Overcoming complacency is the first hurdle, said Marva Usher-Kerr, executive secretary for mission opportunities for the Women's Division.

"The faith of our mothers was based in a time when the ills of society were visible," Ms. Usher-Kerr said. "You saw poverty and racism. We've come to a point where we've been led to believe that's all over. We want to believe it's over. We've been lulled into thinking everything's okay.

"We have to reach deeper into our spirits to move beyond this cloud of complacency. The battle is harder because we first have to fight our complacency."

The Women's Division recently launched Ubuntu Explorers, a program through which U.S. women are traveling to meet women in other parts of the world. See the Women's Division website for information:www.umwmission.org.

Mission experience doesn't have to mean international travel. It can be visiting a mission institution within driving distance of your home. It can mean joining a Volunteer in Mission project. It can mean scheduling visits to mission sites near where you are traveling.

"I'm not asking every member of United Methodist Women to go to Jos, Nigeria or Bonda, Aceh or Dulac, La., but I am asking them to fund those who can go and those in mission in those places," Ms. Hatcher said.