Mission & Evangelism

 

Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. (Mt 25:40)

Mission puts God’s love for the world in Jesus Christ into action. Evangelism puts God’s love for the world in Jesus Christ into action.  Mission is how we bear witness through our deeds, evangelism through our words.  Neither mission nor evangelism are an “afterthought” or something we do in addition to worship. Both mission and evangelism are keys to our lives as disciples of Jesus Christ. First Presbyterian lives out Christ’s call to serve and proclaim, faithful to Our Lord and to our Presbyterian heritage.  Our Westminster Confession of Faith announces: “Christ hath commissioned his Church to go into all the world and to make disciples of all nations. All believers are therefore under obligation [. . .] to contribute by their prayers, gifts, and personal efforts to the extension of the Kingdom of Christ throughout the whole earth.”

We engage in mission work in “good Presbyterian order” through the structures of our General Assembly, synods, presbyteries and local churches. First Presbyterian participates in shared mission giving by contributing to the Presbytery of Great Rivers, which then pools the money for mission projects around central Illinois, bringing hope in the name of Jesus Christ to our neighbors in need.

We support a variety of local, national, and international missions.  We have contributed to the Delavan Food Pantry, the Carol House of Hope, Common Place, Kemmerer Village, The Crittenton Centers, and the Peoria Rescue Mission.  During 2015, we will be focusing specially on The Crittenton Centers.  We recently concluded our relationship with Rev. Dr. Carolyn Weber, who retired after serving several years as a missionary in Ethiopia.  We are currently establishing a relationship with Dr. Elizabeth Searles, who works with orphans and the elderly in Romania.

While money is of great help in mission projects, mission is not just about sending checks.  Mission involves prayer, discernment, engagement, and involvement.  We cannot all make trips to foreign lands, we cannot all write generous checks to worthy causes, but we can all lend a hand to our neighbors and get to know them better.

We reach out to our nearby neighbors through opening our doors for Red Cross blood drives, through hosting Threads of Love in our church, through our monthly Fourth Monday free community suppers, and through music, such as the organ recitals we hosted in 2013 and 2014.

In 2013, we donated diapers to the House of Hope, a shelter for women and children.  We assembled hygiene kits for disaster relief.  (These kits went into action after the tornado that hit our area in November, 2013.)  In June we threw a block party to reach out to our neighbors and to offer them music, food, fun, and Christian love.  We were present again at the Delavan Fall Festival (Labor Day weekend), to be with our neighbors, to make some new friends, and to share the Good News. In November, we held a food drive for the House of Hope, and we closed out 2013 with a school supplies drive for students here in Delavan and at the Christian Life Academy in Hopedale.

In 2014, our major new mission project was providing lunch for any school-aged child in Delavan who would like it, on Wednesdays during June and July.  We have also recently completed a collection of needed items for the Peoria Rescue Mission.  Currently, we are collecting new sweatpants and underwear for Delavan schoolchildren.

We’re always listening for the mission projects to which God is calling us.  We welcome ideas and suggestions.  We invite you to come and join us in serving and proclaiming the Good News: discover the disciple God is calling you to become!