Missions, Service & Benevolence

Mission: To encourage members to respond to the good news of the Gospel by moving beyond themselves in service to others. From serving children here in the Midlands to mission trips in the United States and beyond, the Missions, Service and Benevolence Ministry offers many opportunities for Eastminster’s congregation to serve others

Accomplishments in 2019:

• Managed and disbursed over $500,000 to local, global, and PCUSA missions • Mentored 63 children through Bradley Elementary Lunch Buddy program and provided weekly filled backpacks with weekend food for 22 children at Bradley • Donated 2778 pounds of peanut butter and other foods to Harvest Hope • Continued serving meals and provided fellowship at Transitions each Third Thursday for dinner and served dinner on Christmas Day • Collected and distributed “Cookies for First Responders” to numerous locations in honor of 9/11 • Prepared and served lunch at the Washington Street Soup Cellar in the first Tuesday of every month • Hosted numerous families on Eastminster’s campus for a one-week stay through Family Promise of the

Midlands • Washed over 200 pairs of feet through the Foot Care Ministry and collected 500 pairs of socks through the Socks in a Box Program • Sent 205 shoeboxes to Operation Christmas Child • Provided a nursing scholarship at FSIL Nursing School and donated to Hospital Sainte Croix in Leogaine,

Haiti • Increased financial support and continued prayer support for 8 international missionaries • Financially supported the Nile Theological Seminary and provided a scholarship for enrolled students • Supported 10 missionaries to travel to Uganda Africa and work at the Sozo Children’s Home • Financially supported IMCK Hospital in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which serves people in central Africa within a 500 miles radius of the facility • Partnered again with First Calvary Baptist to provide a Christmas shop and dinner for the residents of

St. Lawrence Place • Hosted Circle of Giving for children staying in shelters, to provide them gifts to give family members at

Christmas. Participants came from Samaritan’s Well/Hannah House, Family Promise, Palmetto Place, St.

Lawrence Place, and Family Shelter. • Financially supported Foundation Church, a new church development in the Dutch Fork area • Contributed financially to a medical mission trip to Sudan/South Sudan for the purpose of distributing

Talking Bibles and medicines • Sent 25 area students to the Salvation Army’s Camp Walter Johnson in July • Funded a Habitat build in the Columbia area with Eastminster volunteers participating in the October build • Hosted three relief groups at Eastminster from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance • Hosted 18 Taiwanese pastors and John McCall for a weekend at Eastminster as part of the Taiwanese

Pastor Exchange program • Financially contributed to Thornwell’s Hope for Children Luncheon as well as provided office space for

Building Families, a program of Thornwell Home for Children • Collected and disbursed donations to the Mall to Manger Project which gives church members the opportunity to make honor gifts for friends and relatives during the Christmas season

Accomplishments in 2019 (con’t)

• Mentored 27 C.H.A.M.P.S. (Communities Helping Assisting Motivating Promising Students) students by providing opportunities to learn and grow through education, college prep, service learning, character development, and fellowship during a summer camp and one a month follow-up activities • Hosted Don Marsden, our missionary partner in Ethiopia, in May • Supported local mission trips for children and youth (Wilmington, Salkehatchie, South Dakota,

Charlotte) with 102 total participants • Contributed financial assistance for global family/adult trips (Bahamas, Costa Rica, Uganda Africa) with 63 total participants • Financially contributed to Capernaum, Young Life organization that provides a safe and fun space for special needs children and teens • Contributed to Daybreak Ministries to help cover the costs of their new mobile unit that will allow

Daybreak to bring their services to unserved members of the community • Allocated funding to PDA for Hurricane Harvey relief • Sent a group of 11 adults North Carolina to help WARM (Wilmington Area Rebuilding Ministry) rebuild homes for those affected by Hurricane Florence • Contributed to Live Oak Counseling Center’s Care Fund • Donated to Cooperative Ministry to improve their signage along the street • Contributed to Brad Stephens for his trip to Alaska to work with Stephen & Natalie Hall, whom EPC sponsors • Hosted a dinner for Stephen and Natalie Hall in the summer • Gave to Ezekiel Ministries for their mentoring program for at-risk youth • Allocated funds for PDA Hurricane Dorian relief in the Bahamas and gave to Gabe and Jan Swing, local missionaries to the Bahamas that our mission team worked alongside

Goals for 2020:

• Install one Living Waters for the World water purification system in the Dominican Republic • Identify a new missionary relationship for salary support. • Have a “Minute for Mission” that highlights the MSB committee. • Increase the committee members and have more non-officer participation. • Continue to support our missions. • Identify a global liaison. • Continue to support both financially and physically our local, global, and PCUSA mission commitments which will perpetuate the Lord’s work in 2020.

Want to know more?

Mission, Service and Benevolence Chair: Jerry Jowers(2020) - jowersgd@gmail.com Eastminster staff support: Rev. Brian Marsh, Susie Glenn, Rebekah Gaston (C.H.A.M.P.S.)