Upcoming Missions Opportunities
As a church, it is our goal to provide opportunities for our people to have hands-on involvement in missions. Throughout the year there are missionaries visiting the church as well as groups from the church going on short-term missions trips. In 2011 we have the following opportunities for missions involvement:
Missions Conference- The annual missions conference is a great opportunity to rub shoulders with missionaries who are currently working on the field. You can make connections, learn about different cross-cultural opportunities, and be an encouragement to some people who have given up the comforts of American culture in order to spread the gospel.
Youth Group- The Student ministries of the church are planning an international trip in June. They will be driving up into the Ontario wilderness to work with Camp of the Woods. For information please contact Pastor Keith.
College and Young Adult- The Young Adult group is planning a domestic cross-cultural excursion into the inner-city of Chicago, IL in late May and early June. They will be working with an established mission there to host Bible clubs in poor and gang afflicted neighborhoods. There may also be opportunities to help with a construction project as well.
As always, when needs arise around the world, people at Heritage are prepared to meet those needs. In the past year individuals from Heritage have gone to the poor and destitute in India, to help with earthquake relief in Haiti, to work in the mountains of Honduras, and to Germany to minister to military wives whose spouses are deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. As the year progresses, more opportunities like these may arise as well.
As your prepare for cross-cultural ministry, please take the time to learn about the place you are going and the people you will be encountering. There are a fewvery good resources that can help ease the transition into another culture. Duane Elmer has written two very good books entitled "Cross Cultural Connections" and "Cross Cultural Conflict." Whether entering another country or just another culture stateside, these books can be extremely helpful. Another great book to read before taking a short-term missions trip is entitled "Serving With Eyes Wide Open: Doing Short-Term Missions With Cultural Intelligence" by David Livermore. If you are planning to travel to a country where you are not familiar with the language, it is highly recommended that you acquire a good immersion program like the Rosetta Stone to help with some fundamentals.
