The Birth of the Stott-Wallace Missionary Offering

By Rev. Dr. Lynn Thomas

Missionaries are expensive and finding the funds to support them has always been a challenge. Few missionaries live in remote jungles. Most missionaries live in urban areas in major cities of the world. As more of the world’s population moves from rural areas into cities, missionaries follow them. Currently, all Cumberland Presbyterian missionaries live in cities. They rent homes or apartments, drive cars, send their children to school or university, pay health insurance, taxes, and try to save for retirement. Missionaries in the CP Church are experienced and trained professionals, just as pastors. After an extensive application process, they are accepted as missionaries with a specific job description that has goals. Once deployed to the mission field the Missions Ministry Team (MMT) supervises them. Responsible mission organizations send out trained missionaries with plans and a system of accountability.

In 2013, The Cumberland Presbyterian Women’s Ministry approved the Stott-Wallace Missionary Offering to meet the challenge of supporting CP missionaries supervised by the Missions Ministry Team (MMT). The General Assembly later approved this offering. Before Stott-Wallace, the MMT (formerly the Board of Missions) supported CP missionaries with a hodgepodge of approaches. Some missionaries depended on individual donors; others received help from Our United Outreach (OUO). Financial realities forced the MMT to address each new missionary with whatever financial path was available. This created stress for all concerned. When individual donations diminished for some missionaries, they were caught in a bind. The MMT even considered setting up a loan program to help. Fortunately, that idea never came to fruition. When OUO had shortfalls, budgets had to be cut, and this created a challenge for missionary support. When missionaries left the mission field, finding a replacement could take months, even years, and the OUO funds were moved to other needs. There had to be a better way.

In 2012 Ministry Council member, Rev. Lanny Johnson, attended an MMT elected team meeting and listened to the challenges that the MMT faced trying to find a way to have stable income to pay missionary salaries. Lanny shared that he had once been a Southern Baptist and their missionaries were supported by a mission offering received at the end of each year known as the Lottie Moon Offering. After more discussion, the MMT formulated the idea of the Stott-Wallace Missionary Offering, modeled after the Lottie Moon Offering. The offering was named for two CP missionary couples, the Stotts, who served in Japan for over two decades, and the Wallaces, who served in Colombia for over five decades. In 2013 this offering was launched, and it now covers the salaries and benefits of all CP missionaries supervised by the MMT. The offering receives about $250,000 each year from churches and individuals.

We are so thankful for those who support the Stott-Wallace Missionary Offering which has brought financial stability to our missionary program. It has blessed many missionary families over the years and has been a blessing to many mission fields that have received missionary service.