West Texas Missioner

Tuesday, July 6, 2021

From Outreach Foundation ... Mission Devotional Day 6"

David Bosch, a famous South African mission scholar, points out, “There is, in the Old Testament, no indication of the believers of the old covenant being sent by God to cross geographical, religious, and social frontiers in order to win others to faith in Yahweh.” Yet in Isaiah 42 and 49, we read of Israel’s call to be “a light to the nations.” It is an echo of God’s covenant with Abram in which God said He would bless Abram and that in him all of the peoples of the earth would be blessed.

Practically speaking, what does a light do? ...

• Read more ...

Toward the end of each year, The Outreach Foundation launches several funding opportunities for individual donors and partner churches to contribute to the global work of Christ. Once again, The Outreach Foundation will offer this year our
Thank you for your good and generous gifts.

The Outreach Foundation

Engaging followers of Christ for His work in the world, the Outreach Foundation is committed to helping the church live out its missional calling, building the capacity of the global church, especially where the church is vulnerable or growing rapidly, and transforming lives through mission involvement.

The Outreach Foundation
381 Riverside Drive, Suite 110
Franklin, TN 37064,
United States
(615) 778-8881
info@theoutreachfoundation.org

In the News ... "Drive-Thru Food Pantry"

• This week in Odessa and Midland

Staff Report
• Odessa American

ODESSA/MIDLAND, TEXAS - The West Texas Food Bank has scheduled a drive-thru pantry from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesdays at Odessa facility, 411 S. Pagewood Ave., and on Thursdays at the Midland facility, 1601 Westcliff Drive, Midland.

• Click here for more information, and to donate money ...

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

The Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study is a daily devotional with 365 inspiring mission stories that come from next door and all across the globe. It inspires thousands of Presbyterians daily as they uphold the mission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in intercessory prayer.

The Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty

Today in the Mission Yearbook: July 6, 2021

EXPANDING THE NARRATIVE: WOMEN AND THE REFORMATION PROJECT - John Calvin and Martin Luther come to mind for many Presbyterians as heroes of the Reformation. But women also played significant roles, and thanks to a new six-part series from Theocademy, their stories have become more accessible ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Monday, July 5, 2021

From @chinaaid : "'Police again detain Chen Wensheng; seize eight other Christians for sharing the gospel on the street"

The ChinaAid Association is a non-profit Christian organization - based in Midland, Texas - with a mission to uncover and reveal the truth about religious persecution in China, focusing especially on the unofficial church. They do this, they explain in their website, by exposing the abuses, encouraging the abused and equipping the saints to advance the kingdom of God throughout China.

ChinaAid Photo

Police again detain Chen Wensheng; seize eight other Christians for sharing the gospel on the street
Distributed by ChinaAid, May 2021 ...

HENGYANG, HUNAN PROVINCE, CHINA – On May 20, Hengyang police officers administratively detained Christian and gospel warrior Chen Wensheng for 15 days again for spreading the gospel on the street. Officers also seized another eight Christians for the same offense ...

• More on this story from ChinaAid ...

In the News ... "Nick Williams Golf Tournament to benefit West Texas Food Bank"

• At the Odessa Country Club, Thursday, July 8th

Staff Report
• KOSA-TV

ODESSA, TEXAS - Jay Hendricks was joined by Craig Stoker of the West Texas Food Bank to discuss their upcoming Nick Williams Memorial Golf Tournament ...

• Read/watch the rest of this KOSA report ...

From PC(USA) Store ... Great Curriculum to Use This Fall for Youth and Adults

The Presbyterian Church (USA) offers a central online store where you can find all PC(USA)-produced books, curriculum, and resources in one place. PCUSAStore.com is a comprehensive selection of PC(USA) resources that provides the information and materials necessary to support new and existing congregations, leaders, study groups, and individuals forge a deeper understanding of Presbyterian beliefs and doctrines. PCUSAStore.com is maintained by the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, the publishing house of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Geneva Press curriculum publishing, and other agency partners.

Great Curriculum to Use This Fall for Youth and Adults

• Faith Questions
Faith Questions is a curriculum for youth that explores questions asked by real youth about important faith topics. Our units include Bible studies, basics of faith, real-life topics, and understanding theology. Check out the list of all 32 units on our website.

For each unit we offer a coffeehouse version, which is great for using during a video chat and we have all of the resource pages you need to support the unit's materials on our website as well.

• Big God, Big Questions
This confirmation curriculum is a relationally focused curriculum that studies the questions youth are asked when they join the church.

Big God Big Questions provides supporting materials for your leader, mentors, and parents or caregivers, including infographic posters, and a journal that makes a great keepsake of the confirmation process. Learn more about Big God Big Questions.

• Feasting on the World Curriculum
If your church uses the Revised Common Lectionary, then Feasting on The Word Curriculum is a great option for your adults and youth.

In addition to having leader's guides for all ages, this curriculum has leader's guides for youth, young adults, and adults. Additionally, Joining the Feast helps tie together the worship experience with your education hour. Learn more and download samples for each age group on our website.

