Dear friends,
It is good to write to Outreach Foundation supporters. Martha and I have been blessed by your ministry for over 30 years!
Hopefully, we are near the end of the COVID pandemic. The whole country of Mexico is most anxious that it be so. The burden it has placed on the church and society has been enormous.
Read MoreThe 89th commencement service took place on June 11, 2022, in the Grace Chapel. Five students graduated: one with a bachelor’s degree in theology, one with a bachelor’s degree in theological studies, and three with master’s degrees in divinity. The speaker was Dr. Peter Ford, assistant professor of Islamic Studies at NEST, who is retiring after ten years in Lebanon and over 40 years of missionary service in the Middle East and Africa.
Read MoreAfter decades of difficulties and hesitation to build churches or renovate the old ones, the Egyptian church is now able to build in a massive way. Many building projects are taking place in different parts of the country. A great example is a church in a village in Upper Egypt called Kalandol. This church is very old and has a building that has been there for almost 100 years without any kind of renovation or reconstruction. Peter Gamal, a new graduate from the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo, was sent to pastor this church. Miraculously, he managed to get a license to rebuild the church — and the entire congregation is involved in the project!
Read MoreWe are saddened to announce the recent death of Eunice Muindi, wife of the late Rt. Rev. Bernard Muindi, former moderator of the Presbyterian Church in East Africa, former pastor of the Riamukurwe Parish at Nyeri, and visionary advocate for the needs of vulnerable children at Nyeri and beyond. Rev. and Mrs. Muindi were great partners and friends of The Outreach Foundation.
Read MoreLocated in Kyiv and with a reach well into Central Asia, Ukraine Evangelical Theological Seminary (UETS) has been equipping women and men for leadership in the church, military chaplaincy, counseling ministry, and peacemaking since the breakup of the Soviet Union in the early 1990’s. When we reached out to Rev. Najla Kassab, President of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, about who we might connect with in a personal way and who is making a tremendous difference in Ukraine during the war, she connected us with UETS’ president, Dr. Ivan Rusyn.
Read MoreOutreach Associate Director Tom Boone recently received this wonderful video from partner Beni Husarciuc, a Cru staff person in Romania. Outreach is working with Beni to provide medical supplies to Ukraine as well as fund a housing unit Cru built at their refugee camp in Romania.
Read MoreIt has been a heartbreaking season in the life of the world, but we worship the God who has journeyed through the depth of pain and heartbreak for us. Each year at Easter, we celebrate the promise that through Jesus Christ, God brings hope out of despair, abundance out of scarcity, and new life out of death. At Mother Esther School, we have certainly witnessed new life emerge from situations of despair, and we have experienced joy — fierce and defiant — in the face of hopelessness.
Read MoreMay the blessing of God the Almighty Father be upon each one of you. I praise God for the wonderful ways He has used each of you as instruments in His hands for the expansion of His Kingdom.
This year, despite the effects of the pandemic, God has been faithful to us, and everything seems to be returning to normal. Of course, we also realize that a great number of pastors still fear being exposed to the virus.
SARA ministry retreats are once more taking place. From April to June, we had 12 mentoring retreats with an average of 13 pastors per retreat for a total of 156 pastors.
Read MoreNearly 400,000 people live in six United Nations Refugee Camps in western Ethiopia near the border with Sudan and South Sudan. People have been in the camps since the 2013 civil war in Sudan, UN average stay is 20 years.
The Outreach Foundation has worked in the camps for years. Most recently, with the help of our donors, we provided 20,000 Bibles in the Nuer language for people in the camps.
Read MoreThe situation “on the ground” is pretty grim — both Syria and Lebanon are in the midst of economic collapse. Our major partner in both countries is our Presbyterian family, the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon. It is hard to get a grasp on the “direness” of the context in which the Synod churches do ministry but these sobering assessments from the World Bank may help:
Read MoreThe greatest joy for me serving in South Sudan these five years has been my students. I am always amazed by their curiosity, thoughtfulness, intelligence, good humor, hard work, and care for me as their teacher and brother in Christ. This semester has been no different. In Philosophy of Religion, we have tackled questions such as “Why is philosophy important?” “What is God’s central attribute according to many theists (believers in God)?” “What analogies help us better understand the Trinity?” “How can Jesus be both fully divine and fully human?” “What is the major weakness of Calvinism?”
Read MoreStu Ross, East Africa Mission Consultant, recently sent this note about the dedication of PCEA Churiri Church in Kenya. The church was built in partnership with the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA); Memorial Presbyterian Church, Charlotte, NC; Mid-Atlantic Synod Men’s Council through the Nendeni Outreach Program; and The Outreach Foundation.
Read MoreWhen I hear “Mosul,” I think of the Church in that place, specifically the Presbyterian Church there which I first visited in 1998 (my first of 15 visits to Iraq). Where I was led on foot through a winding “rabbit warren” of streets — too narrow for cars — to stand in front of an ornate, carved doorway in a wall with my eye drawn upwards to see in a tear-shaped rondel the words, in English, “The Protestant Church.”
Read MoreIf Matthew 25:40 had a modern “footnote,” it might say “Go, see an example of this in the Beqaa Valley at Together for the Family.” Indeed, this collection of ministries, overseen by their Executive Director Izdihar Kassis, consistently amazes me with its caring and creativity for serving Syrian refugees: educational classes for the little ones who have access to no other schools; medical/dental clinics; job training in sewing, carpentry and hair/makeup application; baby care with new mothers…the list goes on and on.
Read MoreThey will know we are Christians by our love…
After two years of a shutdown, begun by protests over government corruption and then continued because of the pandemic, it gave me much joy to see two of the four reopened schools for refugee children on my recent trip to Lebanon!
On the outskirts of the large city of Zahle is the small village of Kab Elias. The National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon has had a small church and a school there for over 100 years.
Read MoreOur partner in Warsaw, Poland, the College of Theology and Social Sciences, provided us with this wonderful update. Used with permission.
“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:18
According to a report from the UN, as of May 27, 2022, more than 14 million people are thought to have fled their homes since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Over 6.7 million have left Ukraine for neighboring countries while more than 3.6 million have entered Poland. Based on these numbers, the population of Poland has risen 9.3% this year!
Read MoreWe are happy to share the following news from Gujranwala provided by Enna B. Lal, Accounts Manager and Administrator, and Rev. Nosheen Khan, Principal:
142nd Baccalaureate 2022
Our Baccalaureate service was held on March 27, 2022 at Swift Memorial First Presbyterian Church, Civil Line, Gujranwala , Pakistan. It was a great privilege for Gujranwala Theological Seminary (GTS) that Rev. Dr. Edwin G.Hurley, senior pastor, Highland Presbyterian Church, Birmingham, Alabama and Outreach trustee, shared the Word of God.
Read MoreSince March 1, the government of China has been increasing pressure on Christians who were already facing many challenges in living out their faith. We hear from our friends that they are continuing on, and they ask for our prayers. We hear that seminaries are still meeting, though there is an alarming trend of government shutdowns in large cities. COVID is the official reason but these measures are contributing to increased pressure, especially against religious groups and minorities. Still, the church is finding ways to flourish even when it is in quiet ways. The Outreach Foundation is honored to stand with the church of China. Please read the following positive update from one of our friends who is located in the United States.
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