Greetings, friends in Christ!

At times it may seem the Church is losing ground in its work to evangelize our country. Rather than get discouraged by appearances, we should get excited about the opportunities to impact our nation for Christ.

The United States is the third largest mission field in the world. Though our country was founded on Christian principles, it is increasingly apparent that many people are rejecting those principles in favor of self-defined, not God-defined, behavior. Notably, only 12 percent of children reared in evangelical churches stay in the church after age 18, expanding the mission field that much more. This is the time to impress upon them the fulfillment God provides.

We live in a uniquely influential country that continues to inspire citizens of other countries to travel to our shores. The U.S. State Department estimates that 25 percent of the world’s future political leaders are studying in the U.S. right now. Through an active presence on college campuses, we are reaching our future leaders and ensuring that they will set a godly example and prayerfully seek God’s will in all that they do.

U.S. Missions partners with all manners of ministry to reach the lost in the far corners of our nation. We strive to equip, empower, evangelize and encourage those who dare to follow God’s call on their lives. We have placed over 1500 missionaries and chaplains called by God to full-time Christian ministry in one of six departments: Chaplaincy Ministries, Chi Alpha Campus Ministries, Church Planting and Development, Intercultural Ministries, U.S. MAPS and Teen Challenge.

The hope of the world is the local church. Teaming this powerful resource with U.S. Missions, we persevere in our effort to reach America’s lost as we await the blessed hope. I urge you to join this partnership and allow God to bless you through ministry opportunity.

Let’s reach America!

Zollie L. Smith, Jr.
Executive Director
Assemblies of God U.S. Missions

What's Happening in U.S. Missions

AG Executive Presbytery Approves Two New Language Districts
 
The Executive Presbytery of the General Council of the Assemblies of God recently approved the creation of two new language districts, including the Arizona Latin District and the Slavic District.
 
Over the past several years, both of these new districts were in their "infancy" — the Arizona Latin being formed in 2006 as a conference while the Slavic was deemed a fellowship in 2002. Since their beginnings, both have seen dramatic increases in both the number of churches they represented as well as the number of ministers in them.
 
According to the Arizona Latin Conference Presbytery, they now have a total of 60 churches, 35 being General Council churches and an additional 25 being district churches. The Slavic Conference, which began with only three churches and 12 ministers, now has 30 churches and 90 ministers. Slavic leadership anticipates having more than 50 churches and more than 100 ministers by the time of their inaugural district council.
 
Some of the reasons the Southern Pacific Latin American District (SPLAD) sought the creation of the Arizona Latin District include the great distance between the SPLAD offices and cities such as Phoenix (372 miles) and Bisbee (551 miles), the 1.7 million Hispanics (28 percent of the state's population) that reside in
Arizona and the excellence in which the conference has been run the past two years.
 
The Slavic Fellowship also has strong support. "Slavic people are one of the largest immigrant groups populating America," says Scott Temple, director of AG U.S. Missions Intercultural Ministries. "The pending Slavic District Council [elections to be held September 13 in Renton, Washington] will give Slavic ministers and their churches a powerful platform of opportunity to expand God's kingdom in America and fulfill the Great Commission worldwide."
 
Temple adds that ministers who belong to the Slavic [language] District are being encouraged to seek an active honorary membership in their geographic districts as well. "It's a way of building bridges to a shared future once language is no longer an obstacle," Temple explains.
 

 
--Dan Van Veen For more information about AG Districts, see http://ag.org, click on "AG Directories" in the AG Dashboard box, and then on "District Offices." For details on the Slavic meeting in Renton, call 417-862-2781, ext. 3256.