2021
Missions
Missions is a central part of what we do here at First UMC. Helping others is at the core of our faith. This year we changed it up a little with COVID-19 and restrictions on worship we have decided to switch from a Monthly Schedule to a Bi-Monthly one. So we will be collecting for on cause 2 months at a time.
2021 Missions
Team 5:18 (January / February) National
In 1978 Southeast Louisiana Youth for Christ Inc. was formed with the purpose of reaching youth with the good news of Jesus Christ. For thirty-three years the ministry has been predominantly public school oriented and known primarily as Campus Life. Today the name is TEAM 5:18 and Campus Life is Campus Outreach. The names have changed but the goals remain the same. In recent years the advent of large churches and their investment in youth ministry has targeted those schools very effectively with outreach to the youth of the traditional "nuclear family'. During that same time, Shane O'Hara and Jeff Boren (the staff) had begun to focus on kids falling through the cracks. The ministry expanded to include mentoring for at risk children from father absent homes and programs and mentoring for institutionalized children. These endeavors eventually led us to partnerships with a group of prison and youth ministries that we believe are providing some of the most effective ministry for reaching children and ministering to their families in America. These ministries are all found highlighted on this web site. As our involvement grew with these ministries and our forms of ministry increased "CAMPUS LIFE" no longer seemed an accurate name for all we do. Because what we do either RECONCILES MAN TO GOD, or RECONCILES FATHERS TO THEIR CHILDREN and since one of our primary goals is to mobilize and equip the Body of Christ to accomplish this the name TEAM 5:18 based on 2 Corinthians 5:18 seemed an appropriate umbrella name for our endeavors.
Because You Matter (March/ April) Regional
What started out as just a way to let people know "Hey We're Still Here" has grown to a regular showing of 40-100 people. These folks are of all different religions and all have different situations, but the one thing they have in common is each other. What has happened here is truly a blessing for all who are involved with this ministry. It has become a community of Hope, Fellowship, Faith, and Understanding. A community of Love and Compassion. It is no longer about the food, (well maybe a little about the food) but it is about the People, and truly serving each other as Christ would serve. But more than that it is about carrying each other’s burdens and giving each person that walks through that door a sense of belonging, a sense of community, and support. .
Camphor UM Mission (May / June) Global
Providing education, healthcare and agricultural training to help people recovering from war. The need to have about 500 less fortunate school going kids achieve primary and secondary education. Also provide some basic health service deliverables to the community.
Compact Family Services (July/ August) National
COMPACT aims to provide services and resources that help churches and others redeem vulnerable children and families.
COMPACT envisions extending its continuum of Christ-centered family services including, community, residential, placement and prevention services such as foster homes, group homes, treatment services, training services, intervention services, adoptions and church empowerment as far as the will of God leads and provides.
COMPACT endeavors to equip and resource the Church over the next decade to reach and redeem at least 3% (13,000) of the daily modern orphan need in the United States.
United Methodist Home for Children. (September/October) Regional
The United Methodist Home for Children (UMHC) was founded in 1917 by the Central Pennsylvania Conference of the Methodist Church (now the Susquehanna Conference of the United Methodist Church) as an orphanage. Each day, the Mechanicsburg campus serves approximately 35 children between the ages of 12-20 using a collaborative trauma-informed approach to care. UMHC contracts with county, state and federal agencies to provide safe, residential care to youth and support services to their families and communities.
When, as a community, we make sure that everyone can reach their potential and fully contribute to our communities, we all benefit. Maximizing the potential of children, people who are our neighbors, our workforce, and our civic body ensures that our communities remain vibrant places to live, work, and play.
CURE International (November/December) Global
The children we serve have conditions like clubfoot, bowed legs, cleft lips, untreated burns, and hydrocephalus. Without treatment, they will have little hope for a future. Many will die from their condition.
That’s why CURE exists. We’re a non-profit organization that operates charitable hospitals and programs in 12 countries worldwide where patients experience the life-changing message of God’s love for them, receiving surgical treatment regardless of gender, religion, or ethnicity.
Since our founding in 1996, CURE hospitals have performed more than 213,800 procedures, and surgeons trained by CURE have performed more than 15,000 procedures to treat hydrocephalus and spina bifida.
Most importantly, we have seen God move in the lives of our patients, their families, and their communities and have had the opportunity to witness more than 190,200 expressions of faith in Jesus Christ.