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, we have missionaries coming to the church and groups from the church going on short-term missions trips. Here are some upcoming 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 those who sacrifice so much in order to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.
As always, when needs arise around the world, people at Heritage are prepared to meet those needs. In the past, individuals from Heritage have served the poor and destitute in India, helped with earthquake relief in Haiti, worked in the mountains of Honduras, ministered to military spouses and families in Germany whose loved-ones are deployed, and assisted in France with Word of Life camps. Others have traveled to undisclosed locations in Southeast Asia to work among Muslims, Hindis, and other religious groups. As the years progress, more opportunities like these will arise.
Summer Missions Trips
We love to provide opportunities for our people to be involved in missions. Each summer we provide a structured group mission trip for our students (typically 9th grade and up). College-age students and adults are also invited to join in as well. Over the years, summer missions groups have traveled to Canada, Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Peru, France, Canada, Germany, India, Nepal and other locations.
Additionally, through relationships with missionaries we support, many other foreign and domestic missions opportunities exist. A number of high school students, college students and adults take advantage of these each year.
Belize | July 2017
In July, a group of students and adults went to the country of Belize. We partnered with a group from Kyle Parks' church in Illinois (Pastor Parks' son) and ministered in the small town of Corozal, partnering with a local church/pastor. This trip incorporated both service & evangelism. This included the hosting of a VBS, serving in weekly church services, and evangelism to children, teenagers, and families, and other service projects.
Before you go...
As you 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 few very good resources that can help ease the transition into another culture. Here are a few we recommend:
"Cross Cultural Connections" and "Cross Cultural Conflict" by Duane Elmer. Whether entering another country or just another culture stateside, these books can be extremely helpful.
"Serving With Eyes Wide Open: Doing Short-Term Missions With Cultural Intelligence" by David Livermore.
Helpful Tip:
If you are planning to travel to a country where you are not familiar with the language, it is also highly recommended that you acquire a good immersion program like the Rosetta Stone to help with some fundamentals.