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Overseas Mission Support

Matthew 28:19-20

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Overseas Mission Support Team (OMST)

See Whos Who in the St John the Baptist OMST.

Chair Keith Bateson

Liz Tilley

Helen McCommick

Kate Wyles

Ian Young

Purpose

The PCC has an Overseas Ministries Support Team because of its responsibility under God to encourage and sacrificially support overseas mission—in partnership with local churches in the relevant countries.

We support mission partners by prayer and finance. These may be UK people working through mission agencies, or local people who have special skills and work in pioneer situations where outside support allows them to devote themselves wholly to their Christian work.

OMST is one of the “official” PCC teams; normally it has six members. Our aim is to encourage missionary support among the church fellowship, both generally and specifically for our own mission partners. We make recommendations to the PCC, especially about financial support.

The team would like the support of anyone with a vision for overseas ministry support – or who would just like to know more. The wider team share news of our partners, about our other mission contacts, enjoy fellowship together, and praying. Mission support is a vital part of God’s Gospel work and we need your prayers and encouragement for all those involved, both here and overseas. Become better informed about this work by borrowing books & literature from our library in the Selwyn Room, staying alert to international affairs, and talking to members of the OMST.

In the Selwyn Room Bookstall there are a number of videos/CD’s and other background material relating to work of OMST. Please make use of this resource and contact any member of OMST if you would like to support this aspect of our ministry.

Partners

Aylings—OMF—Japan

Ruth and Gareth Ayling have worked in Japan since 1977, as members of mission agency OMF which was originally the China Inland Mission and has worked throughout south-east Asia for the last half-century. Their English home is in Leicestershire, in a village quite similar to Wonersh.

Three years out of four they are in Japan, where their role for several years has been to run the mission home at OMF’s Japan Headquarters in Tokyo. Here they provide hospitality and spiritual support to all sorts of people who stay for short times—missionaries from other parts of Japan, visitors from abroad, and lonely people from the nearby church, the Chapel of the Adoration, especially with a group of singles the “Clay Pots”. Ruth and Gareth have four grown-up children and two grandchildren. They were in the UK for their son Nathanael’s wedding and the birth of their third grandchild.

Phanuel Mung’ong’o

Last Summer the Revd Phanuel Mung’ong’o came to the end of his time of study at St John’s theological college, Nottingham. He returned to Tanzania to work in the Provincial Office (the central office for the Anglican Church in Tanzania). Phanuel returned to Nottingham to complete the final stage of his MA and was present to support Liz Tilley at her ordination in July 2007. Phanuel is Director of the Amani Christian Institute, where Liz Tilley taught.

Northways—Crosslinks— Tanzania and Kenya in 2007

As we were looking for new partners to take over from Liz, the Lord led Mary and Noj Northway to us. They are also working with Crosslinks, and also in Tanzania. They are both doctors, and have been developing the mission hospital at Berega Hospital for the last 10 years. An additional tie with Wonersh is that Mary is Malcolm and Brenda Williams daughter. See the article in the November Parish Magazine Introducing Mary and Noj. They have moved, still with Crosslinks, to St Andrew’s School at Turi in Kenya, a Christian boarding school. Noj is the Bursar and Mary the school doctor. Their children are Joe and Sam.

Thompsons—Navigators—Peru

Pete and Debbie Thompson have been working in Trujillo in northern Peru for the last thirteen years. They work with the Navigators, whose style is to focus on building up individual Christians, particularly in Bible study and knowledge. Peru is a different kind of mission field, as the culture is nominally Christian—Roman Catholic—already. Pete and Debbie have been seeking God’s way forward, and have been led into contacts with their children’s Catholic school, where they were invited to nurture groups of parents. They worked with individuals and couples who have come to Christ through their witness before these Catholic contacts developed. Their children are Anna and Anthony, and partly for reasons of their education Pete and Debbie returned to the UK in July 2007. We pray for God’s guidance for them, especially that Pete will find the right job, and that they will be able to continue their Christian ministry.

We shall be aiming to find another partner ready for the Spring 2008, possibly working in Latin America. Please contact Keith if you have any advice.

Tearfund—worldwide

Tearfund is a Christian relief and development agency, staffed by Christians and working through Christian partners overseas. Its work is immensely worthwhile and we have supported it for many years. Our work with Tearfund is co-ordinated for the Parish by David Merritt.

Tulpans—Romania

Their work is pasturing a small church in central Romania. Ema Tulpan has been known to Wonersh church since she spent time staying with Revd Patsy Kettle in 1992. Since then she spent a year studying theology in the USA, completed her studies in Romania at the Baptist University, and met and married Viorel who was training to be a pastor. They now have two small boys, Caleb and Levi, and pastor a small church at Sadu, a town in an ex-mining area of Romania. Romania joined the EU in January 2007 but has about a quarter of the GDP of the rest of Europe. Bringing the gospel to this ex-communist country is a tough challenge, and we are privileged to have a small role in supporting them. The whole family visited us on July 22^nd 2007 and we greatly appreciated their contribution to our services that day..

