Below is a list of agencies and mission projects that are supported by First Presbyterian Church during 2011. Each year, currently funded agencies seeking financial support from First Presbyterian Church go through an annual review to determine the need for continued support and new agencies can apply for support for the first time.
Asian Access is an interdenominational, evangelical mission agency that is developing leaders and multiplying churches across Asia. Started in 1967 in Japan, Asian Access has worked with over 600 churches in every part of Japan. For nearly 40 years, Asian Access has deployed short- and long-term missionaries to partner with these local congregations and national leaders to start and strengthen Japanese churches. FPC's funding provides support for missionaries spreading the gospel in Japan in areas where Christianity is little known. Stan and Faith DeLaCour are the missionary contacts to FPC; Faith is the daughter of church member Reuben Brooks.
www.asianaccess.org /
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Belize Presbyterian Church in Corozal, under the leadership of Rev. Arturo Mendez, has been working to plant a new church in Calcutta, Belize to serve residents in this Gulf of Mexico community. Rev. Mendez will serve the Calcutta church as its pastor once construction there is complete. The Calcutta church is being built through financial and construction assistance from annual FPC mission trips and has been designed to also serve as a sturdy shelter from the ravaging hurricanes that often come ashore in this region. The mission teams that visit each year also partner with Concepcion Presbyterian School headed by Arturo's wife, Esther, by bringing school supplies for the children as well as providing classroom assistance during the week the mission team serves in Belize.
Cuba - Dora E. Valentin Presbyterian Church and Evangelical Theological Seminary both receive financial support to further the growth of the Christian church in Cuba. FPC has developed an ongoing relationship with the Dora E. Valentin Church sending one or two mission teams annually. Funds are provided to the church for its ministry needs, especially its support and expansion of home mission churches. Additionally, the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Matanzas serves as an ecumenical training center founded by the Cuban Methodist, Episcopal and Presbyterian Churches. The Seminary trains both lay and ordained people and relies on the funds from FPC to offer scholarships as well as cover operational expenses.
http://www.cuba-theological-seminary.com/
Disaster Relief Projects are funded through both the PC (USA) Disaster Assistance Fund as well as directly through annual funding in the mission budget to respond to natural disasters around the globe. Past response efforts have provided disaster relief funds for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the U.S. as well as Hurricane Dean's effects in Jamaica and Belize. Additional disaster relief efforts in recent years have provided funds for the disastrous tsunami and earthquake in Southeast Asia in late 2004, tornado damage across in Tennessee in 2008, earthquake damage in Haiti in 2010 and tsunami damage in Japan in 2011.
www.pcusa.org/pda
Evergreen Presbyterian Ministries has enjoyed a proud history of providing excellent services and supports to individuals with developmental disabilities dating back to 1959. Evergreen supports and serves over 1,000 individuals in Louisiana, Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kentucky. While a majority of these individuals are served in community homes, many of our consumers are now living in supported independent living programs in our communities.
www.epmi.org
Haiti Outreach Ministries (HOM) is a Christian mission to the people of Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. It focuses on extremely impoverished areas in and near the capital of Port au Prince, currently serving the communities of Blanchard (Terre Noire), Cite Soleil, Ibo Beach (Source Maielas) and Repatriote. HOM ministry takes on many forms: evangelism, health care, nutrition, education, vocational training, house refurbishment and microloans. The entire ministry focus has been colored by the earthquake disaster of January 2010, but when the cameras leave and the next world crisis displaces the current outpouring for Haiti, HOM will still be there working with the communities and educating the children.
www.haitioutreachministries.org
Haiti - Poor Children's Assistance Project (PCAP) assists in supporting 23 schools in rural Haiti. With 70% unemployment and a 60% illiteracy rate, there would be no schools for many of these elementary school children without assistance from the PCAP. The purpose and mission of the PCAP is to feed and educate these poorest of the poor children in a Christian environment enabling them to grow up to become a part of a generation capable of bringing about positive changes in the country. Each school serves children in grades 1-8 and is housed in, or is adjacent to, an affiliated Christian church. Christian teachers and school leaders reinforce Christian values and beliefs throughout the school day. PCAP objectives include: building schools and orphanages; building water wells to provide clean drinking water for the schools; and provide education, school uniforms, and meals while at school.