• Being Reformed Studies & Workbook
Being Reformed: Faith Seeking Understanding is a series of biblically based six-week units that provide adults with a foundational understanding of the Reformed faith. We have 42 different studies you can choose from ranging in a wide variety of topics including Bible studies, Christian living, being Presbyterian, Advent and Lent, church history, confessions, and mission and social justice. See the full list on our website.

We also feature workbooks that are great for training your volunteers and church officers. Check out our workbooks.

• The Present Word
This adult Bible study curriculum is based on the reading and study plan of the Uniform Series, which is a way to study the Bible over a six-year period. Each quarter works its way through different books of the Bible and focuses on a different theme. There is a leader's guide, a participant book, and a worship leaflet.

You can learn more about this series on our website. We offering Braille and Large Print versions of the Participant's Book, as well.

Please Note: We can currently only ship to customers in the United States. For our international distributors, please contact us at support@pcusastore.com.

PC(USA) Store
100 Witherspoon Street
Louisville, KY 40202
(800) 533-4371
support@pcusastore.com

From Outreach Foundation ... Mission Devotional Day 5"

Psalm 67 is a beautiful reminder of our dependence upon God and of how God’s faithfulness in our lives can make God’s saving power known to others. You may have noticed that there is not much in the Old Testament that looks like our conception of mission. The word mission comes from the Latin root meaning “to send.” There is not a lot of sending going on ...

• Read more ...

In the News ... "Rev. Woodruff steps down"

OA Photo by Jacob Ford

• Longtime leader at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton takes secondary role

By Bob Campbell, Reporter
• Odessa American

ODESSA, TEXAS - The Rev. Mark Woodruff has been a landmark priest in Odessa’s religious history, overseeing a series of major construction projects at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, and now at 74 he is going into semi-retirement ...

• read the rest of this OA report ...

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

The Rev. Dr. Hunter Farrell

Today in the Mission Yearbook: July 5, 2021

MISSION, JUSTICE AND MERCY - God’s mission clearly includes charity: a cup of cold water given in Jesus’ name; the Samaritan’s extraordinary care for the victim of highway robbery; the traditional “alms for the poor” that has characterized the institutional church through the millennia. Charity is clearly biblical and a hallmark of Christian faithfulness. After 35 years of working with Presbyterian congregations engaged in local and global mission, I have found that the overwhelming majority of congregations dedicate nearly 100% of their mission attention and budget to charity work. But a singular focus on charity can blind us to the larger issues behind the suffering we seek to alleviate. A Congolese proverb says, “It takes two hands to wash”: God’s mission consists of both charity to stop our neighbor’s bleeding and justice to prevent the wound in the first place ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Sunday, July 4, 2021

From Outreach Foundation ... Mission Devotional Day 4"

In this powerful text from Deuteronomy, God asserts that he executes justice for the orphan and widow and loves strangers. It is God “who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the Lord your God; him alone you shall worship; to him you shall hold fast, and by his name you shall swear.” ...

• Read more ...

In the News ... "Lubbock Area Faith Calendar"

Courtesy Photo

• What’s going on in area churches

By Erica Pauda, Reporter
• Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - From the Avalanche-Journal, news of regular services, and special events and programs at houses of faith in Lubbock and across the South Plains ...

• Read the rest of this LAJ report ...

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

Photo provided by Chaplain Major Gen. Steve Schaick

Today in the Mission Yearbook: July 4, 2021

MILITARY CHAPLAINS - When the signers of the Declaration of Independence gathered in July 1776, chaplains were in the field with our soldiers and on vessels with our sailors and marines. As we remember the significant events of this day, please consider the ministry our chaplains have provided through our nation’s history. Below is the story of one of God’s servants now nearing the end of 30-plus years in uniform ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Saturday, July 3, 2021

From Outreach Foundation ... Mission Devotional Day 3"

The story is told of a student away at college who asked his mother to mail his Bible to him. When the clerk at the mail counter asked if the package contained anything breakable, the mom replied, “Only the ten commandments!” ...

• Read more ...

In the News ... "'Nick Williams Memorial Tournament coming up"

• Benefiting West Texas Food Bank; teams and sponsorships still available

Staff Report
• Odessa American

ODESSA, TEXAS - The West Texas Food Bank will host the 2021 Nick Williams Memorial Golf Tournament at the Odessa Country Club starting at 8 a.m. July 8 ...

• Read the rest of this OA report ...

In the News ... "Odessa Church News"

• Today and in the days ahead, in Odessa-area houses of worship

Staff Report
• Odessa American

ODESSA, TEXAS - Coming events include worship services, classes, Bible studies, community outreach, fundraisers, mission opportunities and more ...

• Read the rest of this OA report ...

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

Contributed Photo

Today in the Mission Yearbook: July 3, 2021

HOPE AND HEALING PROGRAM - A continuing education program at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary is teaching rural faith leaders how to better respond to mental health crises ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Friday, July 2, 2021

From ServLife International ... "Bhadra: When I came here and had loving care, I came to know Jesus."

