Pastor’s Corner “World Mission Sunday”

This past September, seven of us from Immanuel attended the New Wineskins for Global Mission Conference in North Carolina. This was the 30^th year for this triannual gathering, and more than 1500 Anglicans participated. Jesus’ command to “make disciples of all nations” came alive in a powerful way as we prayed, sang, ate, conversed, and learned among Christians from over 60 countries. His command is being obeyed; the prayer that the Father’s kingdom would come to earth is being answered. But the fulfillment of the commission to introduce Jesus to all people in every nation is still ongoing.

The theme for New Wineskins 2025 was “Hope for the Nations,” drawn from Matthew 12:21, “In His name the nations will place their hope.” We listened to many compelling teachers expound on this theme, drawing on Scripture, history, and personal experience. One preacher in particular caught my attention—Daniel Booman. After connecting the passage in Matthew with Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the Gentiles and moments in his own life, Daniel spoke of the importance of all nations hearing this truth:

“Seeing all of these connections between the Gentiles of the Bible in my own life, I can see that we are all meant to feel cared for by God because he was willing to send his chosen beloved son to save us. He gives us what he most loved to rescue us from our own sin and include us in his family. If he loved his own son so much and was willing to give him up, he must love us immensely. God wants to save us. He wants us to have hope in him, and he wants to have a relationship with us.”

The “us” in that final statement is all of us, people of every community, culture and country.

I’m excited to announce that Daniel will be our guest preacher for World Mission Sunday at both services this week. Daniel Booman lives in Sumter, South Carolina and is 12 years old. (Yep, you read that right!) He is the oldest of four, and he and his three siblings are homeschooled. His favorite part of school is playing piano. In his free time, he enjoys playing baseball, growing cucumbers and making pickles from them, kayaking around North Carolina, reading, and hanging out with his cats. His parents are the Rev. David (with whom I overlapped at Trinity Anglican School for Ministry once upon a time) and Caity Booman.

In addition to Daniel’s preaching, both services will include a global-oriented liturgy to form our hearts and minds, followed by a Missions Fair. Tables will be set up in the Narthex with information about our Mission & Outreach Partners so you can learn more about our opportunities for participating in God’s mission in our world. And don’t forget that you can get a taste – literally – of the multicultural reality of God’s people by participating in the International Dinner on Saturday night. It’s not too late to sign up and come!

Remembering that Mission is an overflow of Worship and has Worship as its goal, come join us in both this Sunday.

Your Pastor in Christ,