Presbyterian Mission Agency publishes its 2018 report

Annual Report touches on everything from refugees in crisis to new worshiping communities

by Mike Ferguson | Presbyterian News Service

The Presbyterian Mission Agency’s 2018 Annual Report can be found online at www.presbyterianmission.org. Click on “News & Communications” and then “Annual Reports and Financial Information.” (Photo illustration by Jeffrey Lawrence)

LOUISVILLE — Being on Jesus’ side means doing it all, according to the Rev. Dr. Diane Moffett, president and executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, and the Rev. Joe Morrow, PMA board chair. That job description for the agency Moffett leads is among the first phrases found in the 2018 Annual Report of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, which can be found here.

“As we reflect on the past year,” Moffett and Morrow wrote in their letter, “we learn that what determines our faithfulness to God at the end of the day is what we say and do to our neighbor and how we participate or refuse to participate in systems that leave others destitute and in despair.”

That’s at the heart of the PMA’s Matthew 25 invitation, which encourages congregations and mid councils to more actively engage in the world. To date more than 100 churches have said yes to the Matthew 25 invitation.

In the 40 or so pages that follow the letter from Moffett and Morrow, Annual Report readers will find 2018 highlights from the PMA’s four main ministry areas: Compassion, Peace & Justice; Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries; Theology, Formation & Evangelism; and World Mission.

The report concludes with 10 pages on the approximately $62 million used during 2018 for the agency’s mission and ministry — about $16 million for Compassion, Peace and Justice; nearly $7 million for Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries; nearly $8 million for Theology, Formation & Evangelism; and about $20 million for World Mission. Other areas include Communications, Mission Engagement & Support, Shared Services, the Executive Director’s office, and other categories, including insurance.

At the heart of the report are striking photographs depicting Presbyterians in worship and at work, through ministry at the United Nations and advocacy in the nation’s capital, disaster response, Young Adult Volunteers, New Worshiping Communities and the Matthew 25 invitation. The description of each ministry area includes snippets of Presbyterian News Service stories published in 2018.

“The pages of the 2018 Annual Report share the inspirational, connectional and impactful work of the Presbyterian Mission Agency,” said Kathy Francis, the PMA’s senior director of communications. “As the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) embraces the bold vision of Matthew 25, these stories celebrate that call to build congregational vitality, dismantle structural racism and eradicate systemic poverty.”

“We in communications are storytellers, sharing the Good News,” she said. “This annual report is one of the Mission Agency’s vehicles to make this happen.”