Outreach and Evangelism
OVERSEAS MISSIONS & LOCAL OUTREACH:
Two Sides of the Same Coin
by Fr. Jim Kordaris
The Orthodox Church has a long history of mission activity in the world and has been strongest when active in mission work. Mission-minded parishes instill the importance of mission in their parishioners, sending them on Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC)–sponsored short–term missions as well as trips to Guatemala and Project Mexico.
People return from these mission trips forever changed by the experience. Their missionary zeal is then refocused on local mission and outreach within the parish and the local community, and can play a key role in revitalizing the faith of active Orthodox Christians and the entire parish.
A new cooperative effort between the Department of Outreach & Evangelism and the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) was launched at the Clergy-Laity Congress in Washington, in a workshop titled “Instilling a Missionary Mindset: How International Missions Benefit the Local Parish.”
The workshop took the form of a panel discussion moderated by Fr. Jim Kordaris, director of Outreach & Evangelism and Fr. Martin Ritsi, executive director of the OCMC. The panel consisted of four parish priests whose personal and parish experience includes overseas missions as well as outreach and evangelism in their own communities: Fr. Alexander Veronis of the Annunciation parish in Lancaster, Pa, Fr. Steven Tsichlis of St. Paul’s Church in Irvine, Calif., Fr. Luke Veronis of Sts. Constantine & Helen Church in Webster, Mass., and Fr. Paul Paris of St. Mary’s Church in Minneapolis.
What these clergymen each pointed out in their own way is the fact that overseas missions is an experience that fulfills our calling as Christians, transforms individuals who participate and infects the parish with a zeal for sharing the faith – both overseas and in our own backyard.
In the words of Fr. Ritsi, “I believe international mission goes hand-in-hand with the spirit of domestic outreach and evangelism. Thus any enthusiasm towards one will naturally encourage the other. “That was evident as a common thread by the speakers during the workshop and this cooperative effort was a shining example of the two sides of the same coin operating together. That is exciting.”
Anyone who has gone on an overseas mission will tell you that it is a life-changing experience. It can also have a dramatic effect on parish life. Fr. Alexander Veronis, in addition to his 42-plus years of service to Annunciation Church of Lancaster, is co-founder and president emeritus of the Orthodox Christian Mission Center.
The Lancaster parish is a prime example of the benefits to the parish of a longstanding missionary mindset. Fr. Alexander shared with those in attendance, “If you want God to bless your parish ministry, start by becoming more generous givers to the needy, to missions, to soup kitchens, to ministries that feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and provide for the lonely and dispossessed of our world. Such ministry inspires people to become more generous stewards.”
According to Fr. Alexander, people who have a mission mindset are more inclined to pray regularly for the needs of God’s people everywhere, to attend worship services and the Liturgy every Sunday, to receive Holy Communion regularly, and to get involved with service projects that make Christ more visible through Christian outreach.
In Minneapolis, Fr. Paul Paris is building upon a long tradition of mission and outreach established by Fr. Anthony Coniaris, noted author/publisher and long-time member of the OCMC Missions Board. The Minneapolis parish has a number of vibrant ministries including a number of Bible studies, a blossoming prison ministry, and a very active Outreach Committee.
Fr. Paul states, “This is the beauty of getting the parish involved with international missions. We start out thinking we are lending a helping hand to others and what results is an infusion of faith and a deeper understanding of the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit in the life of our communities.”
Fr. Stephen Tsichlis of St. Paul’s Church in Irvine, and president of the Archdiocesan Presbyters Association, has participated in a number of OCMC mission trips. Fr Steven commented that “We confess that we belong to ‘the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.’ The Church is not apostolic merely because we have preserved and passed on the teaching of the Apostles. That’s absolutely necessary, but there’s more to being apostolic than that.
The Church is apostolic in the sense that She – and therefore we – are sent. A parish that is not concerned with courageous and sustained evangelism to the society around us and open to all who desire to join our churches, as well as active in missions work abroad, has failed to observe Christ’s command and is neither apostolic nor catholic in the fullest sense of those words.”
Fr. Luke Veronis of Sts. Constantine & Helen parish in Webster, professor of missions at Hellenic College/Holy Cross and former long-term missionary to Albania, stated that support for and involvement in international missions “is a fundamental calling of every Church.” In the words of Fr. Luke, “…if we, the Church, are the Body of Christ, we must continue the work of Jesus here on earth. It is clear that His last command to his followers was to ‘Go and make disciples of all nations.’” “Thus, it is imperative for every Christian and each Church to faithfully follow this command. When the local parish participates in the international mission of the Church, it blesses and nourishes the local parish. “Parishioners become more excited about their faith, they catch a vision much larger than any parochial view of their home church, and they understand that they are truly a part of the one, holy catholic and apostolic church! These renewed parishioners can only bring new vitality and vigor to their home parishes. So one can really understand how the local parish and international missions can truly bless each other”
In his keynote address to the Clergy-Laity Congress in July, Archbishop Demetrios said that “God wants His home to be filled with the people because all people on earth are His people. “And we are part of His desire and plan, which simply means that we have to go literally out to the streets and lanes of the cities and to the highways and hedges and gather the people to the House of God so that His House will be filled.” The importance of a missionary mindset is summarized in the following words of the first U.S. Orthodox missionary priest in Africa, Fr. Daniel Christopulos, who served there from 1985-1988: “A quote from an Indian (Malankara) Orthodox bishop to our Orthodox Clergy Association in Houston epitomizes Orthodox Christian Missions for me. His Grace told the brothers assembled, ‘Christianity is a charter flight! It is up to us to bring everybody we encounter home to Jesus Christ.
“Our very salvation is dependent upon it. If we fail to fill the plane it might not fly.’ Our Christianity and, indeed, our salvation, is not merely a personal matter. It is not enough to bring ourselves before Christ. We are called to participate in the restoration of all things. This means that we bring the other with us to the throne of God.” Overseas missions and local outreach and evangelism are an investment in the future of our Church. Parish leadership is called to initiate and support programs through which individuals may fulfill our Lord’s final directive at the time of His Ascension to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit…” (Mt. 28:19).
