Public Worship and Aids to Devotion Committee Website

An Order for the Commissioning of a Missionary /Missionary Family

Missionaries should be commissioned by the Presbytery in which the missionary or missionary family resides, with due attention being given to the participation in the Commissioning Service by members of the local congregation, the Partner Society (where applicable) and the APWM.

Simple Order for Commissioning:

Opening Scriptures.

Hymn.

Prayer.

Scripture Readings.

Explanation of the steps that led to the commissioning and description of the ministry envisaged (perhaps using visual materials - video, transparencies, or a person from the new culture)

Personal testimony from the missionary/missionary family

Hymn.

Sermon.

Commissioning Presentation of support gifts (or collection of monies for missionaries)

Hymn.

Blessing, said or sung.

During the course of the Service the Moderator or another participant shall say:

In this act of commissioning / re-commissioning our Church acknowledges that Jesus Christ our Lord calls his people to be his witnesses throughout the world.

N ....... have heard the call from Jesus to follow him. Jesus has called for labourers to be thrust out into the harvest. They have been convinced that he wants them to be labour in those "fields which are ready for harvest" as missionaries with ........

Dear N......., fellow worker/s in Christ: We rejoice that you have heard the command of the Master to go and serve in his kingdom. In his name, we are about to commission / recommission you to the work to which you are designated, and to commend you to the care of Jesus, whose commission you are to bear. But first, you will reaffirm your faith and purpose by answering the questions put to you:

1. Do you believe in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and do you confess anew that the Lord Jesus Christ is your Saviour and Lord?

Response: I/We do.

1. Do you believe in the Gospel of love and grace of God, which declares that only through Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord, he freely offers forgiveness and eternal life, and calls us into the fellowship and service of his kingdom?

Response: I/We do.

1. Are love for the Lord Jesus Christ, and a desire to commend him by your word and life, so far as you know your own heart, your chief motives for accepting this opportunity to serve?

Response: They are.

1. Do you promise, with the strength of the Lord Jesus Christ, to walk worthily of your calling, to discharge faithfully and cheerfully the duties of your office, and to yield yourselves to the authority of those to whom the Church has committed the direction of your work?

Response: I/We do.

1. Do you now confess and promise these things, through grace, as you would answer to your Lord?

Response: I/We do.

Since no-one alone, is able to perform all these things, let us now pray God's strengthening for N .......

Prayer for Missionary/Missionary family:

Father of power, love and mercy. We praise you for your grace in the Lord Jesus Christ that opened the way for our salvation and adoption into your family. We thank you for those who pointed us to the Way, the Truth and the Life. And now before us stand N....... (and their family) whose call to share Jesus Christ with others is confirmed by your church in this commissioning. Neither they nor we can know the testings, rigours, pressures and adventures that await them in the future. As we commit them to you in prayer, we do so with the confidence that through the ministry of the Holy Spirit in them they will continue to learn lessons of patience, strength and contentment in the knowledge that the grace of the Lord Jesus is sufficient for them, for his power is made perfect in their weakness.

Grant them safety in travel, diligence in adjustment to a new culture and the learning of a new language, grace in building friendships with others, integrity of life, a heart aflame for God, a constant passion to usher the lost into the kingdom of your dear Son, and a life of integrity and prayer that will demonstrate that they trust and rest in you alone.

O God, heed our prayer, and give rejoicing not only amongst angels that rejoice over sinners who repent, but also here amongst us, as these our dear friends are used as your servants in the place of your calling.

Keep us faithful as the home base in prayer, support, supply, communication and fellowship with those who separate from us, that we may be a team all serving the Lord our God, for the glory of your name alone.

Through Jesus Christ our Saviour and Lord. Amen.

After prayer the Moderator shall say:

In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the King and Head of the Church, we declare you N ....... to be commissioned / re-commissioned as a missionary/missionaries of the Presbyterian Church in fellowship with the Mission Society for your ministry in Country. We commend you to the grace of God in the fulfilling of your loving service for your Lord and Saviour.

And following the pattern of the Scriptures of the New Testament and as a sign of our partnership with you, we commission /re-commission you with the laying on of hands.

The Blessing: "The Lord bless you and keep you".( Rejoice! 352 )

In the event of a missionary being a candidate for ordination (or is already ordained as a minister of the church), use the QUESTIONS AT ORDINATION AND INDUCTION as set out in the GAA Code.