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Global – Local – Discipling – Church Planting
Global Partners
Reformed Church in America Global Partners
We support six RCA missions around the world. We list only three here, because the other three are in sensitive areas of the world where the work ought not be publicized electronically. See more HERE.
Doug & Dianne McClintic
Old cathedrals, beautiful yet empty, are scattered throughout European cities and landscapes. Today, with the days of the historic European church in the past, young people are expressing an openness to the gospel message through the presence of church planting movements.
Doug and Dianne McClintic help North American congregations partner with the next generation of European churches as they develop a strategy of local empowerment, collaboration, and evaluation. The McClintics provide support, strategic coordination, and expertise to congregations, classes, regional synods, and other agencies in their European church planting efforts.
Wayne and Miho Jansen
The Jansens invest in developing local Christian leaders in Japan. Wayne is a seminary professor and provides theological and practical training for seminary students in the United Church of Christ in Japan. Miho teaches at the Ferris Girls’ School founded by RCA missionaries but fewer new teachers are actually Christians.
Shelvis and Nancy Smith-Mather
The Smith-Mathers, both ordained pastors, serve the South Sudanese people who have endured years of civil war and bloodshed through an organization called RECONCILE. Their work centers on conflict transformation and trauma recovery and continued education for the people’s youth, led by leaders locally.
Currently they live in South Carolina with frequent travels to refugee camps in Uganda serving both Sudanese and South Sudanese people.
Additional Global Partners
Words of HOPE
Words of HOPE proclaims the gospel through media in order to build the church in hard-to-reach places. This organization helps us share the message of Jesus with people who otherwise might never have a chance to hear the gospel. We have partnered with them for many years and have taken a primary role in helping build additional language areas, especially in Bhutan and Nepal.
Doug and Priscilla Higby
The Higbys serve with Wycliffe Bible Translators. Doug serves as the International Coordinator for Language Technology Use and Priscilla serves as the Academic Publishing Manager. Together they employ their skills and current technologies to advance Bible translation so people can encounter God through his Word.
JJ and Brianna Meadows
JJ focuses on reaching students for Christ at universities in Bogota & training them in leadership and evangelism. Brianna has transitioned to start a new outreach through IIR and the churches in Bogota to help the flood of Venezuelan refugees and immigrants entering the country.
Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Yacolba – Yucatan, Mexico
What began as an annual medical mission trip to Mexico has grown into a full-fledged partnership. Annually, we send a team to serve in a medical clinic and to work with a clean water project serving the Mayan peoples of the Yucatan. The clean water work is paired with the leadership of a dynamic local pastor in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church who is both making disciples and planting churches.
If you’re interested in learning more about joining our next team, contact us today.
Local Partners
The Other Way is a Christ-centered community development organization focused on the Westown neighborhood in the near west side of Grand Rapids. They’ve been doing great work since 1967, and we’ve been a partner since the beginning.
We partner with Bethany Christian Services to welcome, guide, serve and equip people coming to our country from very difficult circumstances. Over the past 10 years we have welcomed 100 people. Almost all of these people spent 5+ years in a refugee camp somewhere in the world because they had to flee their own country for fear of violence. The Bible is quite clear on this issue. In Leviticus, God said, “When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:33-34). We take this so seriously that we employ a part-time Refugee Ministries Coordinator, and he would love to chat with you about how you might join us in welcome these international friends seeking a stable and peaceful life.
Join us in Welcoming Refugees – contact us to learn how to volunteer.
Mulick Park Collaborative
We partner with Plymouth Heights Christian Reformed Church and Mayflower Congregational Church to serve as reading tutors for elementary students at Mulick Park Elementary School. Every student is a scholar and must be equipped with the necessary skills to achieve academically. Reading is at the top of this list. Studies tell us that if students don’t achieve reading level proficiency by fourth grade, the likelihood that they will drop out of high school increases significantly. If a student drops out of high school, the likelihood of incarceration also increases significantly. So, if you want to invest in a safer and more just community – help kids learn to read! We also have other opportunities to help throughout the year with school supplies and monetary donations.
Contact Deborah McCreary, deborah.mccreary1@gmail.com, (616) 334-9083.
Church Planting Partners
Church planting is one of our core commitments. We plant churches, and we support church planting efforts beyond our walls.
Our Church Plants:
New Ground Church
Planted in 2013, New Ground Church became a fully organized congregation within our denomination in November of 2019. We rejoice at what the Lord is doing in and through this church.
Church Plant We Support:
Holy Mountain Community Church
Holy Mountain is a Sudanese congregation meeting at our Greenhouse campus at 2600 Breton Road, Grand Rapids, 49546.
Church Planting Initiatives We Support:
European Church Planting Partnership
We joined Harbor Churches (Hudsonville, MI), Centerpoint Church (Kalamazoo, MI), and Community Reformed Church (Zeeland, MI) to partner with the University Church of Debrecen, Hungary to plant two churches on the campus of the University of Debrecen. This project of mutual learning and resourcing resulted in a new mission organization called the European Church Planting Partnership. As a Pioneer Partner in this work, we continue to support the ECPP in many ways.