www.poorchildren.org
International Justice Mission (IJM) assists in the pursuit of legal justice for disenfranchised peoples, particularly those sold into bonded slavery, in third world countries. American attorneys, including Wally Dietz, Cathy Celaro and other FPC members, travel to foreign countries to provide legal aid. IJM leader Gary Haugen has been a frequent speaker at our Missions Celebrations and Sunday services. Through the work of Wally and others, Nashville has become a strong pillar of support for IJM and the outreach model that proved successful in Nashville is now being applied in other cities.
www.ijm.org
Jamaica – Andrew’s Memorial Church, located in the central Jamaica community of Mandeville, is a member of the Presbyterian Church (USA) sister denomination in the Caribbean, The United Church in Jamaica and The Cayman Islands. The church has an active outreach program and seeks to serve the poor by offering health care clinics, school tutoring, and evangelism through Sunday School offerings and worship services in their communities. The relationship with FPC began in 2011 and is ongoing by way of annual mission trips that partner with church members on construction projects benefiting the communities served by the local congregation.
Jamaica - Battersea New Testament Church of God receives administrative assistance for the church and pre-school located in one of the most impoverished neighborhoods in Mandeville, Jamaica. Trhough annual mission trips, FPC-Nashville members have worked on improving the church to serve as a gathering place for the community to serve neighborhood children and youth beyond those participating in Sunday and weekday church activities. As team size allows, home repair projects are often undertaken in the community to replace roofs and walls damaged in the all too common hurricanes that frequently batter Jamaica.
Jobs for Life (JfL) equips Christ-centered churches and community organizations to prepare men and women for success both at work and at life. Across the country, churches and organizations are leading JfL classes that teach men and women biblical principles concerning work and the ways those principles are applied in the marketplace. Through this training, lives are transformed as men and women not only find employment, but also experience new life in Christ. JfL classes take place in churches, community non-profits, prisons, and re-entry programs, rescue missions, YMCAs, at-risk youth ministries and many more locations. Since July 2006 in Nashville, TN, over 500 men and women have been served by JfL sites throughout the city.
www.jobsforlife.com
Kenya - East Africa Presbyterian Church serves a Christian community of faith that is expanding by leaps and bounds and has many growing congregations seeking someone to come alongside them to assist as they build or expand their church buildings. These congregations give sacrificially for this work. Many congregations mold their own bricks from mud, straw, and water. In some churches the congregation builds the walls, but the members are too poor to afford the needed metal roof for the structure. Other church structures are built entirely of metal enabling smaller faith communities to acquire worship space more quickly. The Presbyterian Church in East Africa also assists in caring for and educating children throughout the country whether they are orphaned or still in the care of their families. FPC-Nashville provides annual funding for the building of Presbyterian churches in Kenya as well as frequent assistance with school construction or water purification projects. FPC-Nashville sends mission teams as often as possible to partner with these new communities of faith in their construction and building dedications.
Kenya Church Construction
Kenya – Presbyterian University of East Africa is located near Nairobi at the site of the Thogot Mission Centre on land provided by the Presbyterian Church of East Africa. This University seeks to be the center of academic excellence by educating leaders who will contribute to the region’s future progress. The University currently offers undergraduate degree programs in theology, business administration, and computer science. Expansion plans include facilities that will enable the University to offer degree programs in health sciences, law, and education with enabling collaborations with several Presbyterian hospitals located within Kenya.
www.puea.ac.ke
Living Waters for the World is the global mission resource of the Synod of Living Waters PC(USA). Its vision is to use the gift of clean water to bring together congregations of the Synod of Living Waters PC (USA) and others interested in mission, with their sisters and brothers in need, for a life-changing experience with the risen Christ. Living Waters for the World serves as a resource to churches of all denominations, civic organizations and others in mission, enabling them to provide clean water to their partners in need. Joining hands with those who need clean water, we find ourselves holding the hand of God.
