Who We Are
Global Ministries is the common witness of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ. Our two denominations have a formal partnership through which Disciples Overseas Ministries and the UCC’s Wider Church Ministries share common staff, budget, programs/projects, and governance in our presence and witness with international partners throughout the global community.
Global Ministries works with approximately 250 partners in close to 90 countries. We join hands with international partners and walk together in mutual love and respect with our siblings around the world.
With partner churches, nonprofit organizations, and ecumenical bodies throughout the world, we share life, resources, support, and faith. This often includes advocacy work, opportunities for mutual exchange and learning, sharing of mission personnel, sharing of financial and material resources, and being in prayer for and with international partners. Join us in realizing our vision that all of God’s people and creation share in God’s abundant life.
Our Vision
That all of God’s people and creation share in God’s abundant life.
Our Mission
To receive and share the Good News of Jesus Christ by joining with global and local partners to work for justice, reconciliation, and peace.
Core Values
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| Building interdependence and unity among all of God’s children |
| Communities can stretch across boundaries and borders, across cultures and languages, while providing mutual support and collective dreams for the future. By weaving our lives together with those of international partners, we find new ways to nourish each other’s ministries |
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| Walking in hope with others in God’s mission |
| Mutuality means sharing in the visions of partners instead of trying to guide them, and listening instead of lecturing. International partners offer unique projects and programs to serve the needs of their communities as they see them, and Global Ministries offers support of these visions, just as international partners, in turn support the work of our denominations in the United States and Canada. |
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| Living out God’s radical love by confronting powers that deny the fullness of life and the integrity of creation |
| When partners voice their concerns and take action to confront injustice in their communities, Global Ministries joins with them in advocacy. Through statements, Bible studies, denominational resolutions, letter writing campaigns, and educational events, we work to amplify the voices that often go unheard in our uneven world. |
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| Embodying reconciling relationships with God, humanity, and creation |
| Peace is more than the absence of war and violence, it provides a vision for finding new ways of encountering and engaging with the other. Joining with partners whose communities have faced decades of brutality, we lift up opportunities for reconciling relationships with God, humanity, and creation. |
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| Manifesting God’s love by living in intentional, committed relationships |
| Presence provides a bold vision of togetherness. In many cases, the most powerful witness we can offer partners is the willingness to share personally in their times of challenge and joy. We are also grateful for the presence international partners offer the Church in the United States and Canada, as they share their experiences and understandings of God. |
Read Global Ministries 101 for more information on Global Ministries
Global Ministries Co-Executives
Rev. Dr. LaMarco A. Cable
Co-Executive Global Ministries
President & CEO, Disciples Overseas Ministries
The Reverend Dr. LaMarco Antonio Cable serves as the 6th President and CEO of Disciples Overseas Ministries (DOM) and Co‑Executive of Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ. A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Dr. Cable is a pastor, preacher, and community organizer whose vocation is rooted in the vision of a just and loving world.
Dr. Cable’s path to this historic role reflects a lifelong commitment to the Church and to the work of justice. Within Global Ministries, he has served in several key leadership positions, including Area Executive for Africa, Advocacy Associate, and Interim Mission Personnel Executive. His commitment to systemic change was further shaped during his tenure as Deputy Director for Organizing at Bread for the World in Washington, D.C., where he led national advocacy efforts to end hunger and poverty in the United States and worldwide.
An ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Dr. Cable has offered pastoral leadership in diverse congregational settings across the United States. His ministry includes serving as Senior Pastor of Hasson Street Christian Church (Rogersville, TN) and Broadway Christian Church (Winchester, KY), as well as pastoral roles in Memphis, Lexington, Washington, D.C., and Madisonville, KY.
Dr. Cable’s service extends across the life of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He has served on numerous boards and committees throughout the Church. His academic preparation includes a Bachelor of Arts in Religion and Sociology from Transylvania University, a Master of Divinity from Lexington Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago. In 2023, he received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Lexington Theological Seminary in recognition of his leadership and contributions to the Church and society.
A committed servant leader, Dr. Cable continues to invest in the Church’s future as a member of the Alumni Council of Lexington Theological Seminary, Executive Committee of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and as a trustee of the National City Christian Church Foundation. He has served on several Church World Service working groups, most recently the Year of Reflection Working Group. Currently, he serves on the planning team for the CWS Pastoral Renewal Cohort Initiative. Beyond church leadership, he embodies his belief in the transformative power of mentorship and community through his service with Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Central Indiana.
He is the proud uncle of Devin, Zariah, and Collin.
Rev. Shari Prestemon
Co-Executive Global Ministries
Associate General Minister, UCC
The Rev. Shari Prestemon began her service as Acting Associate General Minister and Co-Executive of Global Ministries in January 2024. On July 14, 2025, Shari was elected to serve a full term as Associate General Minister and Co-Executive of Global Ministries by General Synod 35.
She previously served as the Minnesota Conference UCC Conference Minister (2013-2023), as Executive Director at the UCC’s Back Bay Mission in Biloxi, Mississippi (2000-2013), and as pastor to local UCC congregations in Wheaton, Illinois, and Stevens Point, Wisconsin.
Shari received her Bachelor’s Degree from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and her Master of Divinity from Chicago Theological Seminary. She has served on multiple Boards of Directors in the wider UCC, including on the United Church of Christ Board, as Chair of the Board of Trustees of United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, Co-Chair of the Common Global Ministries Board of the UCC & Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and Vice Chair of the Cornerstone Fund Board. She also served as Chair of the Council of Conference Ministers of the UCC, on the Steering Committee of the UCC Palestine-Israel Network, and as a member of the Executive Committee of the Minnesota Council of Churches.
Shari’s faith journey has been profoundly shaped by direct experiences with the ministries she now supports in her current role with the National Ministries. She served as a Peace & Justice Intern for one year with the United Church of Christ in the Philippines in Dumaguete City on behalf of the (former) United Church Board for World Ministries. She has participated in and led multiple study trips to Palestine and Israel and has journeyed with Global Ministries delegations to Haiti, Colombia, Germany, Indonesia, and East Timor. She partnered extensively with Global H.O.P.E. when Hurricane Katrina devastated Back Bay Mission and the Gulf Coast region in 2005. Of her experiences, Prestemon says, “I have personally witnessed the life-giving, life-changing power of our ministries in so many places and ways. What we do together as Church makes God’s love real in the world and has a tremendous, inspiring impact. I feel incredibly blessed to be in a position where I can nurture and strengthen this amazing work.”
Prestemon’s special recognitions include the Reinhold Niebuhr Award for Service by Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis (2007) and the Distinguished Alumni of the Year Award from Chicago Theological Seminary (2008). She received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Heidelberg University (Tiffin, Ohio) in May 2010 and a Distinguished Service Alumni Award from Luther College (Decorah, Iowa) in 2014.