Stoking the Passion for Mission for Forty Years

The Outreach Foundation was founded over forty years ago to call Presbyterians to a renewed commitment to God’s mission. What the founders did not realize in 1979 was that one of the greatest fruits of that founding vision has been in Egypt, a country rich in history and culture and 90% Muslim.

The Outreach Foundation began a mission partnership with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Egypt in 1999. Our aim was to build the capacity of Egyptian Presbyterians to bear witness to the good news of Jesus in word and deed. Our offer was to help the Cairo Seminary train a professor of mission and evangelism. The Holy Spirit at work in our Egyptian friends did the rest. Today the Presbyterian Church in Egypt has 25% more congregations than it did in 1999. Egyptians are going to every corner of Egypt and beyond—to Gaza, West Bank; Basra, Iraq; and to Juba, South Sudan. It is a church on fire with passion for mission. And they are grateful to The Outreach Foundation for providing the kindling for the fire.

The Outreach FoundationAugust 12, 2020Annual Appeal 2020, Annual Appeal

Roll the Credits

Dear Friends,

Have you seen the fascinating docuseries out right now called The Making of Frozen 2? It’s an up-close look at the creative and labor-intensive process of making this Disney blockbuster. Did you know that it took more than 800 people to make that movie? And that every single character had its very own animator? The series is basically a show about the credits — the tiny type that scrolls at the end as we’re all leaving the theater.

Whether or not you're a movie fan, we know you’re a fan of The Outreach Foundation — where there’s also a creative and labor-intensive process going on behind the scenes. It’s a process that animates Outreach’s life-changing work all around the world.

The Outreach FoundationJuly 31, 2020Annual Appeal, Annual Appeal 2020

“Grace to you and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

by Jack Baca

“Grace to you and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

I often use this phrase to greet people for worship, and sometimes to greet them in the grocery store, too! It is the perfect phrase with which to greet you now. Of course, you recognize these words that the Apostle Paul so often used himself to greet some of the very first followers of Jesus. We know this because of the letters he wrote to churches who had been started either through his own work or the work of others. It is a great missionary phrase from a great missionary. Most importantly, it speaks of the Father’s mission to us, accomplished in the work of the Son. The very same mission work continues today, from the Father and the Son to the whole world, in the present power of the Spirit.

The Outreach FoundationAugust 20, 2019Annual Appeal

This is Your Church

by Rev. Dr. Lisa Culpepper

“This is your church.” These are the words that I heard as I sat in worship at the newly completed National Evangelical Church in Aleppo with visiting church leaders, board members, and The Outreach Foundation’s Executive Director, Rob Weingartner.

Earlier that day, we had visited the site of the original National Evangelical Church which was reduced to rubble by tunneled bombs in 2014. In 2012 as war came to Aleppo, many members of the Church began to flee the city. In the early years of the war, the church declined from 500 members to 80. Yet, after it’s destruction by terrorists, church members began to meet in a five-floor walk-up apartment and the church began to grow again.

The Outreach FoundationAugust 6, 2019Annual Appeal

Why I Support The Outreach Foundation

by Jefferson Ritchie

“Remember the ‘who,’ ‘what,’ ‘when,’ ‘where,’ and ‘how ,’” my sister and brother who are English professors tell me when I share an article I have written with them. Those five categories spring to mind when I think about why I support The Outreach Foundation and its Annual Appeal.

WHO: The Outreach Foundation has a staff that has a profound understanding of God’s mission that is simply this: “The church does not have a mission Rather, God has a mission and invites the church to join him in it.” Our staff has long-term connections with global partners who call us “friends,” not simply “partners.” Our staff is small but comes from seven countries.

The Outreach FoundationJuly 30, 2019Annueal Appeal, Annual Appeal

Outreach Stories