Where Can I Serve?

We’ve been invited by Jesus Christ to share His love with each other, our communities and the world.  How does this world know that God loves them? Through our acts of service and love. God has chosen to use His people to be his hands and feet in this world. We have many different ways for you to join us in service and mission.  Click through the links below to learn more! 

 Mission & Missionary Updates

Good News from Hard Places – A Missions Seminar, Saturday, May 18, 2019

Elon Evangelical and Northminster Evangelical Presbyterian Churches Present


Good News from Hard Places

Saturday, May 18, 2019
9:30 – 11:15 am
 
Northminster Evangelical Presbyterian Church
106 Clearview Drive, Madison Heights VA 24572
Join us at 9:30 am for coffee and pastry – the seminar begins at 9:45 am
Please RSVP to Office@npcmh.com

Come learn why the Church in difficult places has much to teach us about both the cost of discipleship, as well as its fruits!
 
Marilyn Borst shares first-hand experience behind global headlines as she sheds light upon the work and witness of the Presbyterian Church in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Egypt (all of which Marilyn has visited in the past 6 months) and invites us to come alongside that work through our prayer and presence.

This is the Church which Paul describes: “we rejoice in our suffering because suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us….”
 
Marilyn Borst is Associate Director for Partnership Development of The Outreach Foundation, a Presbyterian mission agency which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. She works with churches around the United States to help them discern God’s call to global engagement while connecting them to that work alongside the Global Church in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and the Middle East—a particular area of specialty for her. She travels extensively, nurturing relationships with church leaders, assessing ministry initiatives and leading short-term vision teams especially to Cuba, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Syria and Israel/Palestine. Her heart for the Church in difficult places has also brought her to Iran, Pakistan and North Korea. Prior to joining The Outreach Foundation staff, Marilyn served for over 6 years as Director of Global Ministry at Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta where she oversaw the international partnerships of this 8,000-member congregation in over 33 countries. Marilyn holds a B.A. in Classical Studies from Calvin College (Grand Rapids, MI), an M.A. in Art History from Michigan State University, and an M.A. in Theology from St. Thomas University (Houston). She has participated in four archeological digs in Jordan and Egypt and taught as adjunct faculty at the University of Houston for 20 years. She is ordained as an elder and has been married to Mark Borst for 40 years. The Borsts reside in Atlanta.

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Crumrine Update – January 2019

 
Dear Family and Friends,
 
As we start this New Year, we are reminded again of these familiar verses in Proverbs: Trust in the Lord with all those heart, and lean not into thine own understanding. In all thine ways, acknowledge Him and He shall direct the paths.
 
The work God has called each one of us to do is not our own but His. We are so grateful to be a part of His plan. Thank you to all of you who faithfully pray and support us. You a vital part of the ministry here. We are excited to work together with you because God has blessed here in so many ways. Let us share some of the ways God has been working here in Tirokave.
 
Souls Saved:
We have had some souls come to Christ this past month. One man, Beno, has been coming to the church here for years but has never made a commitment to salvation. He has been under the preaching since Ben and Lauren first came. He finally decided to leave his sin and come to Christ the first part of this year. Another lady, Lena, has been searching for some time now to find the Truth through her own good works, but finally realized that she needed to bow before the Lord and accept His True Peace. These two have been such an added blessing to the ministry here. Beno, even before he came to Christ, thought himself to be Keith’s personal bodyguard as he traveled around preaching at the markets.
 
Karafa and Taveo
One blessing we encountered this past month during our service at Karafa was the heavy conviction of the Holy Spirit on the leader ( Toba) there. He has asked the men to come and sit down with him and explain the Scriptures to him. Please pray that God would make this meeting possible this weekend. Keith and the men have tried to set up something but the man had gone to town. We also had an excellent service at Taveo as well. Because of the abundance of rain, everyone had to walk more than an hour to get to this houseline.
School Situation:
Many of our youth have left for surrounding towns and cities for school because of the uncertainty of the school reopening here in the village. We have truly missed each one of them. They have been one faithful group of young people. May God continue to grow them and help them to follow Jesus!
The younger children up to eighth grade will start school here tomorrow if the roads are passable again. Because of the rain and earthquakes it has made it difficult for people to get around.
 
