
Early Congregationalists took God's call to mission
seriously. The most notable missionary to the American Indians was
John Eliot, a teacher at the church in Roxbury, Massachusetts. He
learned the native American languages and eventually founded
fourteen communities of praying Native Americans.
In 1806, several Congregational divinity students were caught in
a summer thunderstorm and took refuge under a nearby haystack. As
they waited for the storm to pass, they talked about the need for
foreign missions, and each pledged his life to the foreign mission
field. Four years after this Haystack Meeting, Congregationalists
formed the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.
The present Missionary Society was established in 1954. In 1961,
it became a division of the Corporation for the National Association
of Congregational Christian Churches.
The Missionary Society strives to select projects that are
Congregational Christian in faith and polity. The
missionaries currently supported are listed above. Click on
the names to get more information on each one. Overall, this program
of Christian missions is becoming more holistic, ministering to the
needs of the whole person; the spiritual, the physical, and the
relational. All missions are under regular review and evaluation.
The needs are genuine, and the projects are worthy of your prayerful
and generous support.
Your gift to the Missionary Society goes directly, dollar for
dollar, to the work on the mission fields. Nothing is withheld for
administrative purposes. Your National Association works for you in
this regard, giving basic office support to the missions program
through the national office. The Missionary Society also has its own
administrative fund so that every dollar given to missions goes to
missions.
Internationally, all of our projects are led by indigenous missionaries. These nationals know the language and culture from
birth, saving the expense of extensive travel and years of
specialized training. They serve more effectively, and at a fraction
of the cost, than foreign missionaries who might come from abroad.
We believe that our Association offers a balanced missions
program worthy of your support. You may designate gifts to a
specific mission if you wish. Please also remember that the
Missionary Society needs undesignated gifts that can be used where
most needed.
As you plan your mission giving, or as your Church prepares its
budget for global ministries, we are happy to provide information of
timely or urgent needs both at home and abroad. Please contact
the members of the Missionary Society or the National Office for
assistance.
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