It adds a nice touch to a missions conference to have the national flag of each of the countries represented. Some churches have flags from all the countries where they help support mission work with special display of the flags of the nation present at the conference.

We usually include a flag ceremony where we have the children of the church march in one by one carrying the flags we wish to display at that conference. As they march in, a narrator reads a few comments about the county represented, who we have visiting or help support from that county, and a sentence or two about the work they do. Soon I will post an example of the comments.

One great source of international flags (12 by 18 inch) on a stick is The American Flag Store. I have no financial interest in this company, but have just found it a great source of flags if you do not already have such a source.

Sample flag ceremony reading

Uganda, is a landlocked country in East-Central Africa. It is bordered by Kenya, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Tanzania, and is located on Lake Victoria. The equator runs through the southern part of Uganda. In 1894 Uganda became a protectorate of Great Britain. On October 9, 1962 Uganda gained it's independence. It is known by many for the murderous and violent rule for military dictator Idi Amin.

The first Christian missionary to go to Uganda was Alexander McKay (pronounced Mac i). He was an engineer and a Presbyterian, but answered the call of the Church of England to go to Uganda and he began the planting of Anglican Churches (Church of Uganda). Catholic missionaries soon followed and today there are many Catholic churches as well. In the last 40 years, missionaries from the United States and Canada have planted many other protestant churches.

Our denomination has sixteen missionaries in Uganda working a seminary, a Bible college, church leadership training and evangelistic outreach.

Two of those missionaries, Jim and Barbara Jones, are with us this weekend.

You can pretty much include or exclude whatever you wish, but keep it short. Also, remember, you do not want to say everything there is to say, or the missionaries will have nothing to share.