reach out

Like a dry riverbed after the spring rains, once we learn to receive the love of our Lord we overflow, compelled to share His living water with anyone suffering with spiritual thirst. From local outreach and community service projects to short and long term missions efforts around the globe, College Church remains faithful to the Great Commandment to ease suffering by spreading the Good News of Christ’s redemptive work on the Cross.

Valley Outreach

· NOHO SOZO
* Sozo: rescued, pulled from danger, or lifted above trouble. Used, in the Greek, in
Ephesians 2:8: “By Grace you are saved.”
· Alpha - An informal gathering for seekers, doubters and the undecided
· www.alphana.org
· The GAP Program for the homeless in transition
· Healthcare Project for the uninsured

World Missions

· Weekly Missions Prayer

6:30 for refreshments and fellowship
7-8:30 for missions reports, field updates and prayer for the nations.

· Short Term Missions Opportunities
· CC Missionaries in the Field

Reaching the World Through Missions

On the behalf of The College Church, the Missions Committee responds to the final words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as recorded in the gospel of Matthew).

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all antions, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” -- Matthew 28:18-20

Known as the Great Commission, this command from Jesus requires the response of all followers to provide support in reaching the world for the sake and cause of Christ. The command is explicit, not optional, and made with the authority of God, given to the risen Savior, Jesus Christ. We are commanded to go, make disciples, baptize, and teach … and we are told to do this locally -- “Jerusalem first” -- and then in all nations.

The Great Commission involves the planting of a living church movement in every people group and the preaching of the Good News to every person (Mark 16:15). The ultimate vision and result of our obedience and fulfillment of the Great Commission is the glorious return of our Savior.

"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." -- Matthew 24:14

Therefore, the Missions Committee seeks to mobilize every church member and regular attender to participate in some degree in the Great Commission of Christ by directly joining in short-term or long-term programs, prayer partnering with missionaries, financial support of missionaries, vision planting, educating, recruiting, encouraging, inspiring, equipping, training, sending, evaluating and supporting God's people for world missions.

College Church Missions Committee

Dr. Don Lundgren, Missions Pastor - (emails coming soon)
John Schwaiger, Chairman
Paul Davis, Co-Chairman
Louise Brown, Secretary
Bonnie Webster, Co-Secretary
Meg Eakin
Stacie Ryan

CURRENT MISSIONS OPPORTUNITIES

Monday Night Missions Prayer

Each Monday night at 7:00 p.m. there is a gathering in the back sanctuary of the Church of those interested in praying for the missionaries associated with College Church. We review activities and news of our missionaries, have frequent guest speakers (e.g., returning missionaries), and pray for specific missionaries and missions programs.

Contact Dr. Don Lundgren for further information (413-256-0679).

College Ministry Affiliations

college church affiliations

Short-Term Missions

College Church provides frequent short-term missions opportunities for College Church members, regular attenders and others connected to the church body. Annually, teams travel to Mexico, Haiti, Russia and/or other countries in support of indigenous Christian and non-Christian programs. By supporting medical, educational and food programs and summer camp ministries, teams witness Christ’s love for all people.

Haiti

Mustard Seed Missions (MSM) is a Christ-following mission seeking to serve the poor in Haiti. Partnering with Haitian followers of Christ, we jointly work to address the health and living conditions of the Haitian people, leading to self-sustaining improvements. MSM visits Haiti regularly to hold medical clinics in remote rural villages to people who have very limited access to medical care. We work to provide medical care and improve community health, environmental conditions, and education. All of these actions are used to build relationships with Haitians who are actively engaged in this work. In these activities, we attempt to mentor concepts of good stewardship, integrity, leadership, and self-sufficiency wherever possible. MSM is also working with the American University of the Caribbean in Les Cayes, where we have taught seminars and short courses, assisted students with tuition, and given Bible studies.

MSM is an outgrowth of College Church short term mission trips that began in 2001. We welcome the opportunity to work with others from any faith (or non-faith) who are willing to give of themselves in our endeavors. We are multi-denominational in our outlook among believers in Jesus Christ and the Word of God as given to us in the Bible. As we actively engage in our faith, we welcome others to join in, observe and explore.

Board of Directors: Paul & Jan Davis, Dr. Mark Bigda, John Burnett
www.mustardseedmissions.net; www.mustardseedmissions.blogspot.com

College Church contacts for this mission are Gail and Charlie Packard (413-527-6094) and
Paul and Jan Davis (413-247-5866).

Mexico

Contact with our sister church, El Divino Salvador (The Divine Savior), in Toluca, Mexico, was first made in 1969 by current missions pastor Dr. Don Lundgren when he was pastoring a church in upstate New York. The relationship was re-ignited in 2000 when Dr. Don again visited the church, re-establishing ties. In August of 2002, Christian Abbott was sent out by College Church as a tentmaker missionary to Toluca, Mexico, and he has been working with El Divino Salvador since that time.

Christian Abbott’s job at the church is to mobilize the Mexican Christians to get involved in world missions. He does this by teaching missions, heading up the missions committee, leading a Thursday night prayer meeting for missions, organizing missions conferences, inviting Mexican missionaries to speak at the church, training future missionaries, sending out short-term missions teams and helping to coordinate an effort to reach one of the remaining unreached people groups of Mexico. As a tentmaker, Christian works full-time at a high school, giving classes on U.S. culture, history, politics and literature, and as a computer programmer and web site designer as well.
College Church sent short-term missions teams to Toluca in April 2002, 2003 and 2005. El Divino Salvador's first cross-cultural missions trip was to College Church in August, 2003.

Contact Dr. Don Lundgren for further information (413-256-0679) or Christian Abbott

Nigeria

NATAC, the Nigerian American Technical and Agricultural College, is the realization of the vision of Dr. Apollos Ihedigbo (deceased) and his wife, Dr. Rose Ihedigbo, to found a Nigerian college, providing hope and the means for a better life for Nigeria's society and children. This vision reflected the need for millions of people in Nigeria to be lifted from poverty through vocational training, equipping young people to support themselves.

Friends of NATAC is a College Church ministry that seeks to facilitate the formation of practical, self-sustaining and realistic business enterprises of NATAC. Our method is to provide financial encouragement in the form of seed money and intellectual support in the form of teacher mentorship and consulting experts. Our areas of emphasis are centered on education, applied research and small business initiatives. Our perspective is to be Christian in character and dedicated to the Glory of God.

Russia

For the past ten years, short-term missions teams have been sent by College Church to Russia to work in a summer camp for youth. Over the years, strong relationships have formed and teams have experienced a great deal of openness to sharing spiritual truths with the children and the camp staff. For the past two years the teams have used Stoneworks International in the U.S. and MIR in Russia as sponsoring agencies. Stoneworks was founded with the intent of providing follow-up work to the children and the workers whose lives were touched by the camp ministry.

Summer camp short-term missions teams have provided an opportunity to spend time in the beautiful outdoors with children. Team members seek to come alongside camp counselors and other workers to give the children a safe and memorable time in activities such as music, art, crafts, performances, sports and more. Often during quiet times or evening meetings there are opportunities to share a Bible message or share a personal testimony, giving children an opportunity to respond to God’s love for them. It is a life-changing time for all involved.

There are also dozens of children's homes in and around St. Petersburg, providing opportunities for short-term missions work. Sometimes teams come to help in obviously practical ways, such as painting rooms or landscaping. More frequently teams have a lesson or program planned for the children.

www.stoneworksint.org