January is Missions Month at Redeemer!
Every Sunday in January will feature a special coffee hour missions table, and on January 18 (West Side) and January 25, (East Side and Downtown) Redeemer’s 2015 overseas mission trips will be highlighted during all services. Looking ahead to next year, we will be offering even more trips that will send over 200 people around the world to share the love of Christ in India, South Africa, the Philippines, and more.
Short-term mission trips are the culmination of many months of preparation so that our volunteers can work alongside international churches and ministries effectively. These teams of volunteers are made up of 10 to 20 people who use their unique skills and abilities to minister to local church and ministry staff as well as the population to whom these churches serve. On past trips, our teams have
- Mounted a full production of a classic play with formerly sex-trafficked victims
- Provided a children’s program during the local schools’ Winter Break.
- Taught employment work-shops on skill development and job readiness.
- Offered continuing education classes to those in the local healthcare field.
- Offered a “day of beauty” for housemothers and teenagers of an orphanage.
Many projects for these churches and ministries were supported or completed by funds raised by our team members. A new security fence was bought and installed around a children’s village, new dental equipment was bought and installed, children were taken on field trips, and even a motorcycle was purchased for a local pastor! For a comprehensive recap of our 2014 trips, please visit our newly updated website at redeemer.com/missions.
Our teams are looking for people of all skills sets and experiences. Some trips are planned around a group of people who are in a particular profession (i.e. healthcare or business), but many trips are planned around the skills & hobbies of those who join our teams. We prepare by meeting together regularly before the trip, often gathering for fundraisers and socials in order to facilitate a closely-knit team. Team members return from their trips seeing the world in a new light.
I was drawn to the idea of helping in a part of the world where access to healthcare is very.limited. On the Madagascar trip, we offered a basic medical screening to some of the poorest people who otherwise would have no access to care. Our team taught classes in new therapeutic practices that would be of benefit to local healthcare workers. The Ministry of Health of Madagascar not only sent an official to our training sessions, but also even granted certificates of continuing education to those who attended. I encourage you to consider joining one of the many Short Term Mission teams this year. It’s an amazing way to see God’s work in the world.
- Dr. Timothy Grau, Madagascar Team, 2013 and 2014
Don’t forget to look for the Missions Table at Coffee Hour after services in January. Literature on our upcoming mission trips will be available, and former team members will be on hand to answer any questions you might have. Team members from past trips will also be sharing testimonies of their personal experiences during the services. A scripture that our missions teams often refer to comes from Acts 20:24. “But I do not account my life of any value, nor as precious to myself, if only that I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” Please prayerfully consider joining one of our missions teams this year
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Articles in this Issue
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The city, the church, and the futureTim Keller |
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CFW 4th annual conference in November: "Making All Things New: Imagination and Innovation Required"David Kim |
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