Global Mission Advocates: Coordinating Global Mission Engagement
In 2014, Archbishop Foley Beach launched the Global Mission Initiative with a vision to help the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) more faithfully live out Christ’s command to make disciples of all nations. From the beginning, the initiative was designed to encourage and challenge Anglicans across the ACNA to see global mission not as a ministry for a few, but as part of the calling of the whole Church.
Out of that vision came the Global Missions Advocates, a representative from each diocese to help churches in their dioceses engage more intentionally in God’s mission to the nations. These advocates want to help people in their diocese find their role in fulfilling the Great Commission. Their goal is to encourage, coordinate, and expand global mission engagement throughout their diocese and further the kingdom of God.
The Global Missions Advocates are volunteer leaders appointed by their bishop to encourage global mission within their diocese. These Global Mission Advocates meet online monthly to share resources, train, pray, and encourage one another. In addition, they attend the New Wineskins Anglican Partners gathering in person once a year where they interact with one another and representatives from mission agencies and non-profits serving in missions. This gathering of representatives from modalities and sodalities form task groups to create resources to further global missions. A few resources that have come from these gatherings are the Litany for Missions, Anglican Introduction to Missions curriculum and a monthly Anglicans in Prayer e-newsletter encouraging intercessory prayer for global missions and the persecuted church.
The monthly meetings of the Global Missions Advocates have become an important place for encouragement, training, prayer, and equipping. Advocates share ideas, discuss challenges, celebrate what God is doing in their dioceses, and learn practical ways to help churches engage more fully in global mission. This year the Global Mission Advocates have been studying Building Strategic Relationships: A Practical Guide to Partnering with Non-Western Missions by Daniel Rickett to equip churches to have healthy global mission partnerships.
There are still billions of people in the world who have little or no access to the Gospel. There are still unreached people groups with no local church and few believers. Whether someone is interested in going, praying, serving, giving, advocating, or partnering to support cross-cultural mission work, the Global Mission Advocates help connect churches and individuals with opportunities to participate in God’s mission.
The vision Archbishop Foley Beach cast in 2014 continues to grow today through dioceses, congregations, and faithful leaders who believe the Church is called to take the name of Jesus to the ends of the earth. We are thankful for the work of the Global Missions Advocates. If you are interested getting involved in global missions, reach out to your Global Mission Advocate!
Canon Shelly Sorem
Canon Shelly Sorem serves as Assistant Director of New Wineskins Missions Network and is a deacon in the Diocese of the Western Gulf Coast. She holds a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology. She serves on the Women’s Leadership Network within the Anglican Church in North America’s Provincial Leadership Network, on her diocesan women’s ministry team, and holds the role of Canon for Global Missions in her diocese. In addition, Canon Sorem serves as Vice President on the Provincial Council for the Order of the Daughters of the Holy Cross and is a member of the Board of Trustees for Trinity Anglican Seminary. She is deeply committed to advancing global missions and is passionate about seeing the name of Jesus proclaimed to the ends of the earth. She regularly leads women’s conferences and retreats both nationally and internationally and is dedicated to fostering collaboration among Anglican organizations to further the Kingdom of God. Shelly and her husband, Bill, have been married for 34 years. They have two daughters, two sons-in-law, and four grandchildren.