Compassion / Intercultural Ministries

by Dr. Willie Ulibarri

Empowered by understanding that compassion/intercultural ministry is intentionally working towards the realization of God’s desire that all people be saved and come to the knowledge of Christ, four Messenger College students and a professor came to Southern California during Spring Break 2024 to actively do ministry in a diverse and urban community.

San Bernardino, California is a community that is socially and economically depressed with a large population of homelessness. Unafraid and armed with the good news of the Gospel, the team forged ahead in serving and ministering to the people of the community in various forms.

Partnering with The Way World Outreach, whose mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ that make disciples of Jesus Christ and to bring salvation to the inner cities of the world, the team hit the ground running. They attended Sunday services which started at 7:00a, then joined the leadership team meeting and prayer, participated in an intensive discipleship class (“Holy Warriors”), attended a worship experience, and finished the day by attending a concert that featured Oasis Spanish Ministries. The attendance at the concert reflected the churches intentionality of living out community with other ethnic groups that don’t just co-exist, but actively live life together in unity. The majority of attendees were non-Spanish speakers.

The rest of the week was packed with serving at the “Way Out.” This is a place where physical and spiritual needs are provided daily for the homeless and poor of the community. The team was housed and hosted at the WWO Women’s Home that offers refuge to women who are in recovery. The team had the opportunity to interact and minister to the women during devotions and time set aside to teach and preach the gospel. Delving further into the discipleship program, the team attended the Tuesday Holy Warriors classes where over 400 students attend weekly. The team served with Project Life Impact, a non-profit faith-based after school provider, by packing groceries for the families of the students who attend the program. The team also served at the Expungement, Immigration, and Job Fair, serving over 1,000 attendees. They did outreach ministry with the young adult ministry at Cal-State University, partnered with the Women’s Home in serving the homeless at the street outreach, and culminated the week with the Adopt-A-Block outreach team.

In every instance, God showed up in all that was done. People were saved, healed, and served with love and compassion. The team was blessed while being a blessing to those they served. Most of all, God was glorified, and His Kingdom was enlarged.

It was our privilege to host the team. Thank you to Anna Warren, Laiza Santos, Kaitlyn Goss, Makenna Ward, and Heaven Harris for answering the call of God.

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Missionary Development Path (MPD)

by Rev. Anna Warren

It is essential to make disciples who make disciples. As we mentor intercultural disciple-makers, Global Education is committed to preparing them for success in the field God has called them to. Due to this, amidst a decade of harvest, the Global Education Department began an initiative called Research and Development to reach 100 new countries effectively.

While Missionary Development Path (MDP) is developing the next era of PCG missionaries through intentional training, breaking ground in new countries can be difficult, especially for new missionaries. Rather than send students to unworked ground, the Research and Development initiative strategically sends preparers to till the soil. Like John the Baptist, laborers are sent into unworked fields of ministry to create a document of information on the culture and customs, build connections, and establish relationships. Thus, when graduates of the MDP program are ready to be planted full-time in the field, they are given essential information that will help them thrive in their chosen field.

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PCG Disaster Response Ministries Expand

by Rev. Andy Hunt

PCG Global Disaster Relief welcomes a new disaster response team from Oroville, California. New Life Church and Pastor Kenny Malone have felt in their heart a passion for disaster relief work. In addition to Redding, California, this will be our second team within the district. Global Disaster Relief has been blessed to provide Oroville with a new 20-foot interstate cargo trailer and close to $5,000 in tools, equipment, and supplies.

New Life Church will begin the process of building out their trailer for use and loading it with additional necessary supplies. In addition, they will begin any training available to them in their region, which will better equip them to respond in their community and surrounding areas.

Thank you to New Life Church and the Northern California district for making this partnership possible. We know that this new ministry is going to make a huge impact in the lives of people who may face disasters.

Global Disaster Relief is looking to expand our teams across the United States. If you are interested, please feel free to contact Global Missions at (817) 554-5900 or AndyHunt (Global Disaster Relief Director) at (281) 740-7540.

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Native American Ministries Changing Lives

by Rev. David Alverez

While on a mission’s trip to Hobart, Oklahoma about eight months ago to repair a roof that was leaking, I met a man from Honduras. He had been living in the United States for 15 years. Hurricane Katrina brought him to his current location which was a street corner where people gather daily to wait for someone to come by and offer them work.That day, little did Jose nor I know that God had placed our lives on a collision course. For some reason as I passed by the corner with all the men looking for work Jose caught my attention. I stopped and asked him if he was interested in taking an 800-mile trip with me (a stranger) and work on a church roof. I know what you are thinking... that I was crazy... So did my wife. “You’re taking a complete stranger with you all the way to Oklahoma?” she said. While on the trip I was able to lead Jose to the Lord. Jose is now a member of Bethel Family Praise Center. He has joined me on other missions trips, and he is now a greeter in our Spanish speaking service. Native American Ministries is changing lives. “Every Tribe, Tongue and Nation.”