Thank the Lord with me for the generous way that we support missions and missionaries! This has always been one of the defining characteristics of this church, and only eternity will reveal the immense impact of this support on the expansion of Christ’s church around the world.
With an increase in CPC’s 2022 mission budget (due to paying off the mortgage), your Missions Committee was able to increase the support received by all our existing missionaries and, at the same time, add several new missionaries to our support list. We now support close to 60 missionaries and mission organizations! These include ministries here in Chattanooga, church planting efforts, and both home and foreign missionaries. If you have been watching the missions’ monitor in the office hallway, you have learned a bit about some of our existing missionaries. Allow me to introduce you to our newest CPC missionaries: [Note: only first names are used for those serving in sensitive areas.]
Emma Kate shares Christ with Muslim women in Wales. She is active in a strong evangelical church in a city and develops relationships with women among the large Muslim community there. CPC’s support of Emma Kate’s ministry grows out of our increased focus on evangelism and church planting in post-Christian Europe, particularly emphasizing the United Kingdom.
Trinity Church in Aberdeen, Scotland is another of our newly supported ministries. Last year, CPC sent Pastor Jones overseas to participate in the UK Partnership – a coalition of the United Kingdom and the United States churches working together to promote church planting in the UK. Upon his return, Pastor John recommended we partner with Trinity Church, which has become a center for training church planters. Trinity is remodeling a historic church building in the center of the city, and we have agreed to help support their pastor, David Gibson, for two years so that his salary can be used for that remodeling project.
Daniel Mathuva works with Equipping Leaders International in his native Kenya, training and equipping church leaders. Daniel is an experienced Presbyterian pastor who has planted several churches in Kenya. Interestingly, Daniel was discipled by Stan Armes when Stan and Donna were missionaries in Kenya. CPC’s support for Daniel derives from several of our mission priorities – training national church leaders and supporting national missionaries. These foci enable us to leverage our support for a much greater impact on the global church. Nationals already know the language and culture where they are ministering, and their support needs are generally lower than Western missionaries. For example, the support we are sending Daniel will supply 20% of his annual needs.
Kevin and May worked for a number of years among a Muslim people group in a large Asian nation. They had to leave that country but continued working with that people group here in the United States. Recently, they have relocated to Jordan where they are busy learning Arabic to enhance their ability to minister among Muslims. Once they finish language school, they plan to relocate somewhere in the Middle East to continue Muslim evangelism.
Clarke and Khrystya Norton worked for over 12 years in a Presbyterian church plant in Lviv, which is in western Ukraine. Khrystya herself is Ukrainian. They are presently here in the United States where Clarke is finishing a Master’s degree in Counseling at Covenant Seminary. Their plan to return to Ukraine later this year has been rendered uncertain by the Russian attack. They continue in daily contact with the members of their church who are busy ministering to the large number of refugees escaping west through Lviv into Poland. Regardless of the war’s outcome, Clarke hopes to return to Ukraine and use his counseling skills to minister to those traumatized by the conflict.
With these new nations being added to our list of supported missionaries, we will need to find room for more “mission flags” in the fellowship hall!
On behalf of the Missions Committee, thank you so much for your faithful support of missions through your tithes and offerings. Also, if you would be interested in serving on the Missions Committee, please contact me.
