Missions

HISNets

Each year our Vacation Bible School children raise money for a mission project, making VBS about more than ourselves.  The 2008 VBS project was a ministry called HISNets, which provides insecticide-treated mosquito nets for people living inmalaria-prone areas, primarily Africa and Asia.  Malaria is the greatest killer in Africa and treated bed nets cut the incidence of malaria by up to 50%.  In five days, the VBS boys and girls brought in a total of $1,570.06, with an additional $141 donated by adults.  This will provide nets for 285 families.  Thank you, VBS children, for making a difference and helping change lives. Contact the FBC-H Office if you are interested in participating or by visiting www.hisnets.org for more information.

Project Patriot

Would you like to help support the U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq?  Project Patriot lets our troops know we care about and support them through letters and donated snack foods. Listed below are items soldiers are currently requesting.  Remember to check the expiration date on the food packages as shipment take 2-3 weeks to arrive in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Also, all food items must be pork-free.  Turn in your donations and letters to the church office.

• Snack Foods:  Beef Jerky (Slim Jim in cans, not giant length, not in bags), Crackers (regular, flavored, or cheese-filled sandwich crackers, no peanut butter), Corn nuts, Sunflower seeds (small packets), Microwave popcorn, Kool-Aid singles (in a box), Country Time Lemonade singles (in a box), Cookies (individual packages, not in bags or homemade), Pop Tarts, granola bars, dried fruit, trail mix.
• Personal Items:  Wet wipes, Toothpaste, Dental floss, Deodorant (not aerosol), Razors (good quality), Razor refills (to match razors), Foot powder (ex: Gold Bond), Eye drops, Icy Hot Sore Muscle Rub / Myoflex, Imodium AD, Rolaids/Tums, Puzzle books, Kleenex travel tissue packs, Writing tablets and envelopes.

Letter Writing Guidelines:  Letters need to be positive, cheerful and supportive.  Do not mention being wounded, dying, or politics.  Include your home mailing address, email address, or church address if you want the soldiers to reply.  Please do not seal the envelope.

Shoes for Orphan Souls

Shoes for Orphan Souls (SOS), a ministry of Buckner International, provides shoes to orphans around the world.  According to The State of the World's Children as reported by Unicef, there are 143 million orphans around the world. Orphanages do not receive enough funding to support the children in their care. One of the greatest and most immediate needs is a pair of shoes. Many of the children receive one pair of shoes to last the entire year, and some don't have shoes at all.

First Baptist - Harlingen has been a part of SOS since 2006. In 2007-08 over 300 pairs of shoes and over $3,000 were donated to SOS by the members of FBCH and the community. If you would like to be a part of this ministry, donations of shoes, socks, laces may be given at any time to the church office. More information about Shoes for Orphan Souls can be found at their website: www.shoesfororphansouls.org.  Please pray for the children living in orphanages throughout the world and for those individuals who are working to collect shoes.

World Missions Offering

Our annual World Missions Offering helps support mission activities, mission projects and missionaries around the world. All undesignated gifts to FBCH's WMO are divided as follows, though specific offerings can be designated:
   •  60% Lottie Moon Offering to support international missions in over 125 countries around the world;
   •  30% Mary Hill Davis Offering to support mission ministries in Texas and Mexico; and
   •  10% Annie Armstrong Offering to support ministry and evangelism across the United States.

Be in prayer about your offering and give generously so that others around the world can hear the Gospel.

Gideons International

Imagine what it would be like if you didn't have God's Word. What if you wanted a copy, but couldn't afford or find one? What if you didn't even know it existed? Millions of people are living their lives with no access to the Scriptures. With your help, we can ensure that they have a copy of their own.... Visit http://www.gideons.org for more information and for ways to help take God's word into all the world (Mark 16:15).

FBC Partners in Missions & Ministry

• International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention - www.imb.org
  The IMB is our primary partner for international missions ministry. Over 5000 IMB field personnel serve in over 120 countries around the world.
• North American Mission Board - www.namb.net
  The NAMB is a ministry partner for missions and ministry in the United States and Canada.
• Baptist General Convention of Texas - www.bgct.org
  The BGCT is our primary ministry partner. First Baptist is one of over 5,000 member congregations across the state of Texas.
• Buckner International - www.buckner.org
  Buckner Baptist Benevolences ministers across Texas to children and families, orphans, senior citizens and persons with special needs. Internationally, Buckner provides humanitarian aid, orphanage improvements and international adoption.
• Rio Grande Valley Baptist Association - www.rgvba.com
  The RGVBA is a fellowship of 150 congregations ministering together across the Valley.
• Baptist World Alliance - www.bwanet.org
  The BWA is a fellowship of 214 national Baptist groups comprising a membership of more than 34 million baptized believers. First Baptist is a Global Impact supporter of the BWA.
• Loaves and Fishes - www.loavesandfishesrgv.org
  Loaves & Fishes of the Rio Grande Valley, Inc. is a non-profit, charitable, association of local congregations and denominational bodies. Loaves & Fishes provides meals and support services in a safe and friendly environment, as well as assisting clients in finding employment.
• Friends of Jesus International - FOJ is a ministry of Lawrence and Harriett Follmer, members of FBCH. Lawrence and Harriett, along with many volunteers, serve in the name of Christ along the river in northern Mexico. FOJ works with churches and individuals to lead people to a saving knowledge of Christ and minister to their physical needs in the name of Jesus.
• Border South Christian Ministry - Border South Christian Ministries is a ministry of Randy and Dee Ann Rister, members of FBCH. BSCM is a non-profit organization established for evangelizing in Mexico and the United States. The main emphasis of evangelism is through chalk art drawings using black light techniques. The chalk art evangelism is used in outdoor services, revivals, youth retreats, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes events. Other ministry area involve showing Christian films, vacation bible school, door-to-door evangelism, church construction projects, food and clothing distribution, working with medical mission teams, and coordinating church mission trips. The main focus of BSCM is working with evangelistic teams throughout the country of Mexico.
• H.E.L.P. - www.healthenvironmentallearningprogram.org
  Health Environmental Learning Program, or H.E.L.P., is a partner ministry of FBCH and is directed by Tim and Lani Ackerman, former church members.
  

General Interest Websites

• WorldCrafts (www.worldcraftsvillage.com) is a Christian nonprofit ministry that imports over 300 handcrafts for sale in the United States from over 39 countries on five continents, supporting more than 60 artisan groups and their families. Purchasing from WorldCrafts supports these families, enables them to know and experience the love of Christ, and makes a difference world-wide. WorldCraft requires all artisans to abide by Fair Trade Federation guidelines, paying artisans a fair price for their crafts.
• MisLinks - www.mislinks.org
  Mislinks is a web-based directory focused on offering information for missionaries, mission pastors, teachers, researchers, students of mission and mission agencies.
• WorldMAP - www.worldmap.org
  The mission of the World Missions Atlas Project (WorldMAP) is to create maps of languages and people groups for each country of the world while linking appropriate missions related data.
• Global Mapping International - www.gmi.org
  Global Mapping International is a Christian inter-denominational missionary research agency. Their highest priority is serving evangelical mission ministry leaders in the developing world. A wealth of maps and statistical data can be obtained at their site, with links to other resources.
• The Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization - www.lausanne.org
  The Lausanne Committee seeks to serve leaders worldwide by providing a place for theological discussion and development of practical strategies to address the seminal issues facing the church and world today with respect to global missions.
• Mu Kappa International (www.mukappa.org) is an organization for MKs (children of missionaries) attending college or university in the United States.

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