Yababi:
The Lord allowed Keith an unique opportunity to preach at church about 30 minutes away for a three day revival meetings. Some of our church went and stayed for this time, while we traveled back and forth for the services. We really felt the working of the Holy Spirit working in the hearts of people that attended. This church at Yababi has had some serious issues within their church, but we believe His spirit was working to change the people involved. Deana and Hudson were able to tell the story of Mary Slessor and do some crafts with the kids, so the adults could focus on the messages. Please continue to pray for the growth of this church.
 
Other Opportunities:
Keith has been able to have a carpentry class with the men of the church teaching them the basics of building. Many of them are preparing to build new homes, and they are learning good skills to help them accomplish this task. Deana is attempting to have a few classes in cooking for the ladies. She was approached by one lady who wanted to learn some different recipes, so Deana is going to attempt to do this about two times a month. The ladies would like to sell some of these baked goods. Although these two classes are not necessary to the ministry, we are trying to build relationships and help give opportunities to the church people here, we also use this time for a bible study. We do so enjoy spending time with them and encouraging them to live for Jesus.
 
Pray 1. Toba, the leader of Karafa, to come to Christ
2. Christians would stand strong in the faith and be good witnesses in their local area and the surrounding houselines.
3. A certain fighting village ( Famu) Keith had the opportunity to share the Gospel with to come to Christ.
4. Taveo and Karafa ministries
5. Continued funds to finish our stay here.
 
Praises:
1. God has provided money to purchase plane tickets to go back home in May. Lord willing, we should be home in the 3rd of May.
2. Souls Saved this past month.
3. We have had many “impossible situations” that God has answered throughout this past year. All praise goes to our Heavenly Father . May God continue to bless you all as you serve Him with JOY in your side of the world!
 
For His Glory,
The Crumrines

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Stephanie Black October 2018 Update: Namaste from Ireland!

Stephanie Black is a missionary we support through EPC World Outreach and Serge.  She is truly a world-wise missionary, serving in Ireland, South Asia and Africa at various times throughout the year.
 
In her October update, she shares her experiences and work in South Asia, Greece, Kenya, Prague and many other places.  Her update is also full of pictures and prayer requests.
 
You can find the update here.  Should you choose, you can also subscribe to her e-newletter at that link as well.

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October 7 Update from Susan May and the Burundi Hope Project

Much has been happening since I wrote last.  I did not go to Gitega with a bus and pick up all of my children but we are working on some alternative solutions! I was able to meet with the Sewing Center  on Wednesday and was blessed by their fellowship. They were able to update me not only on their progress with the sewing center projects but also what was happening in their personal lives. One of the women’s home was broken into in the middle of the night and anything she had was stolen including her personal sewing machine.  She has 6 children and her husband has no regular job sew the income from the Sewing Center and her personal customers is how they support the family. Please pray for Consolatte. These women have become a special part of my life in Burundi. They are being creative in how to expand the sewing center business and will be working on some samples for others to see. I will keep you informed.

I traveled to the Rumonge region for a Women of Hope Seminar. It is a drive down the lake road. I always enjoy going along the lake but not the bad roads. The women represented 5 churches. 3 of them are going through a healing process due to some church challenges and were encouraged by the teachings and the fellowship of believers.
 
Thanks for prayers!
IMANA NI NZIZA!
” God is so Good!”
 
Susan May
Burundi, Africa
 
I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way” Psalm 139:14 ICB 
 

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School Supply Collection

We’re close to two months into the school year, but there are many children that still don’t have basic and essential school supplies.  Over the next few weeks we are collecting supplies for our local elementary schools to give to their students who otherwise would go without.  Here are a few items students need daily:
  • Backpacks (currently 50% off at Target)
  • Pens
  • Pencils
  • Crayons
  • Paper
  • Folders
  • Markers
The next time you head to Walmart or Target, pick up some of these supplies.  You may leave your donations in the church foyer where you will see the Mission/Outreach/Evangelism display.  Thank you in advance!

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Crumrine Update – October 2018

Keith and Deana Crumrine and their family are missionaries in Papua New Guinea that we support.  Keith is John and Lorraine Ledden’s grandson. You can find this update (and past updates) on the web here, where you can also subscribe to their e-newsletter if you’d like.
 
