L o c a l a n d G l o b a l

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1 Calvary Missions L o c a l a n d G l o b a l 400 Beeline Road Holland MI calvar ycrc.org

2 The story of Christ s birth is a story of promise, hope, and a revolutionary love. So what happened? What was once a time to celebrate the birth of a savior, has somehow turned into a season of stress, traffic jams, and shopping lists. Through Mission Haiti, we encourage our congregation to get involved by giving of themselves and their finances to the very poor of our world in Haiti. During the Christmas Season, we focus on what Jesus would want for His birthday. We focus our attention on giving, not receiving, and we do this in a variety of ways. Our congregation is challenged to put themselves in our Haitian brothers and sisters shoes, and fast on rice and beans for three days prior to Thanksgiving. We package food (200,000 meals in 2010) for the hungry around the world and encourage everyone to get involved in this tangible way to serve others. We encourage our congregation to give financially, and 100% of funds collected go to organizations in Haiti. The money raised has been used to fund schools, help farmers learn better farming techniques, start tree nurseries and farm cooperatives, and support micro loan programs. In 2010, Calvary sent 65 people to Haiti on short term trips. Our congregation helped repair wells, and built a structure to train church leaders. Haitians were also trained in potential new business opportunities. We assisted care givers in orphanages, and helped Haitian teachers learn new teaching techniques. Calvary is committed to sharing our resources with the poorest of the poor. We believe God wants our hearts to break for people that are living without basic necessities such as food, water, and personal protection... things we take for granted. The church has been commissioned to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the entire world, and we who have greater resources have greater responsibility. We believe that reaching the world for Christ is worship in action. We want to be intentional about being missional meaning getting involved with people and issues outside the walls of this church. We want to be a church that pours itself into our world! We want to be a church that loves people toward God. God s heart hurts for people in our local community and in our world that are hurting. People hurt when they do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ or when there is a lack of resources like food, shelter, and safety. This book includes an overview of the work Calvary is doing to help people in our local community, as well as in other parts of the world. Calvary Missions include: Local Missions Missionaries Jubilee Missions Mission Haiti M i s s i o n H a i t i Jesus wish list... intentionally turning our attention to the needs in Haiti. There are many opportunities for you to become involved, so prayerfully consider how you and your family can be a part of loving people toward God through missions. Serving Him with you! Joyce Johnson Missions Director Mission Haiti

3 KRISTI S HOUSE and TANNER S HOUSE provide transitional housing for families who are homeless or about to become homeless. Along with housing, families are provided with a case manager, and mentors from Calvary Church, to help them get back on their feet. Tijuana, Mexico Kids Hope Zambia, Africa KIDS HOPE Every Child Matters Calvary has partnered with Eagle Crest Charter Academy to help kids in our community. Children are being mentored every week with the goal of building a relationship with a child who is struggling. "One Child. One Hour. One Church. One School... Imagine the Possibilities!" Food Pantry Kristi s House Tanner s House L o c a l M i s s i o n s engaging the local community, enriching lives, and strengthening into places of poverty and oppression. PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS Calvary works alongside the following organizations in our effort to make an impact in areas of extreme need. ZAMBIA, AFRICA Villages of Hope farm is on 230 acres of prime farmland. There are nationals that are involved in every level of this organization. One major focus of VOH is economic development and income generation. This will create jobs and generate income to become sustainable. This is done is Jesus name with Christian National leaders. MOZAMBIQUE, AFRICA Mercy Air is Christian humanitarian aid aviation service. Missionaries Ron and Barb Wayner oversee the building of a remote air site in Mozambique. QUITO, ECUADOR HCJB Global has been working in medical and radio in Latin America for many years. Ecuador is one of the poorest countries in Latin America. We have helped complete the Carapungo Clinic in Quito, and helped make improvements to the Shell Hospital. These hospitals will serve the needs of many people in this area and will also serve as training site for national physicians. HAITI The Bible League is providing scriptures and study materials in Haiti. Haitians are trained and equipped to lead Bible studies, start churches, and disciple new christians. CRWRC (Christian Reformed World Relief Committee) and CRWM (Christian Reformed World Missionaries) work through Haitian organizations that minister to the poor through community development in rural areas. Haiti Partners helps Haitians change Haiti through a variety of ways; train community leaders in a three year program, train 300 teachers annually to help children learn, educate 1,000 students in seven schools, and provide 10,000 Bibles per year in schools and churches. CORE VALUES AND BELIEFS We will focus on developmental ministries and avoid creating dependency through relief ministries We will engage our local community by building relationships with community members Our ministries should give opportunity to invite others into a relationship with Jesus We will engage our congregation by connecting them with our local community We are committed to empowering our local community We will remain open to God's leading and direction for Calvary Mozambique, Africa TIJUANA, MEXICO Our missionary Scott Geurink (CRWM) oversees The Centro de Rehabiliticion for men who struggle with drugs and alcohol. Calvary has funded 75% of this rehabilitation center which has allowed many men to be freed from their addictions. He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me? declares the Lord. ~ Jeremiah 22:16

