Mow Cop, Biddulph and Congleton Methodist Circuit: Mission in Action


Aims and Objectives of Mission in Action A vision to promote and facilitate missions was given birth in 1994. To put that into effect the organization Mission in Action was established in 2003 and we started the process of setting it up as a registered charity. Our constitution, bank accounts and accountability process are all set up consistent with charity status. Although it was established under the umbrella of Wellspring Methodist Church, Congleton, it is non-denominational, with strong and active international links. The aim of MiA is to promote missions. We firmly believe that every person in every church should be involved in missions. This is not something reserved for a select few. The way this works is by running the MiA programme in churches, explaining God’s view of mission (Biblical Mandate), giving information, encouraging and then assisting the local church and individual members to form links with individual missionaries. We do not simply aim to raise money or work with large organizations. Rather we seek to promote and assist the smaller organizations at grass-roots level, which often get overlooked when money or aid is handed out, leaving these groups to struggle to do a great deal on very small budgets. These groups can range from a small pre-school (catering for 30 children in a squatter camp), to a home based care programme for AIDS patients, or an orphanage for refugee or abandoned children (many with AIDS or other diseases). Our logo depicts the way we seek to assist these various groups. Putting individuals (in the local church) in touch with individual people (the missionary, health worker, teacher, etc), who is providing care for the individual (child, adult, AIDS patient, refugee etc.). Many of our contacts are based in Sub-Saharan Africa, but we aim to expand this as soon as possible. Some of the possibilities are: > children living on the scrap heaps in the Philippines, > child prostitutes in Brazil, and > we are looking at the possibilities of new projects in mainland Asia.

The Launch Event of Mission in Action To achieve the goal of MiA we need to gain access to churches to individuals. The most effective way of doing this is as a result of a ‘ripple effect’ i.e. by word of mouth. A church that has been encouraged by the programme and established new missions and activities or revived existing ones is far more likely to recommend the MiA programme and projects. But how do we get into the first churches? Establishing good and useful links could be a very long, difficult and time-consuming process. And the longer we take to promote these projects, the longer it takes for them to get the help they so desperately need. We feel the time could be much better used. With this in mind we think the way forward is to get people to come to us. How do we do this? We decided that we needed an event of some kind: something different, exciting, interesting and big, catering for as large a group of people as possible. Thus Mission Made Easy came into being and was a day of fun and education for all the family. At the centre was an exhibition of Community Based Projects from around the world, including AIDS care, Health Clinics and job creation in Africa, plus inner city work in Stoke and Manchester. Alongside this we had a strong cast of international speakers who all share the vision of Mission in Action to mobilise the church to get involved in God’s world. The event was opened by Mrs Ann Winterton, member of Parliament for the Congleton Constituency.
The Conference Andy Hawthorne Mission On Your Doorstep Kerry Dixon Making Ripples in your Church Jenny Holtzhausen Beyond the Hollow Eyes Geoff Malan Missionary Survival Each speaker made two presentations on their subject, each bringing a different perspective to mission.	Have Fun and Learn The day was full of opportunities to get involved and have some educational fun. Play football like an African child Experience street table tennis Try carrying a baby on your back Make and donate a card Play some African drums	And also..... Cross Rhythms was there, to let people taste the flavour of the day in the special multi-media room. There was also a chance to win a back stage pass to meet The Tribe in the evening. They are Britain's top Christian band and performed in an open air concert in the park.

'Take my hand' appeal for Mission in Action To give the day focus we needed something that embodies the ethos of MiA. It also needed to be something that will be ongoing and provide a link to the other projects. Take my hand is a simple yet very effective way in which we can raise money not only on the day but also in the future, and promote the projects on an ongoing basis. The staff in different ministries will take the handprints of the children in their care. Each print is designed to have the name, age and location of a child. These are then framed (in the UK) and sold for £5 each. Apart from minimal administration and production costs (transportation, framing, etc.), the money will go back to the specific ministries. We aim over the next 5 years to sell a million handprints, raising a huge amount of money for these ministries. We are working on marketing and sales strategies to achieve this goal.

Sponsorship of Mission in Action The aim is that as much as possible of the money that is raised at the launch event can be passed on directly to the projects. This meant we aimed to fund the actual event from ticket sales (The Tribe Concert) and sponsorship. Further, to ensure we raise as much money as possible, we aimed to create a really professional event, well promoted and thus well attended. Professionalism and good marketing will cost a fair amount, but we felt this would be money well spent as it would provide the high impact necessary to attract the largest possible attendance. To this effect we are sought out at least 20 businesses who would commit to sponsor the event with £250 to help us cover the initial administration and promotional costs. Further sources of sponsorship were also sought. Each company which sponsors the event was acknowledged on all promotional material and on the day.

Mission in Action e-mail: info.mia@btopenworld.com Mission in Action web site Management Board: Rev. G.P. Malan (South Africa), J.D. Band, G.R. Butler, A. Lewis, J.K. Lewis.