Hot off the (virtual) presses

Right on time for GA225, the 2021 Annual Report of the Presbyterian Mission Agency is now available

by Mike Ferguson | Presbyterian News Service

The Presbyterian Mission Agency’s 2021 Annual Report touches on the highlights of a pivotal year in the life of the agency. (Contributed photo)

LOUISVILLE — Just as Presbyterians are set to gather both in-person and online for the 225^th General Assembly, one more important piece of reading material is now ready for its closeup.

The 2021 Annual Report of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, a 34-page look at some of the agency’s mission and ministry highlights during the second year of the global pandemic, is now available online. Read the report here. Past years’ reports back to 2012 can be found here.

“This work is a direct response to the good news of Jesus and a faithful expression of what it means to be Christ’s disciples in this time and place,” the report says. “As we prayerfully consider where God is calling us as the Presbyterian Mission Agency, our work together will be collaborative, core and essential to deepening the Matthew 25 vision across the Church.”

“As you read through the many stories sharing the good news of God’s love,” the report states, “we hope that you will be inspired to use your gifts and engage in mission in your neighborhoods and communities around the world.”

“While it was difficult to gather in person,” wrote the Rev. Dr. Diane Moffett, president and executive director of the PMA, and the Rev. Warren J. Lesane Jr., PMA Board chair, in a letter, “we saw imaginative ways of engaging communities … We now know that worship is not confined to a building and meetings are not limited to conference rooms. Hearts can be lifted in virtual worship.”

The report touches on new board-approved identity, vision and mission statements, as well as values for the PMA to live by: justice, love, creativity/imagination, humility, Spirit-led and mutuality. “There is no magic pill for what ails us other than Jesus,” said the Rev. Shannan Vance-Ocampo, the board’s co-chair elect. The Stated Clerk (the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II) has told us over and over again we need to be a movement and not an institution, and he’s right.”

The report highlights examples of progress made by churches, groups and mid councils who have accepted the Matthew 25 invitation. It touches on the work of the ministry areas of the PMA: disaster response, advocacy and social justice, peace and reconciliation, global ministries, and communications for the digital age.

It also includes a single-page financial report. For 2021, the PMA received $53.6 million from five sources (contributions; endowments, interest and dividends; sale of resources and special events; per capita; and planned use of/additions to reserve funds) and spent a like number on nine ministry areas: Compassion, Peace & Justice; Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries; Theology, Formation & Evangelism; World Mission; Communications; Mission Engagement & Support; Administrative Services Group; General and Administrative; and Other.