The Great Commission – Matthew 28:16-20 (ESV)
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Hi! I hope you have had a chance to study the pictures and information posted on the Missions Bulletin Board in the overflow area of the sanctuary. I thought I would update you on the missions your tithes and offerings support. As BJ Leonard taught us last summer, our prayers should start on the outer rim of that proverbial target. So, I will start with the missions furthest from our small City of Pittsfield.
DHF (Disciples Heritage Fellowship) was instrumental in organizing last September’s discovery mission to Poland regarding housing and the feeding of thousands of Ukrainian refugees. Dobro Czynic Misja (Good Works Mission) in Warsaw, Poland, coordinates housing, meals distribution, basic day-to-day necessities, schooling, and even Polish lessons for Ukrainian refugees seeking employment. Director Radek Gasza recently shared some amazing statistics in the Dobro Czynic newsletter. From March 2022 to September 2023, 11 trips have been made to six (6) different Ukrainian churches to distribute 302.5 tons of various aid consisting of food, hygienic items, sleeping bags, flashlights, and Bibles. As of the end of July, the cost of these supplies totaled $714,000 US dollars.
“One of the most outstanding moments in our ministry was a camp for Ukrainian children in our church in Palowice. There were about 60 kids from Ukrainian Christian families. About 30 children came from Kiev and Poltava regions, the other half were kids of refugees in Poland. As anyone would imagine, there were games, fun, sports and lots of tears. Tears of joy and farewell tears. They said it was like a taste of heaven. And indeed, it was. There was time for physical activities but also for the word of God. They were well behaved, played games and were obedient to the leaders. It was hard to say goodbye after just a couple of days. On the last day 17 young people came forward to give their life to Christ. Glory to God.” – copied from the Church of Free Christians (Palowice, Poland) July 2023 newsletter
While on our discovery mission last September, we visited Camp Ostroda, managed by Bartek Zdanowicz. In his recent newsletter, Bart wrote, “Thanks to the cooperation with the Good Works Mission and Polish Christian Ministries, we were able to help war refugees from Ukraine during the summer for the second year in a row. We were able to launch a container town, consisting of 14 residential containers and 3 shower and toilet containers, allowing us to provide shelter and care for the needs of 50 people, mainly women and children.” This summer’s schedule included 13 summer camps where 1,300 kids “could hear about the love that has a name – JESUS!
“Ukrainian children living at Ostróda CAMP also took part in the camps organized at the center. A particularly special camp organized by us in cooperation with Good Works Mission and Faith 2 Faith Ministries was where 12 people from among the children from Ukraine living with us responded positively to the call to accept Jesus. This was an incredibly moving and beautiful sight for us, a beautiful culmination of our many months of work and assistance efforts for war refugees from Ukraine. With the support of the Good
Works Mission, we were also able to send several humanitarian aid transports to Ukraine. The clothing, medical equipment, military equipment, and canned meats that we sent went directly to the front, supporting the defenders of Ukraine and to people in need from the areas near Lutsk and the Cherson region.”
Christian Missions Fellowship (CMF) International – BJ Leonard filled the pulpit one Sunday last year while Pastor Michael was on sabbatical. He and his wife Mary (both 2006 Lincoln Christian University graduates) and their family of 4 kids are moving to Kenya, Africa, in October to serve as missionaries. They will be training Kenyan disciple-makers, church-planters and missionaries. The Leonard’s will be the third generation of missionaries from the First Christian Church of Decatur to serve in Kenya.
Pioneer Bible Translators – The word “Pioneer” reflects their commitment to translating the Bible and planting churches among the world’s least-reached people groups — those who are marginalized, those who live in hard-to-access places, and those who are Deaf. Roger Storms, Development Associate in the US, also spoke last summer during Michael’s absence. He and his wife Nancy live in Arizona. Matt (PHS graduate of ‘93) and Angie Weldy serve from Grand Prairie, Texas. Jan Barczuk, Rockford, IL, is the assistant director of European Recruitment and Development for PBT. He serves God’s people in Poland, Ukraine, and Brazil. Jan has a special ministry for the Roma people in Ukraine.
Cru – Campus Crusade for Christ – “Cru exists to glorify God by helping fulfill the Great Commission through winning, building and sending in the power of the Holy Spirit and partnering with the body of Christ in evangelism and discipleship.” There are 6,306 ministries worldwide; 95 countries; 98 cities in the USA.
Encounter – Campus Ministry – serving the campuses of Illinois State University, Illinois Wesleyan, and Heartland Community College. College students have opportunities to grow in their relationship with Jesus and others through mission trips, vision trips, exposure trips, and service trips.
Lincoln Christian University – Brady Cremeens, Vice-President of Advancement and Alumni stated their 2023-2024 enrollment is 195, most of which are seminary students, but short of their goal of 250 since their 2022 restructuring. “We enrolled just under 40 new students this fall, which was below our goal of 60 new students. While we have had a number of really good things break our way, our future is still very much ‘wait and see.’ One of the bright spots has been the many expressions of support from our alumni, friends, and churches who value what this place offers and prioritizes it with financial giving. We’re so thankful that First Christian Church in Pittsfield does too.”
Mississippi Valley Christian Service Camp – “Where Christ and Good Times Come Together” – Camp manager Jim Dain reported 569 campers attended 9 separate sessions resulting in 5 baptisms. They participated in 5 service projects and went on 1 mission trip to Kentucky.
Fellowship of Christian Athletes – Jack Hull, local Ambassador volunteer, reported,” We are averaging around 30-40 youth at our local huddles on a weekly basis. We are working with Pleasant Hill Western, assisting them in starting a year ago and they are averaging 25-30 students weekly. We are working with Winchester in getting a huddle started as well as Triopia. We are ready to get another group rolling in Camp Point Central area in next few weeks. We are supporting area coaches in Bible study and weekly devotions. I send out a weekly game day prayer to ten area football coaches and one for their wives at the same time. We are working on grants to host monthly couples’ dinners in our homes for area coaches. We have distributed over 30 Bibles this year to area students. We have six area students attend FCA state camp at Illinois College, three from Pittsfield-Griggsville area, and three from Winchester. These are a few of the many things we are doing. Organizing a fundraiser soon. Gave seven different local folks volunteering snacks for our weekly huddles.”
Where is God calling you to serve? Will you venture to the far reaches of the globe? Or will you serve in your own church and community? As Wayne and I head to Poland and Ukraine in October, we ask for your prayers for us and the entire team.
There are many ways you can be of service:
- Be a prayer warrior for the time we are in Poland.
- Support one or more of the mission fields that First Christian Church has chosen to partner with.
- Or perhaps take a mission trip outside of Pike County.
We challenge you to let the love of God pour through you to others – Be the Hands and Feet of Jesus!
In His Service,
Cindy Chamberlain