We at First Baptist Church of Eaton Rapids believe in the importance of supporting our brothers & sisters at home & abroad as we seek to bring the life-giving message of the gospel to all nations. We prayerfully & financially partner with missionary families & organizations across the globe, go on a yearly global &/or local missions trip of our own, and continually look for opportunities for outreach right here in our home-town.
The following is a list of the missionaries and organizations we financially support.
Heart & Hands
As a Christian-based all volunteer organization, the mission of Heart and Hands is to compassionately assist in meeting the basic human needs of local individuals and families. Heart and Hands is
LOCATED: at the rear of First Baptist Church
The food pantry serves families living in the Eaton Rapids School District. The staff performs all the operations of the pantry including purchasing, moving, sorting, and distributing food. The program also assists families experiencing emergencies involving utility shut-offs or the need for deliverable fuel, evictions, medical or transportation needs, as well as food and shelter for homeless individuals and families.
HOURS:
Tuesdays: 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Wednesdays: 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon
Thursdays: 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon
**Households planning on utilizing our Food Pantry are asked to schedule an appointment.
Please call 517-663-7104 if you have any questions.
City Rescue Mission of Lansing
We also support the City Rescue Mission of Lansing. The City Rescue Mission of Lansing is a 501c3 non-profit operating in Lansing, Michigan, USA. that exists to meet physical and spiritual needs in Michigan's capital area. More information about the City Rescue Mission can be found at http://www.bearescuer.com/
Brad and Amber Jones
Amber & I, along with our three girls, Zoë (2004), Piper (2007) and Lola (2010), are working on the island of Uripiv in the small South Pacific country of Vanuatu. The 240,000 Ni-Vanuatu people are spread out over 80 islands located about 500 miles west of Fiji. Most people live in bush villages and survive on what they can gather from their gardens and the ocean. We’re partnering with the local community & churches by providing both linguistic support and discipleship training to encourage the passionate pursuit of God and His Story. Before engaging in missions work, Amber & I spent over 9 years in youth ministries and have had the opportunity to serve youth and young adults in the United States, France, Vanuatu and Australia. Even though we never intended to do this kind of stuff, God nudged us into youth work way back in 1998 and He just keeps giving us opportunities to engage with people in their own culture. God's been teaching us about authenticity, grace, and raw faith. We have a long way to go, but we're discovering real freedom & joy as we're learning to trust Him. We're not the same people we were when we started this journey. We returned to Vanuatu in July 2012 to begin our second term. Mid-2013, we were able to move out of the bamboo house we had been living in and into a suitable home that we built on Uripiv; a relatively remote island where there are no roads, stores, drinking water or electricity. Now that we’re settled in, we can continue our work of evangelism/discipleship training using the tools of translation, literacy & bible teaching, community development & language research. In 2014, we hope to complete our language studies, begin a working translation of Genesis and start teaching chronologically through the Old Testament. We’re so blessed to have such a great support team that enables us to volunteer for God’s amazing work. BMW Website link: http://www.biblicalministries.org/ Facebook: Brad Amber Jones
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Michael and Sherri Carlson
We facilitate church growth and planting in Europe (especially Czech Republic and Italy). More specifically our goals are (1) to help our local Czech church plant leaders to be stronger servants and be less dependent on Michael and people’s opinions, (2) to gain more contacts for planting and evangelism in the Czech Republic, (3) to deepen contacts with other churches in the Czech Republic to see if we can help their mini-church planting movements, (4) to continue expanding and encouraging our network of Italian planters and leaders, and (5) to continue our online ministry, Sherri’s ministry to build up the church by equipping women in Switzerland, Italy and the Czech Republic, etc. Website of Pioneers is: https://www.pioneers.org Michael: www.facebook.com/michael.allen.carlson
Skype: michael.allen.carlson
Sherri: www.facebook.com/sherri.w.carlson
Skype: sherri.carlson To learn more: www.carlsonsite.com
Missionary TECH Team
Missionary TECH Team is a service mission to churches and other ministries. We provide technical services through Computer, Graphic, Facilities, and Mechanical, (which is a car lease program for missionaries home on furlough), worldwide reaching thousands for Christ. In 2013 we had projects in 48 countries and 40 states totaling 522 ministry projects. "Our Vision is to be the service mission like-minded Christian ministries may turn to for technical assistance and know-how". "To know Christ and Make Him known". TECH's web page: http://www.techteam.org/.