October 1, 2018
Dear Friends,
Greeting from PNG! We are excited to share with you how God has been at work this past month! Thank you to all of you who have been praying. I will try and update you thoroughly.
 
~MINISTRY:
YOUTH CAMP: On September 15th we had the chance to take our youth to another missionaries place for a week long youth camp. Around twenty teens had the opportunity to go and hear the gospel presented. Teens came from literally all over PNG to hear from Christ! Some kids walked over FIVE days to come to camp! It was amazing to see what they would go through to hear from God! There were roughly 1,500 campers plus leaders! It was so awesome to see God work in hearts! The missionaries said in all the years they have done this camp they have never seen anything like this! The missionaries specifically asked the counselors not to just pray with the kids but make sure they fully understood repentance and knew that they were making a decision to follow Christ…NOT just say a prayer! On the last night we fed 2,000 people. The teens were singing till 11pm and being counseled till 2am! Thanks to the prayers of many of you six teen girls from our church excepted Christ as Savior and one teen guy. It was so awesome to see God work in the youths lives and see how this changed their lives! The Sunday after we asked them to give their testimonies or come tell us personally about how God worked on their lives. These seven stood up in church to give their testimonies and some told how God showed them areas of their lives they needed to get right. Thank you all for your prayers for our teens this past month! God has definitely been at work and we believe his name is being glorified! Please continue to pray for these youth that God would grow them in their Christian lives and strengthen them as many have unsaved parents. These new Christian youth have come faithfully to church services, church work days, and are the first ones willing to help with anything! We are so thankful we had this opportunity. It was clearly the Spirit of God who met with us! It was such a blessing and encouragement!
 
SHARING CHRIST’S LOVE: The first Sunday of this month we had the chance to go to Taveo, one of the former fighting houselines. We took about eight church members and food to give to these people. Since it had been so rainy it was impossible to reach this village by road…..so we all hiked by foot through the bush to share Christ’s love with these people!! We sang/played music with the violin and guitar, dad preached, and I took care of quite a few medical needs, then we left the food for them to distribute. Although we had a long treacherous hike to get to this village it was worth every single minute! Please pray for Taveo….God has to be the one to do the work in their lives! It was a neat opportunity and a blessing to help these people!
 
COMMUNITY DINNER: This past Sunday we had another community/outreach dinner. Through the last one we have seen much fruit and are praying God will use this one mightily also! For the morning service we were encouraged to see roughly five new faces! The gospel was clearly presented and a few men told dad that it was a really convicting and strong message. For the dinner we served close to 200 people and we had around TWENTY-FIVE visitors for this! For the second service all 25 didn’t stay but it was a encouragement and a huge blessing that they even came!! The second service took place inside our house with roughly 12 visitors present. The gospel was again presented. Thank you for all you who have prayed for this! God is working in the hearts of many! It was SO exciting to see people who we have been praying for many YEARS come!! Please pray that God will touch the hearts of these people and that they would realize their need of Christ!
 
SPECIFIC PRAISE: Their is a man named Jackson who we have asked prayer for before and have been praying for many years. A little bit ago he came a couple weeks in a row to our fellowship nights in a hut on Thursdays. We were surprised but super excited since we have been really praying for God to work on him! Last Wednesday we had the chance to go talk with him and invite him to the Sunday dinner. Well first off he said he would be there….a huge answer to prayer! He said God has been really working on him and he knows he needs to come to church and get saved….he was very honest with us and made it perfectly clear he has NOT excepted Christ into his life yet or asked forgiveness….just knows he needs to! This is a step in the right direction! We are all SO excited! That night for Wednesday night…..prayer meeting he showed up!! Also he attended our Thursday night fellowship and Sunday for both services! It is such a huge encouragement and blessing seeing this man come to church after so many have prayed for him for so long….including the Childs, the church members here, as well as many of you. Please pray that God would continue to work on him and continue to convict him!
 
MARKET OUTREACH: Today dad and I had the opportunity to go to our local market. We played some music on the violin and guitar, dad preached, then we passed out gospel tracts. Please pray that many would come to Christ through this. Several “religious” groups are present for this. Please pray that God would show them that they can’t get to heaven by works only by the blood of Jesus Christ! Please pray for dad as each Monday morning he will be preaching.
 
