Because of the CTSS Counseling Center, the region has trained counselors who can feed Jesus’ sheep in new ways. With their compassion and attentive ears, they will show a God who loves them and people will be healed over time.
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“Above all, we pray for every family and child who walks through these doors that they will leave here healthy and knowing they are loved by God.”
Aneta Montano, CTSS
Children are suffering terribly from the war and CTSS is responding in a healthy manner. The Outreach Foundation has been privileged to play a role in the development of this center
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The Outreach Foundation is following the relief efforts of PAK Mission Society closely and we are pleased to report that they have signed a Memo of Understanding with Rev. Reuben Qamar and Rev. Obaid Khokhar, Moderators of the Presbyterian Church of Pakistan. This brings Christians together to provide a holistic, Christian-based response to rural communities in Pakistan and places where there are many refugees from Afghanistan.
PAK Mission Society is present in 80 villages, providing 1,791 food packages, and over 3,700 hot meals.
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The Church of Ukraine is diverse, though more heavily populated by the Ukrainian Orthodox, Ukrainian Catholic, and Ukrainian Greek Catholic traditions. On Friday morning, March 4, the Institute of Ecumenical Studies of the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv held a round table discussion between key representatives of these major traditions. Tom Boone, our Associate Director of Mission and staff point person for our European Initiatives, was honored to be invited to this dialogue.
The purpose of the round table was to present how their various traditions are responding to the war. Also, each provided insights into their traditions’ official positions regarding Moscow. It was inspiring to see these leaders take time to express their views openly even as they are enmeshed in this war. One of the leaders was delivering humanitarian relief to Kyiv and showed us the traffic crossing a bridge and activity at a checkpoint.
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February 28, 2022
When it’s darkest, that is when we can see the stars—a story from the front lines of the war in Lviv, Ukraine.
“It’s hard to imagine” Father Oleh reflects on what has become his daily routine. Oleh serves as a parish priest in the Ukrainian Catholic Church of Lviv and is Professor of Philosophy at the Ukrainian Catholic University of Lviv. His story is one of many stories of faithful church leaders helping people experience God’s love in their darkest of nights.
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Misery “by the numbers”
In this broken world, 1 out of every 95 people has been forced to flee their home---and many cannot go back. Let that sink in….
In round numbers, lives displaced by manmade disasters (like war) or natural ones (like volcanoes) are 82.4 million: that is slightly less than the entire population of Germany…. or more than 4 times the population of the Netherlands. Need to bring that a bit closer to home? Think the citizens of California + Texas + Ohio running for their lives.
Some flee to other parts of their own country---we call them “displaced.” If they cross borders, they become “refugees.” Within both groups, 50% are children.
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The Outreach Foundation is in regular contact with partners around the world, many of whom are sharing with us the upheaval that they are experiencing as the COVID-19 virus and the response to it burdens their ministries of medical outreach and compassionate service. We recently received the following COVID Appeal update from our partners in Pakistan and we were able to quickly release $5,000 from our COVID-19 Appeal because of your generous gifts!
Friends of Forman Launches COVID Relief Assistance
The effects of COVID-19 have been felt in many different ways all over our world. For some, it was the swift loss of a job in a shutdown. For others, it was the devastating news of the passing of a beloved relative. There was even the loss of touch with a church family that stopped meeting in person or enduring school from home with faulty internet service. Every change was a challenge, every loss was magnified by this pandemic.
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Established in 1998 as a shelter for street children, Home of Hope in Beirut is under the governance of the Lebanese Evangelical Society. They now serve children between the ages of 7 and 18 who have been exposed to abuse by their primary caregivers or by members of their community and are at risk. The children are brought to Home of Hope upon a judicial order and with a protection file.
Raghida Al Assal has been the Executive Director for three years and shares this: Our purpose at Home of Hope is to help the children heal through Jesus Christ. Even though 99% of our children come from non-Christian backgrounds, they attend a weekly chapel at the home.
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God's Mission in Unexpected Times and Unexpected Ways
The Outreach Foundation has over thirty-six global partners. Many of them have a vision for mission beyond their borders, but they need connections. Collaborative Mission Initiatives help global partners engage in kingdom work together.
"There is no social distancing for the Holy Spirit." With those words, Outreach's Coordinator for Iranian Ministries, Dr. Sasan Tavassoli, explains how the work of God in the world carries on despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here are some of the initiatives that Outreach has participated in:
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The Situation
According to James 1:7, “True religion is this, that we care for orphans and widows in their distress…” We cannot be faithful to the whole Gospel if we do not express love and care for the most vulnerable in our midst. The Outreach Foundation believes this fundamentally and believes that children are the most vulnerable of all in our sinful, broken world. And The Outreach Foundation believes that all children have the right to survive, to thrive, and to fulfill their God-given potential. This means understanding the global situations facing children everywhere and committing to helping to provide access to basic services, care, and education to the children in their (Outreach’s) spheres of influence.
In the church, and around the world, there is an effort to provide comprehensive care for vulnerable children that addresses the physical, emotional, educational, social, and spiritual life of every child, recognizing that they are each created in God’s image. The ultimate focus is on value and dignity for children and their families.
