By Nell Green

It was my senior year of high school. Two of the girls I would be rooming with at university were having a luncheon to celebrate their graduation. Everyone was invited, including my best friend. Everyone except me. I wondered what I had done to be excluded or why I was considered so insignificant. It hurt.

The theme for this year’s Offering for Global Missions is “A place at the Table for Everyone.” In Luke 14, Jesus teaches us to invite those least expecting and, in society’s view, perhaps least deserving of an invitation. People living in the context of Global Poverty are often uninvited. It hurts.

The Offering for Global Missions provides for the long-term presence of field personnel serving in the context of Global Poverty. They invite and they are invited to the table to alleviate poverty as they cultivate beloved community, bear witness to Jesus Christ, and seek transformational development. 

You are invited! Join with field personnel at the table as you pray during the Week of Prayer for the Offering for Global Missions October 16^th – 21st. Pray for the work of field personnel. Pray with knowledge and understanding of their work as you watch videos, read requests, use worship resources and reflect on the content of bulletin inserts. 

Children are invited! Requests and resources have been prepared for the Children’s Week of Prayer for the Offering for Global Missions. A children’s sermon video invites them to pray and to give. Banks, coloring pages, and videos help them learn as they pray. 

Invite others to join you in praying as you share about the work of field personnel. More offering resources for adults and children can be found at www.cbf.net/ogm.  Perhaps another fall date to observe the Week of Prayer works better for you, your church or your small group. Undated resources are also available for the Week of Prayer.  

Back to my high school friends’ party. The party had begun when our house phone rang. My schoolmates were devastated because they had invited me, but apparently the invitation had been lost in the mail. Knowing I had not been left out assuaged the hurt, but I have never forgotten what it felt like to not have a place at the table. Thank you for supporting the Offering for Global Missions with your prayers and gifts. #BecausePresenceMatters