www.livingwatersfortheworld.org
Medical Benevolence Foundation (MBF) has worked for over 40 years to provide hope and healing to those most in need. Working with its partners, MBF supports healing ministries in more than 100 hospitals and clinics throughout the world. Its work includes providing funding for medical care to needy persons, securing donations of medical supplies, working toward long term lasting changes that effect whole communities in terms of health care, and provide awareness campaigns that inform donors of the great needs around the world and how they can be a part of this exciting work through MBF.
www.mbfoundation.org
Mexico - Amor Ministries has provided a unique, life-changing mission experience to thousands of Christians from all over the world for over 25 years. Over 800,000 Mexican families live below the poverty line. Amor builds these families a solid, safe home, and does so in the name of Christ. Amor mission trips are all about life change in trip participants and Mexican families. The sweat of hard work and eternal purpose develops a heart to serve others.
www.amor.org
Mexico - CUPS (Comunidades Unidas Pro Salud) is an ecumenical Christian organization founded in 1989 to improve the quality of life in rural communities along the Mexico-U.S. border. Maximizing the use of capital and human resources, CUPS unites Mexican and U.S. communities in projects that touch the lives of thousands of people. Health projects are a primary focus, but community-defined needs for projects and programs are equally important in our work. FPC's funding helps with the costs of administration for this organizer of mission trips in Mexico.
www.cupsmission.org
Mozambique – Holistic Ministry is the focus in the Tete Province of Northwestern Mozambique. The Rev. Nedson Zulu leads this effort of evangelism, church planting, and community health and development. A Lay Leader Training Center exists to train elders and evangelists in new ways to care for the congregation as the church continues to grow and develop ideas to help believers in a very remote area.
www.theoutreachfoundation.org
Native American Ministry - Reverends Charles and Diane Wonnenberg joined The Outreach Foundation as missionaries to the USA among Native Americans in 2005. Following their earlier assignment in Mozambique as Presbyterian Church (USA) missionaries helping to facilitate the evangelistic mission efforts of the Presbyterian Church of Mozambique, Charles and Diane are now serving through a unique partnership established by The Outreach Foundation, the Presbytery of South Dakota and Dakota Presbytery, a non-geographic presbytery comprised of Native American congregations. Charles and Diane now lead a mission fellowship based in Dallas, South Dakota, where they extend the outreach and evangelism work of the Dakota Presbytery to areas of need. At the heart of this work is a vision to proclaim the Gospel, to strengthen and equip existing Native American congregations toward a mission vision, and to encourage discipleship through Bible study and leadership training.
South Dakota Native American Ministry
New Church Development in Middle Tennessee is being constantly reviewed and evaluated by our Presbytery to serve the needs of our growing population in the counties surrounding Nashville. FPC-Nashville has made a major commitment to provide substantial funding for the next church planted in this area and to offer members of this congregation to serve as part of the discernment and planning teams as a new pastor is called for this community of faith.
Pakistan – Forman Christian College has grown and blossomed as an educational institution after being returned to the church after 31 years of government control. In a day when so many in Pakistan are becoming radicalized in terms of their religion, it is a major task of God’s people at Forman Christian College to educate both Muslim and Christian students in an atmosphere conducive to mutual respect. FPC’s funding assists support of the chaplaincy, scholarships for students and funds for student activities.
Forman Christian College
Rwanda - CPAJ (Centre Presbytérien d' Amour des Jeunes) is a ministry to street children established by the Presbyterian Church of Rwanda after the 1994 genocide. The church realized that there were a large number of children living in the streets of Kigali and that the government was not able to care for all of them. While it is illegal to live on the streets, there are over 7,000 street children in Kigali and only 3 organizations ministering specifically to them. In addition to lodging, food and clothing, CPAJ teaches vocational skills, Bible stories/lessons/songs with the children given work and other responsibilities to help restore the self-respect they lost while living on the streets.
