OCMC News - Show Solidarity with Orthodox Mission Priests around the World this October!

 

by Alex Goodwin (Posted 9/30/2015)

No one is able to spread the Gospel more efficiently and effectively than indigenous Orthodox priests. These men need your prayers and support as the plant new communities and dedicate their lives to ministry. OCMC's SAMP program provides financial support to 376 of these priests in 16 countries. Stand with these faithful clergy by making a gift to this program.

 

Imagine a remote, far-off place. The people of this place live a life relatively free from the influence of the outside world- at least, as much as anyplace can be these days. Have you ever wondered how Christianity not only comes, but grows, in places like this? Often, communities in these remote places are visited by a bishop or a priest from a nearby town, or a missionary, or maybe a resident of one of these communities visits a place where the Church has a presence. In any case, the seeds of the Faith get planted. Maybe not in every heart, but in the hearts of a few, or even one. These seeds spawn questions that are explored with catechists that they invite to return or in literature that they are given. Though a few may come to Orthodoxy in this way, the real explosion of the Faith often comes later!

In places like East Africa, newly-illumined young men who show the greatest potential, the deepest commitment, and the strongest calling to serve are invited to attend seminary. It is upon the completion of their studies and their ordination that the Faith can really begin to flower in places it may have never been.

The newly-ordained Orthodox priests often return to the village from where they came. They are tasked with preaching the Gospel and establishing the Church. They do so in a way that no outsider ever could. They are intimately familiar with the language, culture, and needs of their own people. Often, these priests end up serving two, three, or more communities that they themselves have helped to establish. These parishes become shining lights in and of themselves, welcoming exponentially more people into the Body of Christ.

This is hard work, and it is unending. Thankfully, Orthodox Christians from North America have been helping these missionary clergy throughout their journey. They are contributors to the OCMC's Support a Mission Priest (SAMP) Program. Through their prayers and financial contribution, they are empowering 376 priests in 16 countries to share the Faith and to love others in the name of Christ!

Without this help, they would not be able to accomplish so much. The support they receive helps them to support their families, afford transport to the churches they pastor, and establish ministries that care for the physical and spiritual needs of the people they serve.

October is Support a Mission Priest month! Please pray for mission priests and make a donation to the OCMC's SAMP program. Throughout the month we will be profiling some of these amazing clergy on Facebook. There you will also be able to download an image that we are asking all Orthodox Christians to use as their profile picture through the month of October in order to raise awareness of mission priests and the work that they do.

Thank you for praying for these men, for supporting their work, and for helping them to share Christ with the world!

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