What is WMU?
Woman's Missionary Union in a church is a missions ministry or program that provides awareness and participation opportunities to help a church involve all of its members in the mission of God. It leads a church to experience missions personally through ministry and witness; to develop missions awareness, to support missions work through prayer and giving and to nurture lifestyles that reflect commitment and obedience to the Great Commission.
How does WMU involve people in missions?
The five missions areas that guide WMU in a church are based on biblical concepts of missions. They are:
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Pray for and give to missions. Praying for missions is communication with God on behalf of missions work, the people involved in doing it, and the people that need to know and accept God's redeeming love. Giving to missions is providing financial support of missions work.
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Do missions. Doing missions is ministering and witnessing to extend God's kingdom to all people. To minister means to perform redemptive, loving service for people in the name and spirit of Christ, and to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with another person and giving that person and opportunity to confess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
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Learn about missions. Learning about missions increases a person's awareness and knowledge of missions. It also leads one to explore, with growing understanding, the nature, implications and evidences of God's missionary purpose and to respond to that purpose in personal commitment and obedience.
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Develop spiritually toward a missions lifestyle. People are helped to grow in their understanding to who God is and what He calls them to do related to fulfilling the Great Commission.
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Participate in the work of the church and the denomination. WMU encourages Christian believers to be aware of and involved in the work of the church and denomination in areas related to missions.
What Church-wide mission's experiences does WMU provide?
WMU may provide one-time, short-term, or ongoing missions experiences for the entire congregation. Church-wide mission's awareness and involvement may be the only WMU missions opportunity in a church or it may be part of a WMU that includes age-level organizations. IFBC has only WMU.
Who can be a member or participant in WMU?
A WMU member is an individual who engages in ongoing missions involvement sponsored by WMU either through a WMU organization or another WMU ongoing activity. A WMU participant is an individual who participates in short-term activities sponsored by WMU.
Why are missions important?
The mission of God is to reconcile a lost world to him. We are partners in this mission when we carry out Christ's Great Commission as stated in Matthew 28:18-20. In short, missions are important because God commanded us to go and tell others about Him and His love for the world.
Why does my church need WMU?
WMU provides a comprehensive plan that enables all church members to understand and become involved in the mission of God. Through WMU-initiated events, organizations, ministries, and partnerships, believers can use their gifts in ways that make a real difference to the kingdom.
Who leads WMU in a church?
A WMU director gives overall leadership to the WMU in a church. She is assisted by the group leaders, the church-wide missions coordinator, if there is one, and the assistant WMU director. These leaders make up the WMU leadership team which plans and coordinates WMU work in a church. This team works closely with the pastor or another church staff member to help the church become involved in the mission of God.
Each group member receives MISSIONS MOSAIC. This is the magazine used by WMU for our daily prayer calendar. There is scripture, articles about missions, and a list of missionaries each day who have birthdays. Prayer is requested for the missionaries on their birthday. The Last Frontier Missionaries are not listed by name. The missionaries tell us they feel the prayers offered for them that day.
There are many articles in the magazines about areas where missionaries serve and articles about things WMU groups are part of in the USA. Also there are suggested articles to be used in meetings.
IFBC WMU is a part of the Spartanburg County Network WMU and the SC WMU. There are county, state and national meetings. The local meetings are for training and information.
WMU DIRECTOR: Pat Mitchell
WMU ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Vonda Barnwell
GROUP AND POSITION |
NAME |
MEETING TIME* |
CLIFFORD BARRETT GROUP |
|
11:00 am |
Group Leader |
Myrtle Horton |
|
FRANKIE SMITH GROUP |
|
|
Group Leader |
Welda Blackwell |
3:00 pm |
Assistant Leader |
Dot Wilson |
|
JULIA MCCALL |
|
3:00 pm |
Group Leader |
Jessie R. Cothran |
|
Assistant Leader |
Ann Whitaker |
|
MARTHA FRANKS GROUP |
|
7:00 pm |
Group Leader |
Jane Stevens |
|
Assistant Leader |
Estelle Craig |
|
VERGIE RIDDLE GROUP |
|
3:00 pm |
Group Leader |
Margaret Brown |
|
Assistant Leader |
Nan Bishop |
|
*WMU groups meet the 3rd Tuesday after the 3rd Sunday of each month. Check our Calendar for exact dates.
NOTE: For further information call the IFBC office 472-9069.
OFFERING |
GOAL |
Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions |
$3,000 |
Janie Chapman State Missions |
$3,000 |
Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions |
$8,500 |
Christmas in August Offering Special for Home Missions |