WHEREAS the Church of God is committed to obeying the Great Commission of Christ to make disciples of all nations; and

WHEREAS the international ministry of the Church of God began with the return of Edmund S. and Rebecca Barr to their native Bahama Islands in November 1909; and

WHEREAS the first American missionaries, R.M. and Ida Evans and Carl Padgett departed the U.S. on December 31, 1909, and arrived in the Bahama Islands on January 4, 1910; and

WHEREAS from this incipient ministry the Church of God now ministers in 169 countries and geographical entities; and

WHEREAS this international ministry is the result of the labors of missionaries and nationals, supported by the prayers and finances of members of the Church of God throughout the world; therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED that the Church of God in 2009 and 2010 celebrate with appropriate ceremonies and events the centennial of our first missions ministry; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED every Church of God office, agency, publication and congregation use this centennial celebration as an occasion to tell the story of our missionary enterprise; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Church of God enter its second hundred years of ministry looking beyond its present spheres of ministry with a renewed vision and full commitment to continue a wholehearted obedience to the Great Commission.