World
Missions Committee
FIRST
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
MERRIMACK,
NEW HAMPSHIRE
World
Missions Committee
The World Missions Committee is currently made up of 5 church members;
Robin Davies, Riley Fraas, Jim Loring, Greg Ross II, and Bill
Taylor,with
assistance from Elder Ron Downing who was the former chairman of the
committee. Each member of the committee is fulfilling a
number of
different roles as outlined by the WMC manual with Bill Taylor
currently filling the role of chairman. We are actively
looking
to add additional members to the committee in order to spread the work
load to others and also to expand our work
to include our local missions calling to the town of Merrimack and the
surrounding area.
Our Purpose
As
with all our lives, our
ultimate purpose is to give Glory to God.
However, recognizing that each of us as individuals have
varying gifts
and abilities (I Cor. 12) and by extension the various committees
within the
organized Church have different primary focuses, our particular
purposes are:
Nurturing
the
Church’s commitment to the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20)
with special
emphasis on efforts that are outside the
direct local Church’s involvement.
- Encouraging
regular reports from our missionaries following the examples we find in
Acts.
- Encouraging
regular support of our missionaries again following the examples in
Acts:
- Financial
- Prayer
- Local community outreach
OUR
MISSIONARIES
The following list of missionaries are currently supported by the First
Congregational Church of Merrimack, New Hampshire.
John & Betty Banker
Wycliffe Bible Translators
The Banker’s main assignment with Wycliffe Bible Translators
is
to support Bible translators worldwide. John writes and edits
translation helps which colleagues around the world use to help
translate God’s word more accurately and quickly.
Betty is an assistant to Wycliffe’s International Translation
Coordinator. She is involved in getting translation helps and other
materials to the translators. She does many other jobs that facilitate
the Bible translation work being done by Wycliffe and other missions.
John and Betty are still involved in ministry to the people in
Southeast Asia with whom they worked from 1958 to 1975.
Their daughter Kathy Taber is a 2nd generation missionary in the Banker
family.
Prayer Verse: Colossians 1:10 That you might walk worthy of the Lord,
fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in
the knowledge of God.
Middle East Reformed
Fellowship (MERF)
The Middle East Reformed Fellowship is a religious, non-profit and
non-political charitable organization, serving in the Middle East on
behalf of Reformed Family of Churches and believers worldwide. It is
for those who are committed to proclaim the historic Christian faith as
expressed in the early ecumenical creeds and the confessions of the
Reformation.
MERF is engaged in encouraging and strengthening the Church throughout
the Middle East. Non-Christians are responding to the challenge of the
Gospel of Christ. They are being discipled by national Christians.
Those in need are being helped spiritually and in practical ways.
MERF is active in Evangelism, Church Extension, Biblical Training and
administering Diaconal Aid in the Arabic speaking countries of North
Africa, the Gulf States, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, as well as in the Sudan
and Iran. MERF aims to strengthen the Church and to reach out in the
name of Christ to the local community.
REVEREND MIKE AND SUSAN KOOY
Faith Presbyterian
Church
Formerly Jefferson Presbyterian Church (JPC)/ Shiloh Retreat Center
The Kooy’s serve in the North Country in Jefferson, New
Hampshire. Mike is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian
Church of America. Mike is from Grand Rapids
Michigan and
his wife Susan is from Sudbury, Ontario. They have two children, Luke
age 2 ½ and Naomi aged 7 months. JPC has moved to Lancaster,
NH
on main Street and has been renamed Faith Presbyterian Church. The
congregation is currently at 60 worshippers and growing. Greg Gordon,
assisted by Bruce and Brenda Gordon along with Ken and Lisa Todd, lead
the Shiloh Retreat Center. Shiloh maintains a faithful reformed
ministry to children and young people at summer camps and to adults at
various retreats.
Prayer Verse: ROMANS 8:28 And we know that all things work together for
good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to
His purpose.
Reverend Geoff & Nancy Donnan
Reformation Christian Ministries
RCM is an international, educational mission’s ministry and
is
under the oversight of The King's Reformed Presbyterian Church of
Fellsmere, Florida (a Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church) and Sharon
Orthodox Presbyterian Church of Hialeah, Florida (an Orthodox
Presbyterian Church). RCM is therefore church-run and not a para-church
ministry. There are additional offices in Suriname and the U.K. The
doctrinal standards of Reformation Christian Ministries are those of
the Westminster Confessional Standards. This is a world-wide
educational mission organization with various colleagues in the
different fields whom we collaborate on Gospel and Christian
educational ministries. The various offices of RCM in different
countries are separately administered, but cooperate on like-minded
projects. RCM cooperates by agreement with like-minded churches and
denominations by assisting with mission work in specific fields and/or
projects. Ecclesiastical authority for missionary ministers or local
field personnel comes from their respective churches, not from RCM.
Reverend Michael & Lili McCabe
YUST/NEAF
China
Mike is originally from Nashport, Ohio. He attended DeVry Institute of
Technology and earned an electrical engineering degree. Mike
moved to Vienna, Virginia and began attending Chesapeake Theological
Seminary. In August 2001, he became a China missionary associate and
moved to China to work with Sam Folta, officially teaching English at
Yanbian University of Science and Technology as well as teaching Bible
studies and preaching. It was in China at a Bible study that he met his
wife Lili. Mike works with other missionary associates, distributes
reformed books and disciples young men for ordained ministry.
Please keep the McCabe’s in your prays for the
establishment of a Chinese’s confessional Reformed church.
The McCabe’s have two children, John 2 years old and David 6
months.
Reverend David & Elizabeth Holmlund
Pilgrim Presbyterian Church
Portsmouth Christian Academy
Pilgrim Presbyterian Church is a mission of the Orthodox
Presbyterian Church. This is a church plant by the Amoskeag
Presbyterian Church, in Manchester, NH led by Dr. Gregory
Reynolds. Pastor Allen and other ministers of the word had
been
preaching on Sunday evenings at 6pm to a small, but faithful
congregation, until Pastor Holmlund arrived.The Amoskeag Presbyterian
Church, the Home Missions Committee of the Presbytery of New York and
New England, who along with FCC of Merrimack will be supporting this
church plant.
Pastor Holmlund was most recently serving as an interim
pastor
at Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Metamora, Michigan. He is a
graduate of the University of Southern California (B.A. Philosophy) and
Westminster Seminary California (M.Div.). He is currently completing
his doctoral work in Historical Theology at Calvin Theological
Seminary. His wife, Elizabeth, is also a graduate of
Westminster
Seminary California (M.A. in Biblical Studies), and a current student
at Calvin Theological Seminary. Reverend Holmlund was ordained as
pastor of Pilgrim Presbyterian Church on June 30th, 2007.
The Holmlund’s have two children Ezra and Zechariah.
Nathan Tomlinson
Mid America Reformed Seminary
Prayer
Update
January
Prayer Update
Recent Events
Annual Missionary Potluck:
October 9th, 2009
Missionaries Mike & Lili McCabe
4th
of July 2009!
Annual
Care Package Delivery to Pastor Holmlund & Family!
Elder Ron Downing delivered our Missionary Care Package to the Holmlund
family in June. Many thanks to the congregation for their
generosity and love towards the Holmlunds. They were very
thankful and look forward to fellowshiping with us again very soon.
Missions
Links
Coming soon..............