The centennial of Church of God World Missions is an excellent time for the local church to rally around its part in 100 years of missions. Whether your church members have gone on missions trips or raised support for missionaries or projects, each and every congregation has a purpose to celebrate. There are a lot of great ideas that can bring the whole church together in observance of the Centennial.
Celebration for the Centennial can start immediately with a focus each Sunday on a country or missionary. Expatriates in the church can talk about the country of their origin, and Centennial-focused sermons and pre-worship countdowns can serve as reminders. Dramatic reenactments in the history of World Missions, or perhaps church members could dress in 1910-period styles, singing songs of the early part of the century.
This may be an opportunity to raise support for World Missions and the missionaries who are ministering all around the globe. The church could hold a Foreign Currency Sunday, where members bring all of their leftover money from overseas trips. This money could be put in a container designated as an offering towards World Missions. Church members could also write birthday cards with an offering, or perhaps send thank you cards to missionaries.
As the first mission field was in the Bahamas, another idea is to have a Bahamian-inspired meal, where church members bring Caribbean dishes. This could be a commemorative meal where discussions about the past, present and future of missions would take place. The church could also sponsor a Bahamas missions trip for church members, or raise funds to send the pastor or local missions representative to the January celebration.
The church may also want to plan a memorial in honor of 100 years of missions. This could take the form of a plaque or even the planting of a Centennial tree. Another idea would be to make a time capsule to be opened in the next 100 years, filled with objects from individual missions trips.
There are many ways to observe this milestone in Church of God history; perhaps your church has even better ideas to make the Centennial very personal to the congregation. This is a time for the church to look back and commemorate what has been done, but to also look to the future and see what is still to come.
For more information, visit the new World Missions Centennial website at www.wmcentennial.org.
© 2009 Church of God World Missions