View from the Church: From the Smallest to the Largest, PCA Churches Commit to Send 1%
Means of Grace, a PCA church plant in Denver, Colorado, has around 30 members, making it the smallest church plant in the Rocky Mountain Presbytery. Village Seven Presbyterian Church in Colorado Springs has more than 1,600 members, the biggest church in the presbytery. When MTW challenged PCA churches to pray that an additional 1 percent of their congregations would be called to long-term, cross-cultural missions, both churches struggled with the idea.
David Choi
Pastor, Means of Grace church plant, Denver, CO
There are plenty of established churches who could really commit to the 1% Challenge. We’re small. We’re still trying to survive. What difference could we make?
As a church planter, this question plagued my mind. I recognize now that it’s a shortsighted way of thinking. I had similar questions when I decided to plant a church in Denver; yet God providentially got the ball rolling, put people in my life to spread the news to, and changed my heart in the process.
The road hasn’t been smooth and there have been many failures along the way, but in retrospect, my biggest failure was putting God in a box. Realizing that God is immensely greater than my own expectations helped me take the plunge into church planting. With the same mindset, I am urging our members to commit to the 1% Challenge.
Page Clark
Director of Mobilization, Village 7 Presbyterian, Colorado Springs, CO
When MTW first announced the 1% Challenge, our initial reaction was, "There’s no way we can send 16 more missionaries!" We considered the number of people, time, financial resources, and energy that would be necessary if we really did send out 1 percent of our congregation for missions. We were overwhelmed, and in many ways we still are. When we planted churches in the past and a group of our people went out with the new church, we felt the loss—but each time God has provided.
His faithfulness to us as a congregation in the past led us to take up this challenge. For us, the 1% Challenge starts with a lot of prayer: prayer with our missions leadership and in our monthly missions prayer calendar. We also plan to involve our entire congregation through an emphasis at our yearly missions conferences, and look forward to identifying and encouraging those interested in missions.
Has your church responded to the 1% Challenge yet? Learn more, see the churches that have already responded, and record your commitment at mtw.org/1.
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SEE MOREPray that churches would care well for missionaries on home ministry assignment, and that missionaries would tangibly feel God's love.
Pray for a new parish-style church in Bangkok, Thailand, where the missionaries and church members are able to live in close proximity to one another and more easily minister to the community around them.
Pray for God's provision for missionaries raising support, and that they would remember that developing ministry partners is a ministry.
Pray for God to raise up missionaries to plant churches and teach theology in places where the gospel has been distorted.
Pray for the Wolof people in Senegal, identified as an unreached people group, as the gospel spreads through a new church plant.
Give thanks to God for the hundreds of thousands of Iranians who have come to faith over the last two decades. Pray for God to protect believers and draw more to Himself.
Pray that the global church, including the PCA in the U.S., would make evangelism a priority, and share the truth with those around them.
Pray that God would draw many PCA church members, pastors, students, and those passionate about global missions to the GMC conference in November.
Give thanks and pray for a couple in Japan who recently came to faith as they faced the last days of the husband's life.
Pray for those in Turkey continuing to rebuild from last year's earthquake, and for continuation of the spiritual growth seen as a result.
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