ServLife International is a movement defined by values of God’s kingdom, not programs built around human efforts and activities. The reign and rule of God should be made apparent to every person on the planet, despite their religion, race or socioeconomic status. We believe that issues of justice are inseparable from the good news that Jesus Christ came to proclaim. ServLife exists to take the gospel of Christ and the hope of a better, more just, world to the lives of people we touch. This happens through individual contributions of time, creativity, resources and dreams.

ServLife Photo

Bhadra: When I came here and had loving care, I came to know Jesus.

“When I was a child and became an orphan, I did not know that there was a God who was the provider and sustainer of our lives. When I came here and had loving care, I came to know Jesus.”

Living in the children’s home has provided Bhadra with security and consistency in her faith, education and life. The routines, from early morning studying to evening devotionals are setting Bhadra up for success in her adult years. She has also been taught skills such as knitting, caring for a household and good hygiene.

Bhadra shares, “I don’t know why God brought me to the children’s home and what his objective is, but I know he has a plan for my life. I have my (home) parents and they are providing for my needs (food and studies) and because of that I believe God is doing some kind of good in my life and I believe in God and I love Jesus Christ.”

Click here to read Bhadra’s story and watch the video ...

You can sponsor a child like Bhadra for $38/mo and provide love, hope and a bright future. Give today to the FOR THE CHILDREN campaign.

Thank you,

From Adam Nevins
Executive Director
ServLife International Inc.

Click here to give a gift of $30, $90, $150, $300 or more to help families and our partners in India and Nepal.

Join Our Mission

ServLife International propels reconciliation and justice by building global community to plant churches, care for children and fight poverty. Compelled by the message, life and love of Jesus Christ, we seek to care for the spiritual, physical, social, and economic areas of life in northern India and Nepal. Learn more about our latest news, featured stories, and how to get involved at servlife.org


Support a Pastor Our church planters spread the love of Christ in some of the most difficult environments in the world. • Support Them ...	Sponsor a Child For only $30 per month you can help give a child food, education, care and, most importantly, hope. • Sponsor Now ...	Fight Poverty The HOPE Fund, our micro-finance program, provides start-up funds for a small business, paving a way out of poverty for families in need. • Learn More ...

ServLife International, Inc.
P.O. Box 20596
Indianapolis, IN 46220
USA

From @FWMission ... Friday Story: “Exercises to do in a Wheelchair”

Founded in 2001, Free Wheelchair Mission is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to providing wheelchairs for the impoverished disabled in developing nations. Headquartered in Irvine, California, FWM works around the world in partnership with a vast network of humanitarian, faith-based and government organizations, sending wheelchairs to hundreds of thousands of disabled people, providing not only the gift of mobility, but of dignity, independence, and hope.

FWM Photo

Friday Story: “Exercises to do in a Wheelchair”

Our 2021 Move for Mobility is a fully inclusive event that everyone can get involved in—including individuals using wheelchairs!

Check out these exercises that can be done while using a wheelchair ...

• Read the rest of this story ...

From Outreach Foundation ... Mission Devotional Day 2"

What an amazing call God sets before Abram! What promises! Abram is to take his family to a place he knows not where – but God will show him the place. Abram and his family will become a great nation, a people who are in a special relationship with God. Yet this blessing is not something that is only for the sake of Abram and his tribe. God makes it clear that in (or through) Abram all the families of the earth shall be blessed ...

• Read more ...

Thursday, July 1, 2021

From Synod of the Sun, PC(USA) ... SunSpots: "Presbyterian Mo Ranch Assembly"

Amidst the changes and chances of the COVID-19 pandemic, churches and entities throughout the The Synod of the Sun found ways to not only survive but also find unique and beautiful ways to minister to God's people in need. Mission and ministry takes form in supplying basic necessities to caring for the environment. Connections have been made via video feed and blankets. Love is supplied via learning how to read to dArive-in diapers.

Presbyterian Mo Ranch Assembly

This is a part of our continuing series of podcasts of Camps in the Synod of the Sun! Today, we visit with Tim Huchton the new President & CEO of Mo Ranch.

Check out moranch.org to find out more about this ministry.

Don’t listen to podcasts? The same content we post on the SunSpots podcast will also be posted on our YouTube page.

You can find SunSpots on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Amazon Music, Stitcher, Alexa (“Hey Alexa, play the SunSpots podcast”), or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

Find SunSpots on our web page ...

Find SunSpots content on the Synod of the Sun YouTube channel ...
(click on SunSpots playlist)

From Outreach Foundation ... Mission Devotional Day 1"

If you read the morning newspaper or watch the evening news, it becomes quickly apparent that the world is not the way it should be. In Genesis 1-2 we find two different creation stories that assert God’s role as creator, the goodness of creation, and the responsibility of humankind. But something turns. Something falls ...

• Read more ...