Our Missionaries

Lexington Presbyterian supports people, organizations, and programs throughout the world and locally. We believe that we are all missionaries in our community and wherever we go. To find your own mission field, please check the links under the "Helping others" menu item. Our Outreach Committee offers grants to to support individuals in their own missionary endeavors. To apply, see the mission grant application for more information.

In addition our church supports several missionary families. Click the links below to find out more information about them.

The Hunters	David & Polly Miller	Kirk & Emily Ogden
Rebecca Young

Our Missionaries

The Hunters

The Hunters currently live in the US after many years abroad in a sensitive area of the world. They serve in Internet Evangelism and are excited to see how God is using the Internet to open doors of hope and light into otherwise difficult and inaccessible regions.

A recent communications of theirs states:

The Lord is not limited by anything! Where we see limitations and difficulties, He sees opportunities. The Internet is often seen as a symbol of depersonalization in society; and yet God is using it to spread the Gospel. Through the Internet, meaningful connections can be made with people in isolated and remote areas where opportunities for fellowship are few and far between.

The Hunters' two children are in college. Mr. Hunter grew up in the Lexington Presbyterian Church. He and Mrs. Hunter plan to return soon to the region where they had been serving.

Top of page

Polly Miller and the Ministry of Hope

Polly Miller is our contact for the Ministry of Hope in Malawi. She and her husband, David, a PC(USA) minister, spent 40 years in the field in central Africa and their daughter Nancy is currently serving as a missionary in Malawi. David Miller and Bill Klein, Sr., father of our own Bill Klein, were classmates in college and seminary. The Millers currently live in North Carolina.

The Ministry of Hope was established in April, 1999 by a young Malawian as a Christian response to the overwhelming number of orphans in Malawi. As a nation, Malawi is faced with the great challenge of raising approximately 2 million orphans, most of them being AIDS orphans. Day-to-day operations are carried out by a staff based in the capital and by feeding center directors who live in the six villages where the Ministry of Hope operates.

A Malawian board of directors and a U.S. board of directors provide oversight and support. The ministry is under the Mkuza Presbyterian Church of the Nkhoma Synod in Malawi and also has partnerships with several other church denominations. For more information visit MinistryOfHope.org.

Top of page

The Ogden Family

Kirk and Emily Ogden joined South America Mission in June of 1999 after spending a number of years ministering with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Kirk is a third generation SAM missionary. They have three children.

After serving for 2 and 1/2 years in a church planting and development ministry in San Ignacio, the Ogdens returned to the U.S. to serve in Mobilization. As Mobilization Director, Kirk has been responsible for finding those God has prepared for service with South America Mission and linking them with an appropriate ministry.

Here is a recent (September 2008) report from this family:

Life is a series of surprises. Some bring joy, others hardship, but God is capable of using them all. After all, our surprise is His well-executed plan.

The "surprise" for our family this year has been a change in ministry role.  Late in 2007 we moved to South Carolina with some exciting plans for ministry in our ongoing work with South America Mission. Little did we know what would come next.  In January of this year, the Mission's Board of Directors asked Kirk to be Executive Director. This year has been given over to leadership transition with Kirk fully assuming new responsibilities in January, 2009.

The learning curve is steep. Truth be told, the job is beyond us. That recognition has been a mercy of the Lord as it pushes us to look to God, not ourselves.  We are excited to have in trust the great heritage of nearly a century of ministry by hundreds of missionaries making extraordinary sacrifices.  Their stories encourage us ... and humble us. At the same time, we look eagerly to see how God will use South America Mission in the future. We are confident there are surprises ahead. Our hearts' desire is to see God use this Mission to accomplish things only He could have planned.

Our new role comes with a big title and lots of responsibility.  A local pastor sought to encourage Kirk one day when he was feeling the weight of the charge. "What you are doing is important," were his words of exhortation. We thank God that He would trust us with anything of importance. Ultimately, though, we want to serve Him not because it is important, but because we are being obedient - whether in a hidden town in eastern Bolivia or leading a mission agency.

The apostle Paul wrote from prison, "What has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel." His particular circumstances were not what was important. The results were. As Lexington Presbyterian continues to sustain us in ministry, will you pray that would be true for us? We'll gladly return the favor.

For more information on South America Mission, visit samlink.org.

Top of page

Rebecca Young

Rebecca Young, PhD, is the daughter of Phil & Betty Jean Young, both retired ministers who are regular attendees at Lexington Presbyterian. She teaches theology at the Jakarta Theological Seminary in Jakarta, Indonesia, and is a consultant for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. Most recently she is serving with the World Council of Churches providing emergency relief and rehabilitation to the survivors of the West Sumatra earthquake of Sept. 30, 2009.

Read more about Becca and her work at PC(USA) - Mission Connections - Rebecca Young.

Top of page