May 18, 2007
by Emily Enders Odom
MIJHH Associate for Communications

LOUISVILLE – When the Presbytery of Mid-Kentucky unanimously approved a $1 million capital campaign in partnership with the Mission Initiative: Joining Hearts & Hands (MIJHH) in September 2005, presbytery leaders decided on just the right timeline and action plan to guarantee the campaign's success.

God, however, appeared to have an entirely different scenario in mind.

"Not ever having done this before," said the Rev. Betty L. Meadows, general presbyter of Mid-Kentucky Presbytery, of the presbytery's first-ever capital campaign, "we had underestimated the educational process that was needed to realize the awesomeness of the presbytery's vision."

That ambitious vision is to raise funds for four presbytery initiatives: a new church development in Mt. Washington in Bullitt County, a coordinated youth and young adult ministry with the presbytery's four African-American congregations, the development of a ministry strategy for the presbytery's growing Hispanic/Latino population, and the expansion of PC(USA) international mission workers through MIJHH.

MIJHH is a five-year campaign of the Presbyterian Church (USA) to raise $40 million for new overseas missionaries and church growth in this country, particularly racial ethnic and immigrant congregations.

"In the year that it took us to get organized and educated for our fundraising effort, by God's grace we hadn't lost momentum," Meadows said. "It wasn't until a full year after the campaign was first announced that we challenged all of our churches at the September 2006 presbytery meeting to pray about it and step up with a commitment. By the November meeting, 17 of our 57 congregations had signed on."

In the meantime, the campaign steering committee had reorganized under the leadership of its newly named co-chairs, the Rev. Phil Lloyd-Sidle and Augusta Thomas. New committee members were added and trained by MIJHH national staff members David York and Patrice Paton. A presbytery campaign manager, Susan Cohen, was hired.

"There is a deep sense of enthusiasm across our presbytery for the breadth and the inclusive nature of the campaign," said Lloyd-Sidle, who is pastor of James Lees Memorial Presbyterian Church in Louisville. "That breadth has captured the imagination of the presbytery in a good way because it reaches out and is responsive to the diversity we are experiencing in the region. That's why I support it."

So strong, in fact, is the steering committee's support that its twelve members have already pledged $118,000 to the campaign, well over 10% of the $1 million goal, before the full, presbytery-wide effort has even begun. Total gifts and pledges from the steering committee, individuals, and congregations now stand at $168,000.

"The steering committee is 100% committed to this campaign," said York, national director of MIJHH. "They are fully behind the implementation of God's vision for the presbytery."

Meadows said that the presbytery's goal is to have at least $500,000 pledged by July 1. "We believe we'll make it," she said.

If enough money is raised by the end of the calendar year, the steering committee hopes to begin hiring for the three positions – organizing pastor, African-American youth evangelism specialist, and Hispanic/Latino pastor – identified in the three presbytery initiatives.

Steering committee co-chair, Augusta Thomas, an elder at Grace Hope Presbyterian Church in Louisville, looks forward to that possibility. "I am deeply devoted to helping the African-American youth of our community," said Thomas. "They are crying out for leadership. They want alternative solutions to the many challenges they face, which this campaign intends to address."

Meadows said that the steering committee's leadership and energy humble her. "I believe that God's timing was better to move the campaign into the fall of 2006," she said.

"Although we took a misstep, we righted the step. Now God is leading us so that we are leading by following God. God's footsteps are simply all over this."

Presbyterian News Service