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 is bearing witness to God’s love for the world in Jesus Christ. Evangelism is bearing witness to God’s love for the world in Jesus Christ.  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.  The 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 do mission 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 contribute to a variety of local, national, and international missions.  We have contributed to the Delavan Food Pantry, the Tazewell County House of Hope, Common Place and Southside Mission, both in Peoria, and Heifer International.  Members have also participated in two Habitat for Humanity housebuilding projects.

We contributed to the Darfur Stoves Project, which became a presbytery-wide mission project that raised over $20,000 to buy fuel-efficient stoves for Darfur refugees.  This project was featured in the PC(USA) Mission Yearbook.  If you would like to read about it, please click here.

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 Darfur, but we can all lend a hand to our neighbors and get to know our neighbors 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, and through going into our local school as part of our 4th Grade Reading Club.

We invite you to come and join us in serving and proclaiming the Good News: discover the disciple God is calling you to become!