Jonathan and Christie Swift
The Dearborn Initiative to plant Christ Community Church started as a simple question. While serving as church-planters in Lebanon, Jonathan and Christie Swift invited their home church in Livonia, Michigan to pray with them about how best to be gospel-driven, city-reaching, globally strategic, and Kingdom-minded. The question was posed: “What if we could plant a gospel-driven church, reaching out to families from all walks of life and numerous ethnic backgrounds, while at the same time advance strategic global church-planting by recruiting & equipping internationals to plant churches back in their homelands, all without leaving our own backyard?” The backyard is Jonathan’s hometown, Dearborn, MI, birthplace of Henry Ford, home to Greenfield Village, boasting two colleges drawing international students from around the world, and the most densely populated Muslim community in the US. All these opportunities are packed into this uniquely diverse city where the Swifts are leading a team to plant Christ Community Church now meeting in the heart of Dearborn. Website: http://cccglocal.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CCCglocal Affiliation: https://www.convergemidamerica.org/church-planting
Wally & Natasha Kulakoff (Serving with Mission Eurasia)
Wally and Natasha Kulakoff focus on training nationals for evangelism and discipleship across Eurasia. Wally expresses his clear accord with Mission Eurasia’s vision as he says, “No one can effectively evangelize their community single-handedly. However, churches can provide the tools for national Christians to be successful in evangelism and discipleship. Together, working as a team, we can help young national leaders to grow, to adapt the message to the culture of their countries, and to bring transforming change by sharing the gospel in their communities.” Natasha is involved in a Home for Every Orphan and the social media for Russian Ministries in translation and editing of testimonies. Website: https://missioneurasia.org/
Jason & Nisae Williamson
Jason & Nisae Williamson (Serving in Papua New Guinea with Ethnos360)
Church Planting among the Iski.
Names hidden for the safety of our missionaries
(Serving in Caribbean & Latin America ) Our purpose is to help advance the Great Commission in the Caribbean and Latin America by utilizing global ministry partnerships here, to strengthen, encourage, and train leaders of indigenous churches abroad.
Rev. Andrew C. Semenchuk (Serving with the Slovic Gospel Association)
Missionary Andrew Semenchuk has been ministering to his Slavic people for over 50 years from the days of communist oppression under the Soviet Union to the present time. Today, he spends a good part of each year in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus in national Christian leadership training, church-planting seminars, developing Bible Institutes and Seminaries, forming national Mission Outreach and Christian Education Programs and overseeing new church construction. Today, as Senior Associate of International Ministries for SLAVIC GOSPEL ASSOCIATION, Andrew helps to formulate mission strategy and coordinate ministries. He maintains close contact with churches and para-church organizations in former Soviet countries and churches in the West, developing sister-church relationships and linking them in a network of joint ministries. Website: : www.sga.org
Catherine Bristol (Served in Ghana with Baptist Mid-Missions)
Catherine Bristol is a retired missionary nurse who worked under Baptist Mid-Missions in Ghana, West Africa. After working in a rural clinic under Baptist Mid-Missions in Liberia, West Africa, Cathy transferred to Ghana in 1994. She joined a group of Baptist Mid-Missions missionaries already living in Upper West Region of Ghana who wanted to begin a medical ministry in a very rural area. They worked together to build a clinic in the village of Baayiri, situated 17 miles northeast of the Regional capitol, Wa. Cathy became the missionary nurse-in-charge of that small outpatient facility. A national staff including an administrator, lab assistant, dispensary worker, and and two other nursing assistant have been trained and joined her in this ministry. The ministry has not been short of many challenging situations and with the help of a national advisory committee the emphasis is now on recruiting and training more national technical staff (particularly a registered nurse and a midwife) to provide quality care for the people living in the 13 villages in their immediate area. Even in her retirement from working as a missionary nurse in West Africa, Cathy continues to support and encourage the clinic ministry to continue and successfully flourish as an outreach. Retired Missionary
John & Diana Woods (Serving in Winslow, Arizona with Baptist Mid-Missions)"
Native American Ministries.