First Presbyterian Church has a long history of continued and devoted missionary service and outreach. Our missionary reach extends within our community, throughout the Presbytery and Globally. From young to old, our Christian community is committed to reaching out to others in need communicating the love of Christ and the never-ending power of God’s Grace.
The Presbyterian Women (PW) is a church wide organization that provides leadership, resource information, and opportunities for women. These representatives attend periodical gatherings at the presbytery, synod and national levels. Mission projects include hygiene kits for Kalamazoo Communities in Schools and gift cards from various businesses to take to the world-wide gathering in July.
Campus Ministry is an important piece of our missionary work within our community and abroad. The United Campus Ministry program is a service-learning ministry. How is this missionary work? The students, under the leadership of Coleen Slosberg and Kathleen Robertson King, are deeply committed to a program called Urban Plunge. These alternative spring break trips are rooted in missionary-focused work. Each year the students sign up for trips that bring them to places within the United States and provide missionary –focused experiences that are filled with the opportunity to minister through service. As a college-town, Kalamazoo is home to thousands of students and how we affectively reach out and extend a welcoming hand to our college students determines our success as good stewards of God’s Grace.
For First Presbyterian Church, our most significant and substantial missionary work is right here in our community. The Outreach Committee continues to reach out to others in need creating a true Christian sense of community and support to others in need. In summary, here are the projects and programs that continue our missionary work within our community:
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Celebrate the Vision – a midweek program that meets on Wednesday evenings for the purpose of outreach, fellowship, worship and Christian education.
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Edison School Project – a program that partners with Edison Elementary School to help students with math and reading. These 57 volunteers, coordinated by First Presbyterian Church, work in the classroom every week and assist with classroom celebrations and special events. This program is a source of hope, financial support, and people power to encourage growth through mentorship and hands-on learning.
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Ghana Partnership – throughout the years the Outreach and Endowment Fund programs have supported the missionary work of the Ghana Partnership. Specifically, the participants have focused on working with our church partner, Sokode Bagble Evangelical Presbyterian Church, to provide educational scholarships.
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Habitat for Humanity – Every year, the First Presbyterian Church commits to assisting Habitat for Humanity, one of the best ways to support missionary work both locally, nationally, and abroad. June is typically the month where dozens of volunteers work on an annual project.
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Martha’s Table - Missionary work to the homeless is part of the fabric of our church community. In partnership with 10 other churches, we assist in coordinating a Sunday evening worship and dinner to the area homeless and working poor.
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Nicaragua Partnership – The presbytery’s Nicaragua Partnership Committee plans annual presbytery-wide mission trips to Nicaragua.