In this quadrennium:
We have been challenged by an almost overwhelming number of disasters and civil disturbances within the boundaries of the United States as well as on other continents.
We have experienced a resurging "missionary spirit!" Volunteers of all ages and interests from our local congregations and communities have joined hands with persons across the globe whose lives have been disrupted by famine, hunger, war, or natural disasters.
We have seen churches built without the benefit of heavy machinery, roads laid out by manual labor rather than by tractors.
Little children in Atlanta have given money and materials to build a village for unaccompanied children in Goma, Zaire.
Men, women, boys and girls packed their cars, jeeps, and trucks and went to the Midwest to hold back the flood waters in 1993.
During this quadrennium we have also seen a plague of apathy rage throughout America. The language of "re-engineering," "restructuring" and other new paradigms have become the rhetoric of power shifts and the politics of economic change. Few American institutions have escaped this political reality.
But at the same time, more than half of our 38,000 local congregations are choosing to "go the second mile" by giving through the Advance for Christ and His Church! In a quadrennium marked by declines in church funding (as exemplified by broad reductions in annual conference staffs and ministries), United Methodists will give more than $100 million to General Advance programs of mission and ministry in the United States and around the world.
National Missions
The "Children of the Promise" video and campaign (Advance code #123456) captured the excitement of the 1992 General Conference as it emphasized our ministries with children and youth.
Testimonials are heard regarding the successful transformation in personal and community life through the missional initiatives on substance abuse, Shalom Zones and homelessness. Total General Advance giving to support National Missionaries and Church and Community Workers is higher than for any other quadrennium in the history of the Advance. The Hispanic Challenge Fund and the Native American Comprehensive Plan have clearly excited the denomination---even though they have not yet generated the levels of giving that were expected.
In this 1993-96 quadrennium General Advance income for National Missions will probably equal the previous quadrennium's income of $16 million.
World Missions
While Global Mission Partners (a new program to support persons who are missionaries in their own countries) is receiving excellent support, traditional support for missionaries from the United States is still strong. At the same time, there are countries, such as Senegal, that are receiving United Methodist missionaries for the first time. You will see our missionaries' new work in Senegal in the Advance video produced for the 1996 General Conference. In fact, excitement about the missionary enterprise of our denomination has not been this high in several decades. Advance support for our missionaries in this quadrennium should reach $24 million.
Meanwhile, the Africa Church Growth and Development Committee has built more than 100 churches and provided several hundred scholarships and grants for leadership development. Evangelization is so successful that at least four new United Methodist conferences will be added or recommended this quadrennium.
United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)
UMCOR's theme, "Love in Action," is well tested! United Methodists in the United States have experienced this love in the aftermath of disasters like the earthquakes and fires in Los Angeles and the Palm Sunday tornado that destroyed a community and a United Methodist church and took the life of the pastor's daughter.
War between Rwanda and Burundi has displaced persons of those two nations across their borders into Zaire, where we presently serve a huge population of refugees. The Midwest floods struck our homes and our hearts, as those who had given so much to others were suddenly themselves devastated--with prospects for recovery measured in years. Weapons of terror--so often detonated in distant lands--were detonated in Oklahoma. Fear swept America. Hurricanes debilitated Caribbean nations, parts of the southeastern United States and parts of Mexico.
Through it all, our compassion and our convictions remain true. Through UMCOR the United Methodist Church is "Love in Action!" In this quadrennium UMCOR Advance income may well exceed $60 million--an all-time high.
Conclusion
The statistics of giving that follow demonstrate tremendous United Methodist support of mission and ministry through the Advance for Christ and His Church. Along with the entire denomination, we eagerly look forward to celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Advance for Christ and His Church in 1998.
General Conference Webmaster: Susan Brumbaugh
PETS Creator: John Brawn
Petition Text: 21690-GJ-NonDis-O
1996 United Methodist General Conference