Boldly Going
The ARP church has a long, proud history of boldness in missions. In 1819, our Synod sent John Taylor Pressly on an eight-week horseback journey of over 900 miles throughout the southeast States, as the first home-mission effort. In 1875, the Synod sent Mary Galloway Giffen, by boat, on a 3,000-mile journey to Egypt, as our first foreign-mission effort. These bold mission movements eventually birthed the rapid growth of our denomination, nationally and globally.
This year, World Witness celebrates its 150th anniversary of sending out our first missionary! In modeling Mary Galloway Giffen’s bold efforts, our theme is “Bold Beginnings, Bold Future.” The pinnacle of this celebration will be at the General Synod this summer.
Ms. Giffen served in Egypt and is buried there today. Her life would go on to inspire Rev. Neil Pressly to begin church planting in Mexico and Ms. Minnie Alexander to start evangelism efforts in a territory of India that,today, is Pakistan.
While Mary’s work in Africa seems like a distant memory, God wastes nothing in His economy as World Witness begins to come full circle by returning to Africa to train and mobilize pastors in church planting and evangelizing among unreached peoples. Why Africa?
Not long ago, a prominent mission network leader told a group of mission agency CEOs, “You need to get to Nigeria.” Nigeria, like much of Africa, is experiencing a population growth of unbelievable proportion as it becomes wealthier through the advancement of technology and natural resources. Militant Islam is equally on the rise there. Nigeria mirrors much of the growth of Africa, as the continent sees new wealth and new wars of faith spreading like wildfire. Conclusion? We need to get to Africa, mobilize the African church, and plant new ones! But what will it take to serve in Africa?
In considering her calling, Mary Galloway Giffen reflected on what it would take “to stand upon the threshold of a new and strange life, filled with hardship and self-denial, in a semi-heathen land, that land seven thousand miles away and two oceans rolling between, and only a frail, lonely woman.” She considered it all and went anyway. Talk about bold beginnings.
Furthermore, to commemorate these bold beginnings and plan for the future, World Witness is exploring two new church-planting fields. One likely will be in Africa and a second in Asia. Please pray with us to find the right partners and locations and that the Lord would raise up people in your midst as well.
As we begin celebrating this 150th Anniversary, please pray that, by Synod 2025, the Lord will have laid one person on your heart who, like Mary Galloway, will be part of a bold future in missions.