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Mexico Provides Example of Ministry That Works Well
MEXICO CITY (October 12, 2002) - The continued development of world mission
ministries of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) was the focus of
discussion during a recent meeting of regional coordinators with John
Notehelfer, interim executive minister of the Department of World
Mission;
Glenn Palmberg, ECC president; and Donn Engebretson, executive vice
president.
The accompanying photo shows (from left) Engebretson, Palmberg,
Notehelfer
and missionary Tom Kelly.
Discussions will continue next weekend as the ECC Executive Board and
its
committees meet in Chicago. One of the topics for discussion is the
appropriate form of recognition of Covenant miss
ionaries who work in
ministries operated by other religious groups, missionaries Palmberg
describes as "special assignment" missionaries who are called to a
specific
project, but may not be designated as career or short-term missionaries.
Palmberg expressed his appreciation for the work of Notehelfer, who
assumed
interim leadership of the Department of World Mission September 1
following
the May resignation of Executive Minister Jim Gustafson, who led the
department for four years. Notehelfer, who grew up in a missionary
family
in Japan, has participated in and has advocated on behalf of world
mission
ministries while serving as a pastor and as superintendent for the
Pacific
Southwest Conference. His pastoral ministry to missionaries on the field
and his understanding of world mission are much appreciated, Palmberg
said.
"John Notehelfer is exceeding my expectations, and knowing John (when
the
two served as conference superintendents more than a decade ago), my
expectations were high," said Palmberg. "I expected him to do a good job
as
an interim, but he has done far more than one would expect as an
interim.
He is providing leadership and has been innovative in gathering data on
what we're doing. I think this is clearly a call on his life for this
year
and his wife, Miriam, has also been fully involved and fully engaged in
the
things that he's leading.
"He has been very well received by the missionaries and it's a delight
to
see the way he has taken charge," Palmberg continued. "I'm most
impressed
both with the level of his involvement and the competency in which he
has
done it."
After leaving Mexico City, Palmberg traveled to Oaxaca to meet with
missionaries and see the community development work being done there. He
attended a Sunday night worship service in nearby Guardado as Notehelfer
preached. Activities also included a visit to an archaeological dig site
and sampling foods common to the culture, including roasted grasshoppers
called chapulines. Palmberg wryly noted that he came away with some food
for thought as well, praising the rich work of missionaries in an
impoverished environment.
"It was real clear that this mission area is a great example of
evangelism
and compassion being integrated," he said. "We have a great staff of
missionaries who have a great understanding of how to do ministry work
that
can be helpful for the long term and not create dependency that's
unhealthy."
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