Missions at Sycamore

Missions: A Strategic Approach
By Jim Deady

Sycamore Presbyterian Church has a rich history of Missions. Prior to my joining Sycamore in 2003 (see Article – History of Missions at Sycamore Presbyterian Church), the almost laser selection of Missionaries was primarily those Missionaries who had a strong education component in their calling and execution. Notwithstanding the ever-expanding circle of Missionary benevolences stretched an already thin budget to its limit. To the extent that in 2004 and beyond the Missions Committee began to examine our goals and objectives. It was determined that the budget allocations were indeed ‘a mile wide and an inch deep’ to the recipient Missionaries. In addition it was duly noted that those in the Sycamore congregation who were involved in Missions were scant and the same few participants were perpetuating the few activities that were taking place.

Hence, in 2004, Dean Luckenbaugh (his job took him away from Sycamore in 2008) and Milum Livesay (now at Evergreen church plant in Powhatan) formulated a strategic plan for Missions at Sycamore in early 2008. This plan addressed the above concerns of: 1) Our Missions efforts were only surface efforts and do not have the depth to form substantive relationship going forward and 2) Only a few die-hard members were sustaining Missions efforts while the congregation at large was largely uninvolved.

The final touches of the newly-established Missions strategic plan was drafted and presented to the Session in mid-2008 where it was approved in principle. From there the Missions Committee spent the Missions year from September, 2008 to August, 2009 selecting what are called ‘Foundational Missions’, based on the following vision: 1) This plan would follow the Biblical mandate found in Psalm 67:1-2 and Isaiah 61:1-2, 11, 2) Jesus was the ‘Sent One’ found in John 3:17, 3) This plan would be Incarnational, Servant-focused and Sacrificial and 4) This plan would follow Christ’s mandate found in Matthew 28:18-20, ‘To make disciples…’

Every phase of the ‘Foundational Missions’ selection process was bathed in prayer with t the following goals as our objectives: 1) Stimulate participation in missionary activities, 2) To more actively support and nurture our Missionaries, 3) To effect this deeper support through prayer, finances and ongoing encouragement, 4) To encourage maximum involvement of the Sycamore church body in short-term Missions and 5) To send additional Sycamore members into full-time service.

In August of 2009, the Missions Committee unanimously voted to make: Elijah House – a school for at risk students (located at Richmond Outreach Center) and our own English as a Second Language program (started by former member, Wanda Nobel, who has subsequently moved to Georgia where her husband took another job) the LOCAL Foundational Missions. Further, the MC made: Our Ukraine Mission (led by long-time members of Sycamore and long-term missionaries to the Ukraine) and Equipping Leaders International – a global outreach to teach third-world pastors, educators, governmental officials and business men and women Christ centered principles of life and marriage (led by Don Mountan, a long-time friend of Sycamore) and (most recently, his son, Marc Mountan, a former member of Sycamore and now a member of Spring Run church plant) as the CROSS CULTURAL Foundational Missions.

The Missions Committee is hard at work formulating exciting plans to become more fully engaged with all of these Missions activities and to have these plans implemented (see article on short term Missions Trip to Sycamore by Ukrainians in the Summer, ’10) as early as the first months of ’10. The MC will present the suggested long-term plans with budgets for all of the Foundational Missions to the Session in June or July of ‘10 for approval and implementation.

If you have any questions or an interest in becoming more involved in Missions at Sycamore, call Jim Deady (804) 643-4011 (D) or (804) 794-6252 (N)