CPAJ
Rwanda - Hannah Ministries Tumurere is a Christian organization working with AIDS-infected mothers as well as children at risk (orphans, children infected and affected by HIV/AIDS, children living in a child-led household, and street children). It is a local initiative in Byumba, Rwanda born to respond to the needs of these individuals. Its priorities are to provide education; feeding; medical expenses; vocational training; HIV/AIDS care & counseling; and self-sustainable development.
www.helpinghannah.org
Rwanda - Kanombe Community is a Presbyterian congregation is striving to accomplish its mission of reaching out to the community of genocide survivors. The congregation focused particularly on the widows and children who husbands and fathers were killed in 1994. Funding sent for this church will help to build a suitable worship facility along with space for Christian education and literacy.
Kanombe Community
South Africa – The Centre for Contextual Ministries exists within the University of Pretoria to train and equip Christian leaders who are in full or part-time service to minister effectively to the membership of local churches in order to prepare Christians in all walks of life to make a difference to the coming of the Kingdom of God in their context and in the South African society as a whole. http://web.up.ac.za
Uganda – Hands in Service (HIS) was founded by the Farris family (Alfred, Carney and Evelyn) a year after being sent out from First Presbyterian Church in 1980. HIS operates in a region of Northeastern Uganda that encompasses nearly 2 million people from the Teso and Kumum tribes. Through the years HIS has been involved in many innovative community development and ministry initiatives as a response to the changing societal challenges and problems that arise in this part of the world.
Currently HIS is operates a metal fabrication workshop and apprenticeship vocational and training program to sustain the ministry activities of HIS; a citrus orchard/market garden sustained by solar irrigation and surrounded by housing and gardens for HIS staff; a diversified farm and agricultural training center situated on the shores of Lake Kyoga to teach and demonstrate sustainable and organic farming practices; and a film outreach ministry that goes into villages on a regular basis taking the Jesus and Amazing Grace films to conduct outreach ministry in partnership with local churches. www.handsinservice.org
Uganda - Juna Amagara Ministries was founded in 2004 to help children orphaned by the HIV/AIDS epidemic grow in Christ to become healthy, productive members of society. The mission is to propagate socially healthy and productive life relationships through Children Care Homes, Schooling, life-skills training, fellowship groups, counseling and reconciliation programs; to provide life sustenance through nutritional and medical facilitation; and to present the life saving and transforming power of the Gospel.
www.amagara.org
Uganda – Kamwenge Secondary Vocational School (KSVI)
is a community school in the heart of rural western Uganda with a vision to transform a poor community into a self sustained and responsible one with a high sense of integrity and accountability in a Christian transforming environment. Kamwenge people have united together in this effort by giving generously. KSVI aims to equip individuals with skills for sustainable socio-economic development as a holistic approach of building the Kingdom of God.
KSVI
Youth Conference Ministries (YCM/Son Servants)
seeks to minister to young people in such a way that they would experience the power of God in their lives daily. Their mission is to awaken a desire for Christ in young people so that they will return from these programs to their local church empowered to live for Him. FPC-Nashville, through both its youth and adult programs, works with YCM to create mission trip opportunities for its members.
www.ycmhome.org
Zambia - Crisis Nursery offers care and compassion ministries to children who have been abandoned or orphaned because their parents are ill or have died from AIDS. FPC funds provide program upkeep for the nursery for over 2 months for staff including nurses & social workers, food, supplies, and upkeep for 15 children. Zambia is a peaceful nation with rich natural resources, composed of 72 different tribes whose national anthem proclaims, "One people, one nation." Yet, the pandemic of AIDS is ravaging the nation, as it has the entire continent of Africa, and is stealing its future. A crisis nursery is a "safe home", typically in a shanty neighborhood, where emergency food and medical supplies are available.
Zambia Crisis Nurseries 
