"Changing Lives, That's Our Church's Wider Mission" is more than a slogan or phrase; it is the lifeblood of ministry and mission in the United Church of Christ. Thank you for your support of the many local and global ministries provided through your contributions to this offering of our covenant together. Our covenant as local churches, associations, conferences and the national settings of our denomination is made evident through this mission together.
Every two years we gather representatives from UCC congregations across the church– we focus our mission – we make new commitments to justice – we debate – we do business - we celebrate – we change lives. Watch the live stream of the UCC 27th General Synod in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Mission is Local
UCC congregations are involved with mission in many ways. In the United Church of Christ, we affirm that, although the congregation is the fundamental unit of mission, mission is not just local. We are connected to one another, across boundaries of neighborhood, class, race, and national border.
Here Otis Moss III speaks about the importance of OCWM to Trinity Church in Chicago.
Mission is Global
Our Church's Wider Mission is the name we use to describe the work we do as the United Church of Christ beyond the local church–through our Conferences, national ministries, and UCC-related institutions. Our Church's Wider Mission is also the name we give to the financial support given by UCC members and congregations that makes this broader mission possible.
Congregations are central to the ability of The United Church of Christ to do mission in local communities, within the United States and internationally. As a congregation works in its own community, it is a representative of the entire denomination and embodies the UCC in that place. And when a congregation determines its giving to Our Church's Wider Mission, there is a direct impact on levels of funding for the Conference and national ministries. Every local congregation has a responsibility to be aware of opportunities for local mission and to be knowledgeable about the work underway by its own Conference and by the national ministries.
Our Church's Wider Mission, often referred to simply as OCWM, has two parts: OCWM Basic Support and OCWM Special Support (Special Mission Offerings).
Tools for Mission
