 Independent mission sending alliance announced By Parker T. Williamson The Layman Online Monday, June 12, 2006 The Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship and the Outreach Foundation, two mission organizations that have funded missionary activities exclusively through the Worldwide Missions Division of the Presbyterian Church (USA), announced today the formation of an independent mission-sending alliance.
Although alliance leaders state that they will "seek to work collaboratively" with denominational officials, their announcement today effectively severs the "validated ministry" relationship that has linked the two organizations with the Louisville headquarters of the Presbyterian Church (USA) for more than 20 years. In the former validated ministry relationship, the Outreach Foundation and Frontier Fellowship negotiated with denominational leaders and made designated grants to the Louisville office in support of Presbyterian Church (USA) mission work. Today's announcement constitutes a declaration of independence, freeing the alliance to send out missionaries on its own. Presbyterians who remember their history may sense a déjà vu in today's announcement. In 1933, the Rev. J. Gresham Machen, a Princeton Theological Seminary professor, was troubled by the denomination's drift toward syncretism and its refusal to require its missionaries to subscribe in writing to essential beliefs of the Christian faith. Together with Presbyterians who shared his belief in the singular saving Lordship of Jesus Christ, Machen formed an Independent Board of Foreign Missions. Challenged by this threat to its own missions agency, the denomination reacted punitively. In 1934, the General Assembly adopted a deliverance calling on all Presbyterian ministers who were involved in the Independent Board of Foreign Missions immediately to sever their connections. It declared that any continuing membership would be considered an act of disloyalty, and it encouraged its presbyteries to prosecute any offending minister. Machen declined to resign from the Independent Board of Foreign Missions when he was ordered to do so by the Presbytery of New Brunswick, and on March 29, 1935, he was stripped of his ordination. The Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship/Outreach Foundation alliance, announced on the eve of the denomination's 2006 General Assembly, is clearly a step in the direction that Machen and his associates attempted in 1933. It remains to be seen if the 2006 General Assembly will react as did its predecessor when faced with Machen's declaration of independence. The current denomination has been drastically weakened by the loss of more than half its membership and huge financial deficits. The complete text of the press release is as follows: "The Presbyterian Church (USA) faces a missionary sending crisis. The number of PC(USA) missionaries continues to shrink at a time when global partners are telling us that more are needed. Efforts to reverse the decline have not succeeded. Therefore, The Outreach Foundation and Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship announce today that we are joining in a strategic alliance for the purpose of sending missionaries. A task force comprised of staff and board members will work to put in place the people and systems needed to support an efficient, flexible and creative mission-sending operation. In cooperation with global partners, we hope to appoint new missionaries during 2006. "Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship originated in the former United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (UPCUSA) 25 years ago with a focus on stimulating ministry among people groups where there is no church. The Outreach Foundation was formed 27 years ago in the former Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS) to help expand its Christ-centered evangelistic mission work at home and abroad. "Our two mission organizations share a passion for the proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ. We have cooperated in various ways in the past, including last October's conference "From Everywhere to Everyone: the New Global Mission." Increasingly, our staff members find themselves working with each other in connecting Presbyterians to God's mission. Now, after much prayer and discussion, we believe God is leading us to a new initiative for engaging Presbyterians in sending missionaries. The Outreach Foundation already has domestic and international missionaries in the field, and we will build on that foundation as we move forward. "We remain grateful for the work of the PCUSA mission offices and staff and will seek to work collaboratively with them. We have been loyal supporters of the mission of the PCUSA, raising millions of dollars for it. We pray that their efforts will continue to bear fruit, and we will continue to support them. Still, we are convinced that more is needed. "For more information please see our websites." Rob Weingartner, The Outreach Foundation www.TheOutreachFoundation.org Bill Young, Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship www.PFF.net |
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