Expanding Your Horizons

Ogden Friendship House has a history for expanding the horizons of those who come to share in their ministry whether it is to be on the giving and/or receiving end of the ministry. For those on the receiving end, we may not ever know what the horizons will become for those who come to us often with little hope in their future. However, if there had not been the vision to begin the ministry in Ogden, the church would have missed the opportunity to share the love of Christ with those in the community. Not only have we shared this love in Ogden, but as a congregation we have an expanded horizon with the covenant support of a missionary some place else...first in Nepal, and now right here in Kansas.

The methods of sharing this love have varied over the years and will continue to vary with the needs of the community and the leadership provided by those who feel a part of the ministry and therefore help with the sharing of the love of Christ.

It has been my pleasure to be a part of this leadership for more than half of the life of the ministry in Ogden. The ministry has grown and we have made a great number of strides during this time. As a missionary assigned as Church and Community Worker with the General Board of Global Ministries(GBGM), I have come to know and love a great many people of all ages and backgrounds and in many stages of their lives.

Somewhere in the middle of April, I will be expanding my horizons a bit further. When we have another Church and Community Worker in place as is the request of the Parish Council, I will begin as our South Central Jurisdiction Mission Interpreter In Residence. So my specific horizons will be the boundary of our Jurisdiction...(for those of you that are geographically challenged, that means Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas).

As missionaries, whether in the bounds of the United States or in mission and ministry in other places in the world, we all need to have congregations that we call our covenant congregations in which the congregation covenants to support us financially as well in prayer and other ways as convenient due to location. We on the other hand are to be intentional in sharing with these congregations our mission stories.

So as I go about challenging congregations to be in an active covenant with a missionary, you will hear from me about how I hear and experience mission on a broader horizon. I will be available to speak at mission festivals or fairs, and conference meetings to promote Missionary Support for GBGM missionaries as they are supported by the particular conferences in our jurisdiction. I hope to be able to participate in Mission Celebration Events in the jurisdiction as a way of telling the stories

The ministry of Ogden Friendship House will continue and will need to receive your continued support in the ways that you have been supporting the ministry. New horizons here locally will emerge as well. How you hear the stories from Ogden will be up to the new leadership that comes to be with us.

I will continue to need the covenant support I have for this new horizon for me. The good part for me is that I can remain living where I am as I move about the jurisdiction to be in this new ministry for me. So you can continue to reach me as you have. I expect I have raised a few questions for some of you...so let me know and I will attempt to answer them.

I will be around in Ogden for the next couple months anyway, so don’t make yourselves scarce, stop by and learn what your ministry here in Ogden is all about.

Grace and Peace, Judy Atwood Advance Number #982937