Mission Yearbook: Presbyterian Youth Workers Association gathers in person for the first time since 2015

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Last week, the Presbyterian Youth Workers Association held its first in-person gathering since 2015. (contributed photo).

“Come to the waters with your full authentic selves and know that it is the Lord who has brought us here,” preached the Rev. Dr. Kathryn Threadgill, vice president of Student Formation and Campus Culture at Columbia Theological Seminary, during the opening worship of the Presbyterian Youth Workers Association (PYWA) Gathering. Her words set the tone for a time of renewal, connection and inspiration for youth workers from across the country.

Held at Christ Presbyterian Church in Carlsbad, California, the 2025 PYWA Gathering marked the first in-person event for the association since 2015, when youth workers last met at Zephyr Point Camp and Conference Center at Lake Tahoe. The theme, “Come to the Water,” invited attendees to reflect on their callings and find rest in the presence of God.

Threadgill preached two sermons during the event, one on Monday evening and another on Tuesday morning. Her messages drew from John 21:6–14, where the risen Christ meets his disciples on the shore and invites them to breakfast. “Christ met them in these waters and transformed their stories,” Threadgill said. “The wonder of Christ’s living water is not through with any of our stories yet.”

Threadgill shared deeply personal stories from her ministry, including a transformative encounter with a 14-year-old girl named Stella at a refugee school in Kenya. “She told me how she had nursed her mother as she died of AIDS and promised to fulfill the call God had placed on her life,” Threadgill recalled. “She looked at me and said, ‘My life belongs to Christ, and I’m made for so much more than just this.’”

That moment, Threadgill said, taught her what it meant to “float in the living water that only Jesus Christ can provide.” She later helped Stella find a safe home, and today Stella has a family of her own and continues to live out her calling. “Christ is not finished with any of us yet,” Threadgill reminded the gathered youth workers.

The gathering was organized by PYWA co-moderators the Rev. Eileen VanGieson and Oliver Page with support from board members, including treasurer and historian the Rev. Tully Fletcher, secretary Kate Satterstrom, and the Rev. Kiersten Hill, a former board member.

The Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, a Moderator of the 218th General Assembly (2008) and the author of six books, was the keynote speaker for the conference. Each attendee received a copy of Reyes-Chow’s latest book, thanks to the sponsorship from the Presbyterian Foundation.

Other sponsors included the Presbyterian Youth Triennium office of the PC(USA), the Presbytery of San Diego, and Christ Presbyterian Church. The gathering featured workshops, soul care sessions, and worship led by musician Morgan Cunningham and her band. PYWA is also part of the Christian Formation Collective with the Office of Christian Formation of the PC(USA).

Threadgill’s sermon continued the theme of transformation through water, reminding youth workers that “the wonder of these waters gives drink to the thirsty who seek after him.” She urged attendees to reflect on their own stories and the ways Christ meets them in their ministries. “How will Christ break into our stories and take our breath away only to give us breath back in new and transformative ways?” she asked.

As youth workers returned to their communities, Threadgill left them with a hopeful charge: “Christ is still writing our stories for good and for transformation and restoration of the world and for all who thirst.” 

Beth Waltemath, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Life & Witness (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Lisett Cruz, Administrative Assistant, Organizational Planning & Operations, Presbyterian Life & Witness
Jayne Culp, Lead, Operations Support, Organizational Planning & Operations, Presbyterian Life & Witness

Let us pray:

God, help us to discern your presence in all Creation, from the smallest creatures to the great inhabitants of the seas and the birds that fill the skies. Inspire us once again to be caretakers of your holy garden. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Make plans for your church’s planned giving program

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The Presbyterian Foundation's Karl Mattison spoke last month during a workshop at Stewardship Kaleidoscope. (photo by Gregg Brekke)

It’s a heavy task to talk to church members about how they want to be remembered when they die and if they want to include the church in their estate planning — but it’s a conversation many people want to have to give their end-of-life plans structure and legacy.

