Hearts and Crafts:

 Hearts and Crafts meet on the second and fourth Saturdays from 10 am to 12ish in the Koinonia Chapel. For quite a few years we have done knitting, crocheting, and some stitchery and beading. We would like to invite anyone who enjoys doing crafts to join us. Or if you would like to stop by and share fellowship, please come. We often do more talking than crafting!  

 

What's Your Mission?

If you have a passion for missions and are interested in helping with any of the following projects, please let Mike Ferguson or Claralee Williams know.  These are just some of the great projects we will be working on this year:  One Great Hour of Sharing, Woodland High School Senior Breakfast, Members on Missions, Updating our church Welcome Brochure, Christmas Shoe Box drive, collecting items to help the Portland Rescue Mission, Union Gospel Mission, Welcome Baskets for visitors who have attended more than once, and the list goes on and on.  We would love to have you attend our monthly meetings (1st Tuesdays at 1 p.m.) and share in developing our church's Mission giving.  If you have other ideas that we should be working on, just let us know.  Thank you all for your hard work and generous giving.


EPC Offerings
Each year, the EPC sponsors two special offerings during the holiday season; one for Thanksgiving and one for Christmas.  Each offering is designated with a specific purpose.  In 2017, our church missed these offerings, and Mission Outreach committee decided to take one Love Offering in February for this purpose. 

The Thanksgiving Offering was designated for the World Outreach Family Gathering that is held once every four years.  All World Outreach Global workers gather for six days of fellowship, worship and renewal.  These gatherings are a delightful respite for workers, many of whom are lonely for Christian Fellowship, or just plain weary from the demands of ministry in the Hard Places.  Contributions will augment the WO Family Gathering budget and help pay for Family Gathering expenses such as travel, lodging, and food. 

The Christmas Offering (Gratitude Gift) supports the Gratitude Gift Fund, which helps retired EPC ministers and missionaries in need.  When grief or pain impact the lives of these faithful shepherds, the blessing of financial assistance is a tangible way to show that others care. 

Thank you for considering how you can support this offering through prayer and/or giving as you are led by God.

Collecting Shoebox Items for
Operation Christmas Child

If you would like to collect items for the Operation Christmas Child Shoebox for kids, you could either purchase items all at once, or collect a few per month leading up to the end of October.  If you need boxes, please see Juanita MacMahon.

January-Hats, Gloves, Scarves

February-Accessories (sunglasses, watches, hair items, jewelry)

March-Quality Crafts (pillow cases, tote bags…)

April-Stuffed animals

May-Hygiene items (washcloths, soap, toothbrushes, comb, hairbrush, deodorant)

June-Toys

July-Clothing items (socks, shoes, t-shirts, dresses…)

August-School supplies

September-Games

October-Letter & photo

November-$9 Donation for postage

December-Prayer

 


World Outreach
There is mission information that is available on the Evangelical Presbyterian church website.  The website for the Evangelical Presbyterian Church is https://www.epc.org, or you can go to www.epcwo.org for a direct link to World Outreach, the mission portion of EPC.  There are multiple tabs on the welcome page of their website.  If you click on World Outreach, tabs link to ministry descriptions including: news, projects, resources, videos, and go.  The projects tab links to current projects, including Syrian/Iraqi Relief Projects and EPC Emergency Relief Projects.  There are also WO projects that focus on outreach to Muslims, unreached people, and people in poverty.  The Go tab is a link to opportunities to go and serve for a short or long term mission trip.  There is also information about people who are serving and how you can pray for them and give to support their work.

Our church has purchased copies of “Going to Hard Places” 2016- 2017 Directory and Prayer Guide.”  This gives information about teachers and people serving with EPC if you prefer a paper copy.  A copy is available in the church library, or see any member of our mission committee for more information.
 

November 2018---119 packed boxes! Thank you!

New Support for Indigenous Missions
In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus gives us the command to take the gospel to all the nations. In the original Greek, the word for nations can more accurately be translated “people groups.” People groups are defined by their unique language, culture, and ethnicity. There are 16,404 people groups in the world. Ninetyfive percent live in the 10/40 window (the rectangular area located between 10 and 40 degrees north of the equator). 6,648 people groups are considered unreached. 41% don’t have ready access to the gospel. Of the 55 least evangelized countries in the world, 97% live within the 10/40 window. 85% of those living in the 10/40 window are the poorest of the world’s poor. 90% of the people living in the 10/40 window are unevangelized.
What these statistics tell us is that there is a great need for prayer, focus, and mission work in these areas, especially the 10/40  window. And who better can reach these people groups than those who are native to their own people group. They already know the language, culture, and people and can live much more cheaply. With this in mind, the Mission/Outreach Committee has added a new mission organization called HeartCry Missionary Society. Their goal is to facilitate the advancement of indigenous missionaries throughout the world. They currently support 238 indigenous missionaries in 41 countries.
Please pray for HeartCry Missionary Society and for the advancement of the gospel to all 16,404 people groups. Perhaps you could even make it a point to pray for a particular people group? According to Matthew 24:14, Jesus will not return until the gospel
is preached to all people groups. Will you pray to this end?