The Mission Council is the highest decision-making body of the Evangelical Mission in Solidarity (EMS) between the General Meetings. It met online from 17–19 June. The discussions focused on the organisation’s strategic development in the coming years.  

The members of EMS intend to further internationalise their fellowship and to strengthen cooperation on faith issues. Joint programmes and projects will be reinforced. 

EMS Sunday 

The celebration of a joint EMS Sunday is one example of strengthening the EMS fellowship. It will be celebrated congregations across the global EMS community around 20 September. 

Rev. Eleanor McCormick, Head of Department Programmes and Networks, provided an update on preparations for the first EMS Sunday. She expressed her gratitude to the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK) and the Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK), as well as to Rev. Kang-Hee Han, Head of Unit East Asia, and Sunyoung Huh, Regional Support Officer East Asia, for their valuable contributions in shaping the liturgy and materials, incorporating traditions and perspectives from Korea. 

A website with these materials is available and will be updated regularly: https://ems-online.org/en/get-involved/ems-sunday 

Projects and Programmes 

Rev. Dr. Khalid Freij of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, and Chairperson of the Mission Council Committee on Programme and Project Support (ProPro), presented the committee’s recommendations following its deliberations during a meeting held from 12–14 June. 

Project proposals are approved every two years in alignment with the budget process. The Mission Council has mandated the ProPro Committee to give recommendations on the allocation of funds under the budget line “Support for Programmes & Projects.” 

The committee reviewed and assessed a total of 56 project proposals. It further recommended that approximately 10 percent of the ProPro budget be given to small-scale projects, each funded with up to €15,000. 

The final decision on the projects and programmes to be supported through ProPro will be made at the General Meeting in November. 

EMS Agenda 2026–2031 

Lizwi Mtumtum of the Moravian Church in South Africa (MCSA) and Chairperson of the working group drafting the EMS Agenda 2026–2031 introduced the draft document. The agenda, centred on the theme “Ambassadors of Hope,” will be presented to the EMS General Meeting for adoption in November. 

Member churches, associations, and networks are now invited to take part in the consultation process and provide feedback to the working group by 1 August. The Secretariat has prepared a questionnaire for this purpose. 

Finances 

EMS General Manager Ute Kauffmann reported that the Evangelical Mission in Solidarity (EMS) has been financially stable in 2025. She also emphasized that EMS continues to rely heavily on church partnerships, donations, and prudent investment management to sustain its mission work. 

Dr. Fabian Peters of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Württemberg and Chairperson of the EMS Finance Committee highlighted that projected contributions from EMS member churches in Germany are expected to decline significantly in the coming years. He therefore called on EMS governance bodies to adjust the organization’s activities in response to these changes. 

Third-party Funding for Projects and Programmes 

Considering the tightening financial capacity of the EMS fellowship, and with the aim of sustaining and further developing donations and third-party funding, the Department of Communications and Fundraising proposed to develop recommendations for improving and adjusting procedures. These are intended to take effect in the next projects and programmes (ProPro) cycle beginning in 2027. The proposed framework will be presented to the General Meeting in November 2026. 

The Mission Council reaffirmed that financial support for projects and programmes stays a key area of collaboration within the EMS fellowship and expressed its strong support for intensified efforts to secure funding from external sources.