Katie K. departed to study Arabic in the Middle East. Although we were sorry to lose their presence, we are excited about God's work in their lives, and committed to praying for them "without ceasing."

COMMUNICATING AND PRAYING: Central is privileged to have God-orchestrated connections with His people around the world. Each Missions Committee meeting begins with prayer that flows out of letters received in prior weeks. This correspondence, which reveals the passions, the heartaches and the yearnings of those laboring to make Jesus Christ known around the globe, is available to you downstairs in Central's library. You can also find valuable information, addresses and prayer requests for our missionaries in our annual Missionary Directory. In addition, email has made the communication with missionaries far more effective than ever before and has facilitated emergency evacuations, short-term mission trip planning, and immediate prayer for emerging needs.

WELCOMING BACK: A wonderful interaction occurs for Central when our missionaries return to Baltimore. During 2001 we were blessed to have Karen Duncan of HCJB in Ecuador, Stephanie and Larry of OC International in Brazil, Mark and Susan Smith of InnerChange in Cambodia, and Wannee and Neil Thompson of OMF in Thailand. The Thompsons ended their furlough by heading to Littleton, Colorado, as the new national director of OMF. Jerry Cooper had the privilege of charging Neil at the installation service. Not only is Central greatly enriched by the presence, sharing and friendship of our missionaries, but we also have the opportunity to bless them. Variously, our missionaries receive pastoral counseling, consulting on raising support, advice on future direction, encouragement, and networking with other ministries that provide powerful synergies for Kingdom work, such as hooking up M.Y. with Interdev, our supported organization that trains for and facilitates mission partnerships.

DIVERSIFYING: The Missions Committee has sought to be a catalyst for missions awareness and mobilization rather than trying to do it all itself. In 2001 the committee encouraged and supported many different mission experiences, including a short-term trip to Kenya, and the youth trip to the Dominican Republic. Educational experiences included hosting the "Perspectives on the World Christian Movement" course, the fall missions conference on the Power of Partnership and the great job that Children's Ministries does with M&M Kids and Second Sunday for the World. Getting out information has been multi-faceted with a new bulletin board in the upper level hall, the weekly News & Views Missions column, and the reselling of excellent missions resources like bulk pre-publication purchase of "Operation World" which we offer at 1/3 the retail cost., Finally, the care of missionaries is seeing a healthy diversification is the formation of missionary Communities of Care and the recruitment of Missionary Advocates.

BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING: God allows us the privilege of supporting almost 70 different missionaries and organizations spread throughout Baltimore, our nation, and across every continent except Antarctica. May our influence for God's glory increase as our faithfulness to His call.