Karl Mattison serves the Presbyterian Foundation as the vice president of Planned Giving Resources and of the Planned Giving Navigator Program. He recently shared his experience as a banker and Foundation leader in a workshop at Stewardship Kaleidoscope 2025 in New Orleans. The annual conference was presented by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Using strong graphics and research, Mattison countered common perceptions about generations and their giving.

Planned giving is the process of donating planned gifts, also known as legacy gifts, which are arranged now but distributed at a future date. Commonly donated through a will or trust, planned gifts are usually granted when a donor passes away.

“This is the greatest gift I ever will make,” he said. “One day, we’re all going to die. Estate planning is us saying what means so much to me, that I care so much about, that I lie awake and I worry … is my most transformational gift.”

For most households, about 5% of total assets are in a form that’s readily available to spend on everyday purchases or charitable giving. The other 95% of assets are tied up in savings, investments, in home value, automobiles, furnishings we live with and the IRA we can’t tap until a certain age.

“One day, every single one of us will be finished with all of that remaining 95%,” he said, which is when planned giving comes into play.

Mattison suggested that Presbyterian churches aim their planned giving program for people ages 45 to 65 as this is the time when most planned givers write their first planned gift. Don’t wait until they are in their 80s, he said, because by then they’ve made a will, decided how to allocate their estate and you likely will be too late.

Studies show that only about 5% of people leave a bequest to any charitable cause — but 28% would take that step if they were asked or reminded.

Another fact: Planned gifts average about 2.74 times a person’s lifetime annual giving.

And it is a common fear of the church that members planning a gift will decrease the amount they give annually. Not true, Mattison said. Planned giving doesn’t harm annual giving. In fact, annual giving often goes up 75% after someone makes a planned gift.

If your church doesn’t already have a program in place to talk to members about planned giving, Mattison shared these key points:

• A planned gift most often is the person’s largest gift of their life
• Givers are younger than we expect
• More churches are receiving planned gifts
• Planned giving is the only revenue category increasing in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
• Planned giving increases annual giving
• For most churches, planned giving is a relatively untapped way to help people connect the now to the forever with their church.

In the face of those opportunities, though, churches face increasing competition for charitable dollars, he said. Most universities have entire departments dedicated to contacting alumni to ask them to include the school in their estate planning.

In most churches, “our tactics have not changed from when there was no competition and when we were younger and simpler,” Mattison said. “Churches’ competitive advantage is having our audience meet within our walls every week.”

He recommended the stewardship team make an annual plan with regularly spaced messages that won’t overwhelm or annoy the audience. It should include:

• Twelve blurbs shared monthly in the bulletin, emails or social media about the benefits and ease of creating a planned gift
• Four short articles about the process and how the church or Presbyterian Foundation can help
• Two announcements about special events or small group meetings for more information
• One Legacy Sunday, typically in May, for detailed sharing about planned giving and how it relates to the donor’s legacy.
• And always — always — have planned giving information on the church website and in printed brochures. 

John C. Williams for the Presbyterian Foundation Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Neema Cyrus-Franklin, Project Coordinator, Around the Table, Leadership Formation-Christian Formation, Presbyterian Life & Witness
April Davenport, Legal and Risk Management, Administrative Services Group                                 

Let us pray:

God, fill our hearts with courage to live with hope in a sometimes hopeless-feeling world. Revitalize your church so that many people might see a new dawn! Amen.

Minute for Mission: International Day of Farmers’ Struggles

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Don Abel López holds a pumpkin. (Photo courtesy of CERDET)

April 17 marks the International Day of Farmer and Peasant Struggles.[i] It is a day when we recognize the sacrifices of smallholder producer farmers who tend the garden and nourish the world. 

Centro de Estudios Regionales para el Desarrollo de Tarija (CERDET), a partner of the Presbyterian Hunger Program, founded in 1989, is a regional NGO that works alongside Indigenous and peasant communities in the Gran Chaco region to defend human rights and provide legal, technical and social support. Through close partnerships with local organizations, it focuses on strengthening community leadership, gender equity, food security and climate resilience.

Its work includes securing land rights, supporting sustainable and agroecological livelihoods, improving access to water and food, and empowering women and youth. CERDET also helps communities build democratic governance, develop local economies, and respond to violence and environmental challenges.

