Missions Conference opens next weekend
Published 9:54 am Friday, January 23, 2015
One local church continues to work hard to ensure the love and care of the Gospel is spread.
Faith Presbyterian Church will hold its 57th annual World Missions Conference from Jan. 30 through Feb. 1. All are welcome and a nursery will be provided.
Rev. Rankin Wilbourne, lead pastor of Pacific Crorssroads Church in Los Angeles, will be the main speaker. Wilbourne grew up in Hammond, Louisiana and moved to Lose Angeles in 2006 to replant Pacific Crossroads Church. Though he grew up in the other LA, he has truly grown to love the city of Los Angeles. Rankin and his wife, Morgen, have three young children. He will be preaching Friday and Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday at 10:45 a.m.
Friday evening Garry and Anita Chambers, Mission to the World missionaries to Belize, will also speak at the evening service and will be reporting at Sunday School at 9:30 a.m. The Chambers went to Belize in 2001 to serve at the Presbyterian Clinic in Patchakan. He has served as clinic administrator, and Anita has been the nurse manager.
Until recently, Garry also served as the MTW country director for Belize and has been involved in discipleship, evenagelism, preaching and teaching. Effective the first of this year, Garry took on the role of Council Coordinator for the Caribbean region. He will give oversight to and develop MTW ministries throughout the Caribbean.
Saturday evening Allen and Sandi Smith, missionaries to Peru since 2006, will be speaking and will also give a report on their ministry during the Sunday School hour. Allen is originally from El Dorado, Arkansas, and Sandi is a Louisiana native. Allen serves as interim pastor at Cristo Rey Presbyterian Church, where he helps equip Peruvian leaders for the ministry. As a family, the Smiths minister the gospel by hosting a missional cell group in their neighborhood, and by planning parties and social projects to serve their community.
Since 2012, Faith Presbyterian Church has partnered with and made mission trips to the Luisville Presbyterian Church in the small village of Luisville, Belize. One of this church’s greatest needs is a van to be used for bringing older adults to church and for transporting the young people to other churches and to Presbytery events. Presently only one person in this church has a vehicle so helping them with this purchase will make a tremendous difference in the life of the church.
For well over 50 years, Faith Presbyterian Church has been involved in helping spread the Gospel throughout the world. Currently the church and its members help support approximately 25 missionary families in foreign countries, several college ministries in Mississippi and numerous local, regional and national ministries.