4 Quito, Ecuador Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. ~ James 1:27 Back to School Haiti Economics Justice Social Action Through our Jubilee Missions, Calvary focuses on these segments of a community; Social Action, Economics, and Justice. Our hope and prayer is that we can make a long term impact in these areas, with being a part of everything we do. STRATEGY STATEMENTS Be WISE stewards of the money that God has entrusted us with. A three to five year committent to a REGION, not a person or organization. BALANCE relief and development. Get the whole church INVOLVED through education, giving, and going to serve. Move toward supporting missionaries in the FOCUS regions. Value sending PEOPLE to the sites, as well as receiving people here. J u b i l e e M i s s i o n s A radical commitment to free up growing resources and to follow Jesus relationships with Jesus Christ. Calvary desires to make an impact by helping people spiritually as well as with their physical needs. When people live in extreme poverty, their physical needs have to be addressed in order to meet their spiritual needs. We feel these are intricately connected and that the Bible gives us a mandate to serve the needs in the world. FAMILIES VICTORIOUS is a Christ-centered support ministry for those struggling with addictions, co-dependencies, and other life controlling issues. Support group meetings are held twice a week at Calvary, as well as other locations in Ottawa County. THE FOOD PANTRY is a place where people that have little to eat can receive groceries and have someone pray with them, giving them bread for their stomachs and the Bread of Life. FINANCIAL COUNSELING is available for anyone needing help managing their finances. We believe that everything good comes from God, and being a good steward of our finances is a way to honor God. We provide financial counselors who will help train individuals in money management through development of a spending plan, reduce debt, set financial goals, and much more. NEIGHBORHOOD BBQ S are held each month in the summer and the fall. Calvary members go in to neighborhoods located close to the church and hold community BBQ s with our neighbors. These BBQ s help build relationships and have proven to be a blessing to the community and to Calvary. CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. Our mission is to restore under-resourced communities to healthy communities that are safe, beautiful, and self-sustaining. We do this by focusing on specific neighborhoods, partnering with area agencies, encouraging home ownership, and empowering people through educational opportunities and life skills training. COMMUNITY EVENTS. Throughout the year Calvary holds community events that bless our neighbors in a variety of ways. Through the Frozen Food Fest, Community Free Oil Change, Free Fun Fishing Derby, Lakeshore Habitat for Humanity builds, and the Back to School event, Calvary provides opportunities for members to meet the community around us. We attempt to do this by partnering with organizations that are experts in these areas, through our financial support and by sending Calvary teams to go and build relationships so that we can learn how to effectively help. We encourage individuals and families to go on short term trips as a way to learn about other cultures, to see the needs of people in poverty, and to be challenged to live out our faith in ways of service to the needy of the world. We also feel a responsibility to get people who are in poverty to meet their own needs when possible, through economic development and through teaching skills, which we hope will move people toward improving their quality of life. We continue to prayerfully ask where God wants to use Calvary to make an impact. Christian Community Development If you spend yourselves in behalf on the hungry, and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness and your night will become like noonday. The Lord will guide you always... You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. ~ Isaiah 58:10-11

5 CENTRAL ASIA Dr. Brad and Naomi are serving in Central Asia with HCJB Global. Brad will be overseeing an agency in Central Asia that provides medical education and health care specifically in the areas of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. This is a new mission field for the them, as they have been working with HCJB in Ecuador for 15 years. HAITI Lunise Cerin Jules, a resident of Haiti, Joined the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee in April Lunise is an alumnus of Haitian State University and Eastern University in Pennsylvania. Over the past 25 years, Lunise has had a career in Economic Growth, Education, and Community Development. Lunise has previously worked as a consultant for CRWRC and World Missions. Lunise will oversee the partner organizations which work to help Haitians by teaching them skills in agriculture, organizing literacy training, and teaching life skills. please support our Missionaries with your prayers and encouragement LANSING, MICHIGAN Kerry Fahy serves as a missionary for Campus Crusade at Michigan State University. Her goal is to reach college students with the Gospel by developing relationships, sharing the Gospel, and mentoring students. Kerry also leads teams on overseas trips which impact the lives of students in other countries. MEXICO Scott and Marcia Geurink work with Christian Reformed World Missions (CRWM) helping the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Mexico plant and develop churches in Tijuana by concentrating on five tasks: Church Planting. Working with local pastors in outreach, home Bible studies, and new mission starts. Discipleship Training. Leading and training leaders in discipleship courses to encourage spiritual growth and develop lay leaders. Education. Helping to develop, as well as teaching at the new Bible Institute in Tijuana. Networking. Connecting short-term mission teams from North America with projects in Tijuana. Administration. Leading CRWM s mission in Mexico as field leader. We are working more with a new mission Agua Viva (living water) on the far eastern edge of Tijuana. AFRICA Ron and Barb Wayner are the founders of Mercy Air South Africa, and have been serving the people of Mozambique for many years through aviation and hospitality. Ron and Barb spend six months in the states, networking on behalf of Mercy Air. The other six months are spent in Mozambique to establish a remote site for Mercy Air.