Missions We Support
The Great Commission
16. Then the eleven disciples went to Galillee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. 18. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, babtizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 29 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Matthew 28:16-20
Jesus commanded the disciples to go into all the world and teach them everything he had taught them. At the time he was speaking to His disciples, but He never intended for the mission ministry to end there. Christians today are also disciples of Jesus and are, therefore, required to fulfill this command to reach the world with the Gospel. Through good mission programs, anyone can take part in reaching out to the world.
Mission work of the church must undergirded with stewardship of time, talent, and material resources. Our church supports a variety of missions as follows:
International Mission Trips
The First Church of God actively supports mission trips and work camps on individual and group basis. The adults have done work camps to:
Jamaica in 1995
Santa Domingo in 1998 and 2000
Venezuela (2005),
Costa Rica (2006)
Nicaragua (2008)
Mexico - The youth have made many trips to Mexico to build homes for the poor in boarder towns. In the past 10 years, our church youth have provided six mission teams to Renosa, Mexico.
Family Connection, Inc. – Restoring Hope, Rebuilding Faith
Hope Hill Children’s Home – Kentucky
Family Connection, Inc. is the parent company for Hope Hill Children's Home. Hope Hill provides a variety of services for children and families in Kentucky. These services include residential treatment services for abused and neglected children, alcohol and drug treatment programs, therapeutic foster care and independent living program.
Family Connection exists for the purpose of providing a safe and therapeutic environment, where young people can be assisted in overcoming the emotional and behavioral problems that arise from years of severe abuse and neglect.
Through the programs offered by Family Connection, young people can overcome emotional and behavioral problems and learn skills to become successful and productive young adults.
A group of members took a trip in 2009 to Hope Hill where they did landscaping, painting, power washing and other work to help beautify the grounds in preparation for the 50th Anniversary celebration coming up in September! It was an awesome trip.
More information: http://www.familyconnectioninc.com/
Church of God Ministries/ Philippines
Philippines National Leaders/Workers Eduardo Viray heads the recognized work of the Church of God in the Philippines. There are sixteen pastors and four student or lay pastors; they care for thirteen churches and six house churches. Funds are used to supplement salaries of pastors and workers.
Philippines Family Enrichment Program This new project, initiated by Eduardo Viray, targets the various felt needs of the families. This project provides holistic educational approach that will includes seminars in nutrition, family care, and marriage issues, all grounded in biblical principles.
College Scholarship Program
We want to encourage our church youth to prepare for their Christian vocation. These scholarship monies are reserved for those youth from our church who plan to attend a Christian college next year. Often Christian colleges have matching funds which increase the financial support for our youth. Four scholarships of $500.00 each are awarded toward tuition costs.
ARC Community Support Systems
ARC Community Support Systems is committed to securing for all people with disabilities the opportunity to choose and realize their goals of where and how they learn, live, work and play. Through the successfulpursuit of quality and justice, ARC Community Support Systems will
provide leadership in the field of disabilities and develop necessary human and financial resources to attain its goals.
There are members of our congregation with disabilities who utilize and benefit from the services of ARC Community Support Systems. ARC provides an excellent service, and we are pleased to provide support to this great organization to help offset recent cuts in funding from the State.
For more information: http://arccommunitysupportsystems.lbu.com/
Family Life Center
This is a crisis pregnancy center that offers free pregnancy testing, referral services for medical care, legal assistance and other community resources, education on pregnancy and abortion alternatives and clothing and furnishings for mother and baby. The center offers a Christian
approach to a crisis pregnancy.
Empty baby bottles are provided to the church on Mother’s Day of each year and those who wish to participate are asked to fill it with their spare change and return the bottle on Father’s Day.
For more information: http://familylifepcc.org/
Samaritan’s Purse – Operation Christmas Child
Samaritan's Purse is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world. Since 1970, Samaritan's Purse has helped meet needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine with the purpose of sharing God's love through His Son, Jesus Christ.
The organization serves the Church worldwide to promote the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to needy children around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Operation Christmas Child is the world's largest children's Christmas project, run by the Christian charity Samaritan's Purse. We have been sending gift-filled shoeboxes around the world since 1990, bringing joy and the hope of Jesus Christ into the lives of over 94 million underprivileged children.
We encourage everyone in our congregation to get hold of an empty shoebox, fill it with gifts and/or necessities, and bring it to church. They will be taken to the local collection site where they will be shipped to other countries for distribution to Children for Christmas. This shoebox is the only present that many of these children will receive all year, let alone at Christmas.
Last year, children and adults from all over the world participated - including many churches, schools and workplaces - wrapping, packing and sending nearly 1.1 million shoeboxes full of gifts to disadvantaged children in Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
For more information: http://www.samaritanspurse.org