Passage to Ponder -   Colossians 3: 12-17 (NIV)

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."  

World Mission restructured for greater responsiveness and support.

Presbyterian World Mission is reshaping itself to become more responsive and supportive of global partners, U.S. Presbyterians, and our mission personnel. Learn how that translates into new opportunities for employment.

And several individuals have been moved by the new direction and have made major financial gifts in support of World Mission's focus on "three critical global issues": addressing the root causes of poverty, especially as they affect women and children; sharing the good news of God's love in Jesus Christ; and being agents of reconciliation among cultures of violence.

But in order to implement World Mission's strategic direction fully, Farrell said it has become necessary to restructure the organization to make it less bureaucratic and more flexible, less wedded to slow and sometimes cumbersome processes, and quicker to provide services needed by U.S. and global partners and our mission workers.

This has required both staffing and organizational changes:  

• In order to increase the number of young adults whose lives will be transformed by missional experiences, by 2017 World Mission will triple the number of Young Adult Volunteers participating in the program. World Mission is restructuring the YAV Office to accomplish this goal, will lower the YAV program participation cost, and commit the funding necessary to grow the program.
• World Mission is restructuring parts of the Equipping for Mission Involvement Office to better connect with our congregations, mission networks and presbyteries, especially through the Mission Connections letters program and two new positions that will serve as "coaches": one to U.S. Presbyterians who are serious about engaging well in God's mission, and the other to support mission co-workers so they can communicate more effectively news of how God is working through partners and through their work.
• World Mission Area Coordinators will now form, with the General Manager and Director, World Mission's Leadership Team, responsible for the direction of the overall ministry area.
• The Area Coordinators will supervise a full complement of Regional Liaisons who, after a transitional period of orientation and training, will (together with global partners) provide stronger support and clearer direction for and supervision of mission co-workers.
• The International Evangelism and the International Health and Development Offices have performed vital service for decades in the PC(USA)'s mission history. Both offices, after a period of transition, will decrease their role as resource-granting offices, and will increasingly work to inspire, equip and connect global partners and U.S. Presbyterians around the critical global issues of evangelism and poverty, respectively.
• The Mission Personnel team will serve as consultants in support of the area offices, providing them with the information they need to support mission personnel and make decisions.
• World Mission will continue the process of consulting with global partners and General Assembly Mission Council partner ministries as it reassesses how it will engage with ministries in 57 countries around the globe.  

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Presbyterian Mission Agency
Jessica Reid
Communications Associate

For Alex Chong and Zach Williams, the newly formed Cross Cultural Young Adult Network is an opportunity to share the gifts of their peers with the whole church.

"My hope is that our network will become a big part of the church," said Chong, a Korean American who works in college ministry at the University of Washington in Seattle. "We have some frustration because of the lack of young adult opportunities and involvement. I think it's awesome to give us a voice in regard to the direction the church is heading for the next generation." 

 
"Young adults feel like we have a voice, and we need to put that out to the world," said Williams, a Native American who is a newly sworn law enforcement officer outside Livingston, Texas, and about to become a deacon in his church. "I heard so many great ideas and solutions from my brothers and sisters in Christ, and I would like to try them out in my own congregation. Those same ideas can be applied to the larger church."
 
It's young adults like Williams and Chong-who are passionate about the future of the PC(USA)-that has Racial Ethnic and Cross Cultural Ministries buzzing with excitement.
 
"We are looking to young adults to energize the whole church and to help us learn how we can engage with them," said Rev. Raafat Girgis, associate for Multicultural Congregational Support.
 
The Presbyterian Mission Agency is charged with the task of "inspiring, equipping, and connecting the church to engage and join with young adults in reforming the church for Christ's mission." The Cross Cultural Young Adult Network is Racial Ethnic & Women's Ministries' immediate response to begin realizing that important directional goal.
 
The Cross Cultural Young Adult Network will develop and share ideas on how to engage more young adults and to discern how Presbyterian Mission Agency can inspire, equip, and connect the church to join with young adults in reforming the church for Christ's mission. At the same time, the network empowers young adults, ages 19 to 30, to lead rather than to follow others in this effort.
 

Alex Chong, a member of the Cross Cultural Young Adult Network, spoke with us about his hopes for the group's work within the church.

"At first it felt like they threw us under the bus, but after we reflected, it became clear that it was very wise for them to step back and see what would come out of us rather than directing us," Chong told us about the first network meeting, held in Louisville in late October 2012. "We were told that we could guide and direct the meeting. So, we focused on worship and the election of officers and team leaders."

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