McLean Presbyterian Church supports in prayer and with finances approximately sixty individuals and ministry organizations. On this page you will find access to information about each of them, from a ministry highlight of one missionary, to a brief overview of updates from several missions partners, to a downloadable directory that contains information on all of our missions partners.
Each week throughout the year, one of our missionaries is the center of focus for prayer as the “Missionary of the Week.” We encourage you to get to know this missionary better by reading the information below and join us in praying for our missionaries, their families, and their mission field.
Once per month a volunteer compiles notes from our missions partners’ recent correspondence to give us an overview of their ministry. These are mostly prayer points to help us connect with our partners in a relevant and dynamic way. Please review these “Notes from the Field” to keep current with our missions partners and lift them in prayer.
Our “Prayer Diary” is a complete list of our official missions partners. It includes a brief overview of each partner, contact information, a photo, and general prayer requests for each ministry. The diary is divided into 31 ‘days’ so that it can function as a prayer guide for individuals or families who would like to pray through it on a regular basis. The file can be downloaded or viewed online and hard copies of the guide are available at our Information Center in the Tower Entrance. The Prayer Diary is updated annually.
For more information, contact Vanessa Oliver, Missions Coordinator, at 703.394.0590 or missions@mcleanpres.org.
Bethany Presbyterian Church
Bethany Presbyterian Church will welcome a visit this year from MPC’s “Un’Belize’able” student ministry mission team. This is the fifth year of MPC’s partnership with Pastor Rafael Ku and the church in Santa Elena, Belize. Breakthrough Student Ministry will send a missions team of 15 high school students, 1 college student leader, and 4 adults from July 12-19, 2009. Last year over 100 children came to daily Vacation Bible School for games, crafts, songs and scripture lessons. Local adolescents came for soccer, basketball and testimonies of God’s goodness. MPC kids helped to repair a fence, install gutters and a flagpole, paint a church ceiling and perform many other useful tasks around the church/pre-school building and its property. The team also participated in home evangelism and elderly home visits. This year’s team will continue to minister through manual labor, elderly home and home evangelism visits, VBS and youth outreach activities. Pray for the ongoing partnership between Bethany and MPC. May the Lord keep using it for his glory and the growth of his Kingdom. May he continue to work in the hearts of students, parents and young ones here in America and in Belize.
Chris and Zhenya Bear (Mission to the World, church planting in England). Chris is working with a South African pastor to plant an English-speaking congregation spin-off from an existing church for South Africans. Also, Zhenya is expecting their second son on April 19.
Mission to North America (MNA) (The Presbyterian Church in America – PCA – mission board that focuses on North America). MNA African American Coordinator Wy Plummer requests prayers on several fronts. He asks for prayer for three new Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) ministers – Elbert McGowen at Jackson State University, Omari Hill as he raises support, and Roy Hubbard who wishes to start a ministry at Tugaloo College. Wy is helping congregations in Memphis, Birmingham, and Knoxville find new pastors. Also, Wy requests prayer that God would provide church planters and leaders for church planting opportunities in Annapolis, Memphis, and Washington, DC.
Lois Ooms (Mission to the World, health ministries in Africa). While Lois has turned over much of her health work in Africa to nationals there, she still gets an opportunity to travel and work in the continent she loves. She particularly asks for prayer for a workshop she will lead on March 12 in Madagascar, a Gospel-resistant country.
Steve and Sandy Smallman (Leadership and Ministry Preparation, Philadelphia). Steve reports, “One of the other hats I wear is to serve on the Session of a mission here in Philadelphia called Rock of Israel. It was started to reach out to Russian Jews who have immigrated to the area, but most of the converts have actually been people from Muslim backgrounds who were drawn by the Russian-speaking pastor (who has now moved on to ministry in Israel). Just the other day I was asked to meet with Fred Klett, the present pastor, to hear the testimony of Azamat, a man from one of the Central Asian republics. Azamat was brought to faith in Christ through the witness of Ulan, a fellow countryman and future elder of Rock of Israel.” Go figure.
JG and Daryl Zoellner (Mission to North America in Montreal). JG and Daryl praise God for the increase in diaconal ministry in the church plants with which they work. They cite food distribution efforts among immigrants and among homeless men and women.
Dennis and Judy (Mission to the World in a closed country). Dennis and Judy are in Philadelphia while on Home Ministry Assignment (HMA). Their ministry is likely to change in the near term as their mission board, Mission to the World (MTW) will probably ask them to stay stateside and coordinate transition of ministry leadership to nationals. However, in order to do this, Dennis and Judy will need to continue on support and their support level is only 72% of their budgeted expenses.
Tat and Patty (World Witness with focus on Iran). Tat and Patty report, “Almost weekly, I receive reports of believers being arrested and charged with apostasy, which now carries the death penalty. And yet with the growing price to be paid by those who convert to Christianity, we see an ever-intensifying interest in the Person and work of Jesus.” Tat reports on several projects in which he is involved. He is moving forward with an attempt to establish an Internet seminary in the Reformed tradition for the Persian-speaking world; he has forged a partnership with the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) and they will establish a board of directors in March. Also, he has begun shooting the third series of discipleship programs for satellite broadcast for the Persian world. This series, focusing on youth, will be set in a coffee shop where he meets weekly to hold a Bible study with two young couples. Secular Iranian Television as well as SAT-7 PARS will then broadcast these programs.
Tom and Lisa (Mission to the World in a closed country). Tom was deeply moved by training he received in January. He was challenged to be bolder in communicating the Gospel to Muslims around the world. Since that training, he has been in communication with people he knows in Northern Africa. He requests prayer for boldness and for opportunities.