In 2012, the people of the 1st United Methodist Church had a goal of raising $15,000 to help eradicate malaria in Africa. It was part of a global effort of the UMC to raise a total of $75-million. The idea was that donations of $10 would save one life from this deadly disease spread by mosquitoes. By the start of Annual Conference in June of 2013, 1st UMC had raised more than $22,000 for the cause. That's 2200 lives saved.
Maryville District Superintendent, Charles Maynard and Randy Pasqua of the Conference Camping ministries went the extra mile to raise awareness and money for the cause. Maynard walked a hundred miles across the district and Pasqua bicycled across the district in an effort to help the people of Africa go "the next mile" in their fight against malaria.
The Holston Conference had set a goal of raising a million dollars for the INM mission project, which was a tall order as previous mission offering goals had not anywhere near that high. On June 11, 2013 the delegates and guests gathered at Stuart Auditorium at Lake Junaluska got to hear whether or not the goal had been met. People quickly rose to their feet with loud applause as it was announced that the Conference had not only met the goal, but exceeded it,
raising $1.13-million for Imagine No Malaria.
Now as the General Conference of the United Methodist Church gets ready to convene in Portland, Oregon, the church plans on celebrating the milestone of having met the overall goal.
Highlights from the Imagine No Malaria mission
Check out "The Next Mile" (for Imagine No Malaria) playlist on the Maryville District Facebook Page.
Click here (and scroll to page 5) to read about members of 1st UMC who both have first hand knowledge of what it is like to fight malaria.
Find out where the UMC stands in its goal for Imagine No Malaria heading into General Conference.
Learn about the overall Imagine No Malaria effort by clicking here.
Watch the excitement of the announcement at Annual Conference in June 2013.
Get a preview of a song commissioned to celebrate the INM mission. It will debut at General Conference in May.
Hear how your support of INM over the years is changing lives.