~SPECIFIC PRAYER REQUESTS: That the spirit of God would continue to work and more would get saved. Taveo and Karafa houselines. That God would work in the hearts of the new believers. Market ministry. Thursday and Saturday fellowships Wisdom about starting a carpentry school or not…another opportunity to share Christ! Continue to pray with us that God would supply the remaining support needed…we praise Him for what has been supplied!
 
~PRAISES: That seven souls came to Christ this past month! That we had so many visitors last Sunday! That so many new people have been coming faithfully to church! The man that took brother Ben to court over the land dispute came to Christ and has apologized for all the trouble he has made!
 
Thank you all so much for praying faithfully and for your support! Hope this is a encouragement to you all as it has been to us. Our God is awesome!
 
In Christ,
The Crumrines
Proverbs 3:5-6

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Andrew Brunson Prayer Update

Andrew Brunson’s trial resumes next Friday, October 12.  In preparation for that, we have gathered the following resources for you.
 
The first is a blog by Rev. Bill Campbell who was in the courtroom with Andrew at his trial last July.  This provides not only first-hand insight into what it’s like in the courtroom, but also how things are for Christians throughout Turkey.
 
This is the first 13 days of a 31 day prayer initiative.  The second half will be published once the outcome of his trial on October 12 is made known.  These are short, daily prayers you can easily add to your daily quiet time routine or at any point throughout your day.  Paper copies were made available last Sunday and are still available to pick up at church.
 
In an effort to stand with and pray for the entire Brunson family, the EPC is issuing a Call to Prayer and Fasting for the week of October 8.  We will make these available as a bulletin insert on Sunday, October 7.
 
Thank you for your continued prayers and support for Andrew.  May his faithfulness in spite of the adversity he’s faced encourage you in your walk with the Lord as well!

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Burundi School Uniforms

You might recall that last spring we did a fundraiser to help purchase new uniforms for the Burundi Hope Project.  Susan May passed along these pictures of the students wearing the uniforms you helped provide!  Thank you for your generosity and contribution to making an impact for the Kingdom of God around the globe!
 

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Paul & Reinhild Sydnor Update September 2018

MINISTRY

In August, I was in the States for our organisational meetings. We had a full summer of ministry. Two highlights of ministry were the youth camp and a music workshop. I created a short video about each of those which you can find at the following links.

 

PRAY for REINHILD

  For the past six weeks Reinhild has been suffering from the Trigeminal Neuralgia nerve disorder. This causes excruciating attacks of pain in her face. (Click here for more Info.) She has constant itching all over her body from the side-effects of the medicine. She can’t speak and can’t sleep more than a few hours at a time. She can only eat a few spoonfuls of liquid each day and she has lost a lot of weight.
 
The neurologist increased the medication (Tegretol) to 800 mg today and said that if the pain does not break by Monday then he will hospitalise her in order to treat her further for the pain. He will also schedule her for an MRI as soon as possible.
 
She went to visit her Mom while I was in the States and is still there. This has been a blessing. The house is quiet and her mom takes care of her like no one else could. There is no stress from the routine of daily life and ministry. I’ll see her again at the end of next week. You can write her at: Reinhild.Sydnor@gmail.com
 
With each week, she has expected that it will eventually pass. But now after six weeks she is really tired.
 
I have kept up with various ministry efforts and have not been there with her. We send messages via Skype each day. If I were there, she would have the stress of meals and activities she can’t do and one more person to communicate with –which is stressful. Still, it is hard to be separated and to see there is nothing that helps.
 
So we are calling on God’s help everyday and ask for your prayers too.
 
Paul for Reinhild
 
Organization & Financial Details
International Association for Refugees
P.O. Box 1405
Wheaton, IL 60187-1405 USA
 
If you would like to make a donation to our ministry you can donate online here.
Or, write a check to IAFR for “the Sydnors” and mail it to the address above.
 
IAFR
Tel: 612.200.0321
Email: info@iafr.org

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Pastor’s Corner – September 2018

For [the sacraments] are visible signs and seals of an inward and invisible thing, by means whereof God worketh in us by the power of the Holy Ghost.
– Belgic Confession Article 33
 

A New Sign…

Have you noticed there’s a new sign on the front of the church? It’s kind of hard to miss.

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