Christ Covenant takes missions around world
Christ Covenant Church PCA took its mission to serve across the globe this past summer by traveling to Ireland, Greece, Rwanda, Africa, Kentucky, North Carol-ina and Utah.
While some of the mission trips were used to help people in need, others were used to assist churches in holding vacation Bible schools and spread the gospel, Teresa Pratt, Christ Cov-enant media coordinator and music assistant, said.
The mission teams range from all adults to children.
“Our church encourages missions for all ages,” Pratt said. “Our children know how to serve and work and help, which I think is a very important part of life.”
The teams started their quests in May with one serving in Greece and another serving in Castle-wellan, Northern Ireland. Other teams went separately to Kentucky in June. In July, a different team of families went to Kentucky, a team of middle and high school youths went to North Carolina, another team, consisting of youth and adults, went to Utah, a small team went to Rwanda, Africa, and a family went to Ghana.
Pratt accompanied the team that went to Ireland to help with a special May Day event, which is a big holiday.
“They needed help with outreach, music and puppets,” she said. “We shared the gospel through the music and speaking through the puppets.”
That team also led in worship, performed at a community concert and visited elementary schools, nursing homes and care homes, which can include younger people who are disabled.
“There were a lot of outreach opportunities,” Pratt said.
This is Christ Covenant’s fifth year to take a mission trip to different cities and towns in North-ern Ireland and Republic of Ireland. She said the trips started years ago with Briarwood Church in Birmingham, Ala. Then Christ Covenant Church picked up churches on its own.
Elsewhere, a team of eight adults traveled to Athens, Greece, from May 20 through May 28, to help First Greek Evangel-ical Church with the refugee situation in Greece.
“The refugees were coming from Syria and Afghanistan,” Pratt said. “A lot of [the refugees] are still living in tents. They have fled from their homes with absolutely nothing.
“Some of them have jobs in Europe but they can’t get there because the border had closed, so, they get to Greece and they don’t know they have to stay there.”
First Greek Evangelical Church is doing amazing things to help refugees with their physical and spiritual needs, she said.
“A team member said [the Greek church] is taking these abandoned government buildings, opening them up and turning them into places where these refugees can live.
“[First Greek Evangelical Church has] a huge ministry to the refugees,” she said.
“[That church’s] pastor came to our mission conference and spoke last February, and our young adults pastor, Seth Hammond, and missions pastor, Andy Halbert, went to Greece last year.”
Another team of adults and families, traveled to Kentucky, as part of Mission of Hope, to help teach life classes and lead a vacation Bible school for children.
Church members also bought and donated items for Hope Academy Store, where the community could get basic household items at that store.
Mission team members also provided labor, cleaned up Black Mountain Elementary School grounds, took school supplies for Mission of Hope’s Backpack campaign and took Christmas presents to the children.
Another June trip involved a team of middle and high school-age youth who traveled to Hay-wood County, N.C., ran a sports camp, repaired roofs and did other hands-on work and distributed food.
“This is our third summer in North Carolina,” Andy Pifer, Christ Covenant youth pastor, said. “There were 75 youth and adult participants. We did mercy missions, focusing on the widows and homeless.”
Christ Covenant, which headed the trip, invited 15 other churches from Arkansas, Texas, Dela-ware and Florida to join its team.
Mission efforts continued in July with a team traveling to Rwanda. It was led by Joel McCall, a missionary in residence working through Equipping Leaders International.
“He teaches and equips the pastors and elders of the churches in Africa,” Pratt said.
Ginger Forbes, Christ Cove-nant director of children’s ministry joined McCall on the trip to help equip children’s ministry leaders in Rwanda.
“There has not been a lot of children’s ministry going on over there,” Pratt said.
Another July trip involved a group of high school-aged youths and adults who traveled to Utah to help and share the gospel with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“They are going out there to share the gospel with Mormon youth,” Pratt said. Pifer, who went on the trip, said the team also provided mercy ministry-type work.
He said mission trips glorify Jesus Christ, bring hope to people who are hurting and stretch the church’s members mentally, physically and spiritually.
