World Missions Committee
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
MERRIMACK, NEW HAMPSHIRE

FCC Home Who we are What we do Our Missionaries
Prayer Update Recent Events Missions Links

World Missions Committee

The World Missions Committee is currently made up of 5 church members; Riley Fraas, Holly Slater, Jim Loring, Greg Ross II, and Bill Taylor. We are overseen by Elder Ron Downing who was the former chairman of the committee and continues to be a tremendous asset in the work this committee performs.  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.

OUR MISSIONARIES

The following list of missionaries are currently supported by the First Congregational Church of Merrimack, New Hampshire.

Wycliffe Logo
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.

Victor & Lisa Atallah
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.

Pastor Kooy & Family
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.

Geoff & Nancy Donnan
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.

Mike McCabe & Family
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.

Pastor Homlund & Family
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
Nathan Tomlinson
Mid America Reformed Seminary
Nathan Tomlinson, son of our senior pastor Allen Tomlinson, began his ministerial studies this past fall at Mid America Reformed Seminary in Dyer, Indiana.  Nathan has recently come under the care of the Midwest Presbytery of the OPC while continuing his studies at MARS. This will allow Nathan to complete an internship at Amoskeag Presbyterian Church in Manchester, NH as well as ongoing support and direction from the Presbytery as Nathan prepares for ordination and full time ministry within the OPC.  The World Missions Committee of the First Congregational Church has committed to supporting Nathan until he completes his schooling. 
Prayer Update
March Prayer Update   
April Prayer Update
May Prayer Update
June Prayer Update
Recent Events
July 4th Historical Church Tours
We had the privilege of guiding nearly 40 people of all ages and backgrounds on an evangelistic historical tour of our church facility.  We successfully conducted 5 separate tours before and after our annual 4th of July Worship Service with the help of numerous church members including Alesia Dopson, Brittany Jennings, Jordan Franceour, Ron Downing, Riley Fraas, Sharon Knotts, Jeanne Powell, and Greg Ross II.  We were in 18th century attire and presented the tour from the perspective of that time period complete with a sermon delivered by our first pastor Rev. Jacob Burnap, played by our own Pastor Stephen Michaud.  Please go here to see some of the many great pictures taken by deacon Chet Dupont of the 4th of July service and tours.  Thanks Chet!

Missionary Visits!
Dave & Elizabeth Holmlund: March 28th, 2010
Pastor David Holmlund and his wife Elizabeth visited us for a Sunday evening service at the end of March.  We had a wonderful visit with these folks serving near UNH and seeking to build up Christ's church in eastern New Hampshire.  Both David and Elizabeth continue their graduate studies while maintaining an active full time ministry and raising 3 young children!  

Mike Kooy: January 31st, 2010
Pastor Mike & Susan Kooy and their children visited us on January 31st to share with us their ongoing work in Lancaster at Faith Presbyterian Church.  Pastor Kooy is very eager to see Christ’s kingdom built up in the community of Lancaster as they plan another free kids day camp this summer among other outeach opportunities.

Annual Missionary Potluck: October 9th, 2009
Missionaries Mike & Lili McCabe
Potluck_2Potluck_1
Potluck_3Potluck_4
Potluck_6Potluck_5
        Potluck_7
4th of July 2009!
July_4th_1July_4th_2

        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.
                                    Holmlund Care Package Deliveryholm_care2
        Holm_care5holm_care6

Missions Links
            Coming soon..............
Top of Page