wfn.org | 50th Anniversary of Advance

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS 97" by SUSAN PEEK on April 15, 1997 at 14:24
Eastern, about DAILY NEWS RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (328
notes).

Note 323 by UMNS on Sept. 16, 1997 at 16:38 Eastern (3112 characters).

Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT:  Linda Bloom                            511(10-71BP){323}
          New York (212) 870-3803                   Sept. 16, 1997

EDITORS NOTE: This story is part 2 of 3.  Photos are available.

Pick and choose: Advance has
2,000 projects seeking funds

               by United Methodist News Service

     In Nigeria, bicycles are needed for 15 literacy program
supervisors who travel long distances over roads unsuitable for
motor vehicles.
     In Costa Rica, a congregation of poor laborers who work for a
banana plantation hope to build a new multipurpose church
building.
     In Kentucky, Red Bird Medical Center seeks funds to help
serve low-income residents in rural Appalachia.
     These are three of the nearly 2,000 projects listed in the
Partnership in Missions Catalog of General Advance Specials 1997-
1998 for the United Methodist Church. Listed by region and
country, the projects fall into categories ranging from Africa
church growth and development to women's needs.
     A project in Brazil offers temporary shelter, food,
alternative education and skills training to street children. An
ecumenical program based in Anchorage, Alaska, sends Y'upik-
speaking missionaries to the Y'upik people of the Russian Far
East. The Amity Printing Press in Nanjing, China, prints Bibles,
hymnals and devotional materials in Chinese and minority
languages. A credit and education project in Togo provides
financial services and education for better health, nutrition and
family planning to women in extreme poverty.
     Advance Specials are identified by the denomination's annual
and central conferences, partner churches outside the United
States and various ecumenical organizations. The application
process includes forming a plan and budget, evaluating need, and
assessing the overall effectiveness and feasibility.
     Some of the bigger projects -- called "priority programs" --
support work in African church growth, U.S. community centers,
global refugee outreach, world hunger and poverty, and "parish
partner" arrangements. Support for missionaries and special
denominational programs, such as the Native American Comprehensive
Plan, also is stressed.
     Completed applications are evaluated by the United Methodist
Board of Global Ministries staff. Those deemed appropriate are
forwarded to the Advance Committee. Projects approved by that
group are assigned an Advance number and included in the
Partnership in Missions catalog, published every two years.
     Although a dollar amount is attached to each Advance number,
not every project receives full or even partial funding. "You only
get funding if people support you," said the Rev. Bill Carter,
Advance director, explaining that the Advance encourages financial
support but does not guarantee income.  
     Gifts to the Advance can be made through a local church or on
an individual basis.
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