A statement from the Aalsmeer Mission Committee
You’ve no doubt heard the term ‘supporting congregation’ before. That’s what we call a congregation that supports the mission work through prayer and care. The Lijnbaankerk in Aalsmeer is a ‘supporting congregation’ for the mission project in Thailand. The mission committee explains how it involves congregation members in the missionary work of Ab and Clarine Mol.
What does your mission committee look like?
The mission committee is young: three people in their twenties and one in their forties. The previous mission committee wanted to step down. As a church cannot really function without a mission committee, the youth elder took on the chairmanship and set about looking for new committee members. A conscious decision was made to involve young people. This allows them to become acquainted with mission work in a natural way. At the same time, it gives them the opportunity to gain experience of committee work within the church.
And that is how the current mission committee eventually came into being: a new, young and enthusiastic group.
What are your objectives as the mission committee?
As we were new, we first took some time to reflect on our mission and vision together with our minister.
We believe it is important to involve the congregation in missionary work and to raise awareness of mission. We regularly share information about missionary projects via the church app, promote activities and encourage congregation members to get actively involved.
In addition, we also want to contribute financially to the missionary work in Thailand. So we are also trying to raise some extra money.
What are you doing to achieve those goals?
Throughout the year, we organise various activities. One important annual tradition is the bingo night. Parishioners and people from outside the church have been taking part enthusiastically for many years. The proceeds from the last bingo night were earmarked for the purchase of land for the new church in NoonSung.
Every year we hold a mission service. During our other church services, we offer prayers of intercession for the mission projects and causes that we support as a congregation or that are close to our hearts. By praying for these things every week, we hope that the congregation will become increasingly aware of the importance of mission work and feel a sense of connection with the people and the projects.
Over the past year, we have also organised fundraising events for the church in Thailand with which Ab and Clarine Mol are involved. We maintain contact with Thailand and keep the church informed of developments there. In this way, we make the missionary work as tangible as possible and try to bridge the distance a little.
As a new group, we’re still trying to work out what works best. We want to involve the congregation even more in the importance of mission work and in what we ourselves can learn from the mission projects. But we believe that we will grow in this together with the congregation. As the mission committee, we want to continue learning and developing new ideas.
Do you have any tips for other mission committees?
Our top tip: keep the congregation informed about what you’re doing as the missions committee. Regularly share updates on the projects the congregation supports and show them what’s happening. A short update every week will bring the missions work to life more effectively than a long monthly newsletter.
And get young people involved. Young people are often enthusiastic, bring new ideas to the table and offer a fresh perspective on activities and committee work.
We would also recommend that, as a church, you support one specific project over the longer term. People will feel more involved if you can share a little more about the people and the missionary work.