Don Abel López, 74 years old, is the leader of the Weenhayek Indigenous community of Los Pozos, located in the far south of Bolivia, near the border with Argentina. He lives in the Gran Chaco region, where summer temperatures reach 44°C, the soils are sandy, and rainwater is scarce, making agricultural activities extremely difficult.

These Indigenous people, numbering fewer than 6,000 in Bolivia, dedicate six months of the year to fishing in the Pilcomayo River during autumn and winter — a season they consider the time of abundance, as it allows them to sell fish and generate income. The other six months, the hottest of the year, are the hardest for the survival of these families, who turn to harvesting honey from the forest, making handicrafts and gathering wild fruits.

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The family of Don Abel López farming together. (Photo courtesy of CERDET)

Don Abel is one of the few community leaders who has continued the practices of growing corn, squash, watermelons and some vegetables during the rainy season. Through his efforts, he is gradually motivating and encouraging his children and grandchildren to learn how to grow food during the most difficult time of the year. With the support of CERDET through projects backed by Dutch Protestant churches and the Presbyterian Hunger Program from the United States, these Indigenous families are applying agroecological techniques and progressively improving their food security, while also encouraging other families to take up agriculture. 

He says: “We are producing healthy food without using agrochemicals, and I am happy that my grandchildren help me and want to learn how to grow watermelons and vegetables.”

Since 1996, in memory of the massacre of 19 Brazilian landless peasants who were brutally assassinated, the Via Campesina, an international peasants’ movement, has declared April 17 to be the International Day of Farmer and Peasant Struggles, a day for recognizing the struggles of smallholder food producers globally and organizing actions in support of food sovereignty and food justice.

Guido Cortez Franco, the Chief Executive Officer for Centro de Estudios Regionales para el Desarrollo de Tarija (Cerdet)

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff:

Barry Creech, Senior Director, Denominational Identity & Formation, Presbyterian Life & Witness
Freddy Cruz, Program Assistant, Financial Planning, Organizational Planning and Operations, Presbyterian Life & Witness

Let us pray:

Creator, we pray today for the farmers and families of CERDET, who care for their lands in the Chaco with resilience, wisdom and deep love for their communities. We give thanks for their commitment to nourishing their people and protecting their territories. We pray for a world where Indigenous and peasant farmers can live with dignity, with secure land, access to water, and the ability to sustain their livelihoods in harmony with creation. Strengthen the leadership of women and young people, and uplift their voices in shaping a just and hopeful future. We pray for protection from violence, for justice where rights have been denied, and for healing in communities that have endured hardship. May all who work the land experience peace, security and your sustaining grace. Amen.

Supporting Children at Risk, Youth and Young Adults through PC(USA) Special Offerings

You Can Receive a Portion of the Christmas Joy Offering on Pentecost! Even though the Pentecost Offering has been sunset through an action of the 226th General Assembly (2024), the ministries of children at risk, youth and young adults are still supported by the Churchwide Special Offerings, under the umbrella of the Christmas Joy Offering. Did you know that an Offering can be received at any time of the year? If your congregation was passionate about supporting the Pentecost Offering, consider receiving a portion of the Christmas Joy Offering this Pentecost Sunday to honor its legacy. Learn more about the Christmas Joy Offering and the causes it supports — children at risk, youth and young adults, leadership development for people of color, Presbyterian-related schools and colleges equipping communities of color, and servants of the church in need (through the Board of Pensions) — at the link below. Learn about Christmas Joy Offering As always, we are here to help. Let us know if you have any questions. Our contact information is below.  Thank you for generously supporting the Churchwide Special offerings.  If you have any questions, reply to this email or call us at (800) 728-7228, Ext. 5047.

