Annual Stewardship Magazine "Giving" touts example of church supporting frontier mission

"Giving" magazine, published annually by the Ecumenical Stewardship Center, Indianapolis, IN, includes a reference in its 2004 lead article to a PC(USA) church supporting frontier mission. The church, Eastminster Presbyterian in Wichita, KS, is cited as an example of a church taking stewardship seriously by intensifying its mission engagement, including frontier mission support.

The lead article is "Enough," by Arthur Simon, founder of Bread for the World and the author of How Much Is Enough? Hungering for God in an Affluent Age. "Giving" is online at www.stewardshipresources, although the 2004 issue's contents are not yet available on the Web site.

The portion of the article referring to Eastminster:

"...We act as though there is little we can do to end hunger. Isn't Jesus telling us to "go and see" what gifts he has given us, and to offer them for the multitudes that hunger in today's world?

"Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Wichita, Kansas, had designed a new sanctuary when a devastating earthquake struck Guatemala, destroying homes and churches. "How can we set out to buy an ecclesiastical Cadillac when our brothers and sisters in Guatemala have just lost their little Volkswagen?," a lay member asked. So they scaled back their building plans and borrowed money to rebuild twenty-six Guatemalan churches and twenty-eight homes. The decision recharged the life of the Wichita congregation and led to a global program that focuses on frontier missions. It includes Bible translation, literacy for Muslim women, work among the "Untouchables" in India, trips all over the world by various work teams and medical teams from the congregation, and an allocation of more than a third of its annual income to missions.

"On a more personal level, should we not be asking ourselves the same kind of question as did that lay member, and giving a similar type of response? After all, who are we, and what is our purpose in life?"

To this I say, Amen! We belong to Christ, and our purpose is to glorify Christ from everywhere to everyone -- and enjoy him forever.

The "Untouchables" mission in India is one of over 125 exciting PC(USA) frontier mission projects. Readers can contribute to this project online here at the PCUSA Web site.

-- Dave Hackett