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History of the
Offering When is the offering? |
Get the 2006 bulletin insert: |
Introduction
Our Presbytery took a step of faith last year when it committed to reinstate a Season of Emphasis on Christian Witness and a Witness Offering.
We do this as important in itself, but also with the hope that we will have such a positive response that we can convince the General Assembly to follow our lead at some time in the future. So a good response from our congregations will be a double blessing.
Why do we need such a season?
As we pointed out last year, Christian Witness is in season all year long. That’s why we call this a season of emphasis on Christian witness. It is a time to give special focus and emphasis in our prayers for the witness of the Church at home and around the world. It is a time to remember that we are part of a fellowship and ministry far larger than our congregation and our denomination. It is a time to give thanks for the Church around the world, much of which is a result of faithful missionary work of which the Presbyterian Church (USA) and our predecessor denominations have been a vital part. It is a time to pray for fellow Christians and their witness around the world, many in very difficult and dangerous circumstances. It is a time for focused prayer for our own missionaries, international and in this country. It is a time to pray for a renewed concern for and interest in the mission of the Church in carrying out the first great end of the Church, the proclamation of the Gospel for the salvation of humankind. It is a time to study what is being done in Christian Witness internationally and at home today. It is also a time to reflect on our personal responsibility for Christian witness to those around us, as well as on our part in the witness of the presbytery and of the General Assembly. May it be also a time for us to deny ourselves some of the things we could do without in order to give a special offering to strengthen this work.
This offering will go in its entirety to the work for which it is designated.
When will this offering be taken?
The month of February has usually been designated as our Season of Emphasis on Christian Witness, a time for prayer and study regarding the mission of the Church and our part in it at home and worldwide. It is suggested that February 19 be the Sunday the offering is taken, but each congregation must decide for itself when the offering will be taken. THIS YEAR, WE ASK THAT YOU OBSERVE THIS EMPHASIS ANYTIME TAKING THE OFFERING WHENEVER IT IS CONVENIENT FOR YOUR CONGREGATION.
25 percent is for the local church to retain for local mission use.
35 percent, will go to PC(USA) Worldwide Ministries, the arm of PC(USA) that promotes the Gospel throughout the world in many different ways.
40 percent to Hispanic ministry within the bounds of our presbytery. This is an increasingly needed ministry.
May we encourage you to give generously, demonstrating again that spirit of liberality, which has been a Presbyterian hallmark since the days of John Calvin and John Knox.
HISTORY of the Witness Season and Offering:
As you know, we had a Witness Offering for many years in the old PCUS, and for some years in the PC(USA). There is still quite a bit of support for it in our presbytery. In fact, some congregations still take a Witness Offering and send it for our Worldwide Ministries Division work. There is a similar interest in that part of the PC(USA) which came out of the UPCUSA stream.
You may be aware of the still older PCUS tradition of a Week of Prayer and Self-Denial for Home (National) Missions in October and a Week of Prayer and Self-Denial for World Missions in February. These kept the centrality and importance of these crucial aspects of the work of the Church before the congregations, and raised substantial amounts of money for them as well. It was an excellent teaching tool, as congregations studied what we were doing and why in these areas. The tradition continued with some loss of focus when the two were merged into the Witness Season, which was January - March. The Witness Offering was usually taken in February. Somehow, this emphasis was discarded in recent years. The old Witness Offering was renamed the Pentecost Offering, and soon had a different focus.
There is always the need to keep our people reminded of our Savior's last command to the Church, to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations [ethnay, ethnic groups, clans, people groups]. . . ." We find this emphasis and priority as far back as Genesis 12:3, where Abraham was promised that in him all the families (clans) of the earth would be blessed. As we know, we are a long way from completing this commission with some 8,000 - 10,000 people groups still unreached.
"Gathering for God's Future," from our Worldwide Ministries Division, highlights the crucial importance of reaching the unreached peoples of the world. It says in part, "There are still people and cultures that have not yet heard the gospel of redemption and new life in Jesus Christ. We are called to offer the hope we find in Christ, to assist new disciples as they grow in faith and form a church led by their own leadership which is culturally relevant and independent of control by the sending mission church." The Witness Offering helps us to fulfill our responsibilities in this cutting edge of the Worldwide Mission of the Church.
Our Book of Order (G-10200) defines the first of the Great Ends of the Church as ". . . the proclamation of the Gospel for the salvation of humankind. . . ." This mission has always been a central and important part of the life and work of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and its predecessors, and must continue to be if we are to be faithful to the Lord of the Church.
The Church is by definition and command of our Lord a missionary society, and its members need to be well informed as to what the Church is doing and should be doing in mission beyond the local level. This is why the Presbytery of Coastal Carolina overtured the 215th General Assembly in 2003 to reestablish a Witness Season and the Witness Offering. The General Assembly approved the proposal in principle and referred it to the special Task Force on Special Offerings with a strong recommendation. However, the Task Force recommended that we not add another special assembly wide offering, and the 216th General Assembly concurred with that recommendation.In October, 2004, the Presbytery of Coastal Carolina unanimously approved a Witness Season and Witness Offering for our presbytery beginning in 2005. We are now in the second year of this project.
Faithfulness in mission beyond their borders stimulates congregations to greater faithfulness on the local level as well.
"The light that shines fartherest
shines brightest at home." (Author unknown)
The Witness Offering is an
encouragement and opportunity
for those who wish to give additional support to the great mission of the Church at home and abroad through our presbytery and the General Assembly. We have a great history and heritage of effective mission work around the world that we must continue.
Thank you for participating!
Resources:
Well informed Christians are more likely to become involved in and support the larger mission of the Church. Congregations are encouraged to obtain study materials to learn more about the Mission of the Church today. Among recommended books in our presbytery resource center are “When the Saints Go Marching Out!” by Art Beals (Geneva Press: Louisville, 2001), and “Presbyterians in World Mission: A Handbook for Congregations,” by G. Thompson Brown (revised edition, Decatur, GA: CTS Press, 1988).
Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study (online)
Additional resources may be obtained from our
1/23/06