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Better Together
“From everywhere to everyone” is a phrase that communicates the nature of mission today. In his book, The New Global Mission: The Gospel from Everywhere to Everyone, Peruvian missiologist Samuel Escobar conveys that Christians in the growing churches in Africa, Asia, and Latin America are increasingly claiming their critical role in God’s mission.
During four decades of ministry, The Outreach Foundation has come alongside partners in support of their own initiatives to declare and demonstrate who Christ is. Our partners desire to be engaged in sharing the Gospel globally. Under the theme “Building South-to-South Partnerships,” my colleague Jeff Ritchie developed a series of fruitful consultations bringing together partners in places like Ghana, Egypt, and Brazil. Outreach has been instrumental in strengthening the mission-vision of churches worldwide through supporting the training of missionaries and the production of culture-appropriate mission literature. South Korea is also a country that has experienced remarkable growth in the mission sending category and where Outreach is exploring forms of collaboration in God’s mission.
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Dear friends,
What follows is adapted from an article by Rev. Mario Gois, who is a minister of the Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil (IPIB, by its initials in Portuguese). It appeared in the latest issue of “O Estandarte” (“The Beacon”) which is the official monthly publication of the denomination. The IPIB is the partner church of The Outreach Foundation in the country.
It was a true pleasure to lead the trip and to see how God’s people in both Brazil and Ghana continue to strengthen their relationships in mission. Because of the trip, the youth at one of the Brazilian congregations have raised support to help fund the education of Ghanaian lay leaders. Outreach’s South to South efforts are avenues through which new global initiatives and collaborations can be initiated and expanded. I hope you enjoy the article as much as I did!
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Dear friends,
During these last two months of “book fair season,” the Bible Society has supplied thousands of scriptures throughout the country. These items are now being used and shared by people who love Jesus and believe in his Word. These are your partners in the Gospel.
A recent Facebook post illustrates our vision to support and equip Egyptian Christians with affordable scriptures. On February 4 Mafdy came to Cairo to visit the book fair. He bought several items from the Bible Society booth to have on hand to share with others.
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Dear ministry partners,
On behalf of the entire TAP community, it’s my privilege to thank you for your partnership in ministry during 2018. I praise God for all the ways you have partnered with TAP and the missionaries (we call them “Partners”) serving through TAP around the world. I praise God for your prayer and financial support, as well as for all the other ways you care for and encourage the TAP community. The almost seventy TAP Partners being used by God around the world are able to do what God has called them to do because people, and churches, like you are committed to serving as senders. So again, thank you!
2018 Impact
As always, it’s been a privilege to see God at work in and through the TAP community over this past year. As a result of God’s work through TAP Partners, people have met Jesus and their lives have been transformed, churches have been strengthened,
We received the following prayer requests for the Tumekutana gathering of Presbyterian women leaders, which is being held in Africa this week:
Beloved friends,
Tumekutana is coming up this week, and the pressure is on for all the final details to come together. We ask humbly for you to fast and pray with us this Wednesday as each woman makes travel arrangements. There are issues arising with visas, airfare, and personal emergencies that are coming up in the last moments and we need desperate and consistent prayer against the spiritual warfare that is taking place this week attempting to hinder each of these outstanding women from attending. As you are praying, here are some specific requests we ask you to take before the Lord:
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The year was 1986. The economy was thriving in the country with the largest oil reserves in the world. Still, most people in Venezuela lacked access to good education and health services. A group of teenagers had recently become exposed to the Scriptures. Somehow, what Jesus had initiated and instructed his followers to carry on sounded to them like real rebellion. Not just one seeking to replace a social elite with another but a real movement that calls people to repentance and a new life of faith and love for God and fellow human beings. The revolution was to move forward as people became aware of the unsettling ways in which the purposes of God have been carried out in history. If they could help other people read the Bible – they thought – then others too may have their lives filled with new meaning, purpose and compassion. After receiving a gracious donation of hundreds of Bibles, they got busy talking to whomever would pay attention to what they had to say.
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Dear friends of The Antioch Partners (TAP),
Easter was celebrated and together we affirmed, “The Lord is Risen! He is Risen indeed!” Our shared belief that in Jesus Christ, God has revealed himself to the world and with his death and resurrection, triumphed over sin and death, forms the basis of our mission and our calling. We have Good News to share with the world!
TAP's Commitment
TAP is committed to supporting our Partners (“Partners” is the term we use for missionaries) as they seek to share (and be) the Good News – as church planters, Bible translators, business people, community developers, teachers, language learners, pastors, friends and neighbors. Such support is often referred to as “member care” and reflects our desire to care for our missionaries so that they can be healthy and effective and able to thrive in their cross-cultural contexts and ministries.
One of the frequent features of Christianity in Africa, Asia and Latin America is enthusiasm for mission and evangelism. Through our “Developing South-South Mission Partnerships” project, The Outreach Foundation seeks to come alongside efforts that our partners are undertaking to bridge cultural differences with the purpose of sharing the Gospel in areas where there is less access to it.
Last July I visited with a Brazilian family dedicated to demonstrating the love of Christ in word and deed in a North African country. Having arrived in the country 16 years ago after 13 years of fruitful ministry in Jordan and Morocco, their mastery of the language and culture is exceptional. They are currently working in coordination with the small Christian community there to follow up with the growing number of people that have expressed an interest in learning more about the Christian message. They are also mentoring other missionaries arriving from Brazil, Guatemala and other countries.
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