Charlotte Richards - World Horizons

The Lord led Charlotte into mission work in 1992 with YWAM in Brazil.  He gave her the gift of speaking Portuguese miraculously - she never had to study it!  In 1997 Charlotte joined World Horizons, a mission organisation that focuses on prayer and action with the poorest and most unreached peoples of the world.  WH has about 500 full-time people and works in about 40 countries.  Charlotte is on the Member Care Team and makes frequent pastoral visits to WH personnel in the field, particularly in Asia.  Back at the WH Centre in Wales, Charlotte is involved in the on-going prayer; training courses; and the many events and camps held there.  She also speaks regularly on mission in the UK, particularly in the South East.  (Charlotte is the older daughter of Barry and Chris Goldsmith, members of our fellowship.)    World Horizons focuses on bringing the good news of Christ to places where there is no previous witness. They have missionaries in many parts of the world, often working on their own and with little local Christian support.

Festus Ufulle Ga-aro—Southern Sudan

Festus is a Christian from Southern Sudan, a very troubled area similar to Darfur at present. He was a refugee when we originally met him. We helped him through an MA in Development Studies at Oxford Brookes University, and since then he has been back in the area working as a peacemaker. Because of the difficulties in Southern Sudan he has been based in Nairobi, traveling often to the Sudan. This year he was married to Sellina, who has been doing a community health course in Nairobi. Festus has had to find sponsorship where he could, and has worked with the New Sudan Council of Churches, with the American Refugee Council, and currently with the Mercy Corps. He is an elder in his local Anglican church. The ‘Comprehensive Peace Agreement’ signed two years ago with the Khartoum government is still shaky, and Festus’s work is about creating the kind of civil institutions needed to bring democratic and peaceful government back to the war-torn region. There is a very great deal to be done. Festus’s work base is now at Juba in Southern Sudan, which he described recently as a “ghost town”. It is the town where he grew up and he has not seen it for 20 years. Sellina is still based in Nairobi and they are forced to spend most of their time apart. Ultimately they hope to move back to Juba to live.

OMST Services

Four times a year the church has services focusing on one or other of our mission partners. Generally this applies to both morning and evening services on that Sunday, especially if we are able to have a visit from a partner.

Giving

The Overseas Ministries Support Team also recommends to the PCC how its overseas outward giving should be distributed, representing 2/3rds of our total outward giving. The bulk of the church’s giving goes to our five main partners -

Organisation	Remarks	Gift 2008	Gift 2007	Gift 2006	Gift 2005
OMF	(Aylings		1575	1500	1400
Crosslinks	Was Liz Tilley, now Noj & Mary Northway		1575	1500	1400+604
Navigators	(Thompsons),		1575	1500	1400
Charlotte Richards			1575	1500	1400
Tearfund.			1575 +189	1500 +135	1400+546
Festus			440	420	550+200
Tulpans			655 + 1366	625	600+919
FEBA Missionary Radio (Far Eastern Broadcasting Association),			315	300	350
MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship),			315	300	250
The Bible Society,			315 +150	300	250
Open Doors International			315	300	200
Elam Ministries.			270	255	200
St Johns Nottingham (Phanuel)			-	500
Craig Taylor			135

Special collections were also made which included the Tsunami (4209) and Pakistan Earthquake (403) appeals.

The Usolanga Gift Day July 23rd 2006 raised £7680.

Post Script:-

Liz Tilley—Crosslinks —Tanzania

Liz worked in Tanzania for over 25 years, in teaching and training local clergy. She moved from Kongwa Theological College to Tabora diocese to set up a new Bible College, built from scratch. She moved then to Iringa diocese to teach at Amani Bible College. So she has taught the Bible to hundreds of Tanzanian clergy, to help equip them for their ministries all over the country. In the summer of 2005 Liz retired from overseas work, and we are thrilled that she is now living in Wonersh, and is part of our church’s ministry team.

Blackheath Overseas Mission Support

Blackheath DCC separately financially support:-

Organisation	Remarks	Gift 2008	Gift 2007	Gift 2006	Gift 2005
Tearfund,				130	120
The Leprosy Mission,				130	120
Sightsavers				130	120
Christian Aid.				130	120

Other Overseas Support

Christian Fundraising, Breaks and Gap Year Students

Each year a number of young people from the church do a “gap year” with short-term mission trips both abroad and in the UK. There are also those of more mature years who undertake mission projects or take somewhat shorter breaks. From time to time individuals support various Christian charities or Organizations either directly of by taking part in events requiring sponsorship. The church supports them financially and with prayer.

KFC & Light Factory Support Tearfund

The Children of KFC & Light Factory make regular collections and since 1994 have supported two children, Abel (Philippines) and Tigist (Ethiopia). This support was £600 in 2006 and £400 in 2007.

Nigeria Link

David Merritt is, in addition to being out Tearfund Co-ordinator, our Diocesan Representative for Nigeria Link, managed by Rev David Minns Vicar of Ewhurst.

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