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Churchwide Special Offerings Email Update

Update your Preferences for Special Offerings With the new menu of Churchwide Special Offerings approved by the 226th General Assembly (2024), moving from four to three Offerings, we would like you to update your email preferences. This will ensure you receive the information you need for your interpretation and promotion of the Special Offerings. Why should I update my preferences? Updating your email preferences is the best way to be sure you receive the information, resources, and impact of the Offerings around the world. How do I do this? It’s three easy steps Click the link to update your preferences.  You will see a screen that looks like this: Go to your inbox and find the email with the subject line Special Offerings Update Profile. Check your spam or junk folder if you don’t see the email in your inbox. Click the “Update your Preferences” link in the email. . Then answer the following two questions and hit the Update Preferences button. That is it! You should get a confirmation message on your screen to confirm your preferences. You can also update your email preferences at any time. Simply click the preferences link at the bottom of one of our emails. Thank you for taking the time to let us know how we can continue to support you as you interpret the Special Offerings and answer the prophet Micah’s call “to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.” We are the Church. Together. Thank you for generously supporting the Churchwide Special offerings.  If you have any questions, reply to this email or call us at (800) 728-7228, Ext. 5047.

If this email was forwarded to you, sign up for our list.  Copyright © 2026 Special Offerings, All rights reserved.

Mission Yearbook: Marketing can help with selling stewardship

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Carson Brown spoke last month during the opening day of Stewardship Kaleidoscope. (photo by Gregg Brekke)

Finding ways to link your congregation to stewardship requires a marketing lens to “sell” stewardship as an essential element of the Presbyterian experience, and that “support must be earned, it cannot be expected,” speaker Carson Brown said at Stewardship Kaleidoscope.

“How focused are we on selling what we’re doing to the people within our congregation?” Brown asked on the opening day of the Presbyterian Foundation’s Stewardship Kaleidoscope 2025 in New Orleans. The annual conference was presented by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Brown is a graduate of Florida Gulf Coast University with a bachelor’s degree in communication and is pursuing a Master of Divinity degree from Fuller Theological Seminary.  He serves as a pastoral resident at First Presbyterian Church in Bonita Springs, Florida.

“Why is marketing important? Why do we need to sell stewardship? Many of us come from generations where it’s just an expectation that people are going to give — not just on Sunday mornings but when their pledge envelopes roll around,” he said.

“We’ve always been able to reliably count on people to come into church and feel a sense of obligation to contribute to the mission of that church through their time, talent and especially their treasures,” Brown said.

The reality, though, is that churches compete for donations with dozens or hundreds of other organizations, many of which use comprehensive marketing tools to reach their audiences. Calls by the church for financial support faces challenges from families’ schools, nonprofit clubs such as the local theater or symphony, and other groups.

The youngest generations, teens and young adults, have a strong distrust of organizations, research shows. Gen Z tends to see society as becoming less generous. Their own levels of giving support that — but they also outshine all other generations in terms of volunteering their time to organizations.

Further, post-Covid, as more and more people decide to stay away from attending church services, why would you not expect giving to decrease as well?

Brown’s tips for selling stewardship apply equally to “selling” the church experience in general:

All marketing is communicating

Identify and clearly understand campaign principles, goals and objectives.

Develop a strategy for plainly and meaningfully communicating these things

Never assume knowledge!

Never expect even what’s plainly obvious — try to inform the congregation about church needs and how they’ll be addressed, instead of expecting people to know.

For the Boomer generation, Facebook is an excellent tool to share church news. For social media campaigns, use a good mix of cellphone videos, testimonials, info-graphics and simple calls-to-action to keep the page active.

Interestingly, people under age 45 might prefer to receive church news and stewardship promotions through the mail — because they grew up not receiving a lot of handwritten notes, letters and cards, Brown said. For printed materials, there are several easy-to-use graphic programs such as Canva that help design flyers, information cards and other marketing materials.

Still, face-to-face visits typically are most effective when it comes to sharing the church’s needs and stewardship opportunities. For smaller churches with perhaps 500 or fewer active members, in-person visits can be a great tool — but might be impractical for larger churches, he said.

Finally, when communicating with church members and the community about what’s going on, including stewardship opportunities, Brown recommends going back to the basics of logos, ethos, pathos: Use logic and what makes sense; appeal to people’s sense of what’s right; and appeal to feelings and passion.

John C. Williams for the Presbyterian Foundation (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Amanda Craft, Manager, Immigration Advocacy, Mid Council Ministries, Presbyterian Life & Witness
Octavia Craig, Treasury Assistant, Treasury Office & Central Receiving Services, Administrative Services Group 

Let us pray:

Lord Jesus, thank you for inviting all of us to participate in your mission. Guide our congregations as we disciple giving them opportunities to see your work in and through them in the world. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Sermon calls for witness from the margins

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During worship Sunday ahead of the World Communion of Reformed Churches' 27th Council, worshipers joined hands in a sign of unity. (Photo by Rick Jones)

Ahead of the start of the 27th General Council of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, the Rev. Dr. Setri Nyomi preached on “Witnessing from the Margins,” exploring powerful biblical accounts on healing from 2 Kings found here and here and the Gospel of Luke.

“The Scriptures read today show God’s preference for people at the margins,” said Nyomi, the WCRC’s Interim General Secretary.

In the account of Naaman’s healing, the enslaved girl who connected Naaman to the healing he will receive isn’t even identified, but “she had light in her,” Nyomi said, “and she didn’t want to hide it.”

Naaman and his entourage headed to the palace, but “the solution was not in the corridors of power,” Nyomi noted. Instead, the military commander is told by Elisha’s messenger to wash in the Jordan River seven times to restore his flesh. Naaman is outraged, preferring the healing powers of more familiar Syrian rivers instead. Then his unnamed servants tell him, “Why don’t you at least try?”

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The Rev. Dr. Setri Nyomi, Interim General Secretary of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, preaches on Sunday ahead of the 27th General Council. (photo by Rick Jones)

“The result was healing,” Nyomi said. “Naaman realizes there is a God above all gods. The servants provided an alternate solution,” suggesting to Naaman that “relying on the corridors of power is not as helpful as you think it will be.”

“As those who wield power think they can annihilate a whole nation of people” while “the rest of the world looks on, where are the prophets and the witnesses from the margins?” Nyomi asked. “This account tells us God’s choice is these witnesses from the margins. Our choice is to be a witness wherever we find ourselves to be.”

In Luke’s report on the healing of 10 men with a skin disease, only one — a foreigner — returns to praise God with a loud voice and to fall at Jesus’ feet to thank him. “His priority was to come back in faith and gratitude,” Nyomi said. “Being faithful is always connected to gratitude to God.”

Even today, many people remain on the margins — of communities “and even in our churches,” Nyomi said. “The message that God cares for us no matter who we are is a message not everyone in the church wants to identify with” because “those in the corridors of power are saying something else: kick out all those aliens who are not of our kind.”

Like Naaman’s servants who urged him to “do the simple thing, we are the alternate voice in such a time as this, and we will not stay quiet,” Nyomi said. “We are called to be witnesses from the margins, and part of that call is to express gratitude to God for the calling God has given us and the privilege we have to be God’s witnesses.”

“The question is, are we ready?”

A pair of pastors, the Rev. Chelsea Lampen, co-pastor of the Reformed English Language International Service (RELISH) in Hannover, Germany, and the Rev. Dr. Jessica Hetherington of the Global Institute of Theology, led the liturgy during the worship service, held at the Empress Hotel Convention Center. Worshipers had the opportunity to learn and rehearse the theme song for the 27th General Council, “Persevere in Your Witness.” Scripture passages were presented in the native language of the person reading them.

The hymns for the day, including “We are Marching in the Light of God,” were sung in multiple languages. When those in worship prayed the Lord’s Prayer and recited the Apostles’ Creed, they joined together by offering both in their native tongues. The result was a beautiful blend of energy and cacophony.

“My friends, go in grace, persevering in your faith and your witness,” Nyomi said during his benediction. “May the blessing of God, our Creator and Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit be with you now and forever more.”

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Amalia Cottrell, Archives Technician, Presbyterian Historical Society, Presbyterian Life & Witness
Emily Cowser, Apprentice, 1001 New Worshiping Communities, Presbyterian Life & Witness               

Let us pray:

Lord, we thank you for the privilege of being able to support your mission here and around the world. Give us the wisdom daily to do your work. Amen.