WEST END CHURCH OF CHRIST FOREIGN MISSIONS SUMMARY The West End Church has always been known for its passion for foreign missions. Our present day vision is no different as we want to spread the love of Jesus in our neighborhood and also throughout the world. To enable us to do this a special contribution is taken in the Fall of the year and that amount is designated for foreign missions. Once the money is collected it is overseen by the Missions Committee made up of members from this church. Several years ago our mission interest was redirected from the Nigerian Christian Hospital to the interests of our local members. We discovered that we already had members contributing their time and energies to certain countries, so why not capitalize upon what was already in existence. Hunter and Jillian Kittrell had been members of our church for several years and most of our members knew them prior to moving to Cap Haitian, Haiti. This would be a great beginning for us as they were initiating a new work in caring for orphans and we could partner with them. Chuck Whittle had worked in Russia over many years and had firsthand knowledge of its needs and vision and we began a monthly support of this ministry. It was especially interesting to our church as it was taking advantage of technology to cross those vast miles for Jesus. Harriette Shivers was on the Board of Health Talents International and served as the President of that board, so why not become engaged with her in Guatemala. We did and began to invite our own members to accompany her once/year on a one-week medical mission trip. Many of our members have made this trip and continue to go. An ongoing partnership we have had in San Vicente, Mexico (Baja) in partially supporting Antonio and Nelly Gonzalez was reason to not only continue that support but enhance it. Now, in addition to the financial support we send, Joe Simpson leads an annual trip for West End members to spend one week with this great church--painting, repairing, feeding, counseling and encouraging those members. When our members return they are more excited about foreign missions than ever before. Dr. Tom Seals, one of our teaching ministers at West End and a professor in Bible at Lipscomb University, helped create the Inter-American Bible Institute in Lima, Peru. Even though this began in 2004, our church has recently partnered with them to help train lay ministers in Peru. The Caribbean Lectureship was started in 1971 and one of our own ministers, Dr. Ken Dye, was the founder of this event. Even though it is not supported through our special contribution, it receives funding from the annual auction sponsored and conducted by the Keenagers. World Christian Broadcasting, whose President is Charles Caudill and Chuck Whittle, one of its founders, is an international broadcaster that sends out Bible stories, devotionals, and Bible reading along with features on health, current events, parenting, and wholesome music to practically the entire world. World Christian Broadcasting reaches billions of people for Christ from Alaska and its new station in Madagascar.
Health Talents International Guatemala – Dr. Sylvia Baltodano The West End Church Mission Program supports the salary of Dr. Sylvia Baltodano, one of four dentists who operate the Dental Clinics of Health Talents International in Guatemala. Dr. Sylvia is the senior dentist on staff and she operates the dental clinic adjoining Clinica Ezell, a surgical hospital also operated by Health Talents International. Sylvia is married to Carlos Baltodano, the Director of Operations in the Coastal Region for HTI. They have two children. It is not unusual for the Clinica Ezell Dental Clinic to serve more than 500 patients in one month. In addition to this, Sylvia also conducts parenting classes for mothers of high-risk babies, and Bible classes to encourage her patients. Health Talents International began its holistic medical evangelism ministry in 1973. In Guatemala the ministry operates primary care clinics in a number of rural villages in conjunction with area churches of Christ. Members of these churches assist the medical staff and seek to provide whatever additional help is needed. The surgical clinics are staffed by short-term medical teams from the U.S. This is where West End Members have joined to help. Each year a group of our members travel down to assist these medical teams helping care for patients prior to and after surgeries with assistance given to the practical needs of the surgery center. West End team members also work in the Dental Clinic alongside Dr. Sylvia. For additional information please contact: Harriette Shivers (h@shivers.us) Annual Support from West End-$12,400
Emmaus House Cap Haitian, Haiti – Hunter and Jillian Kittrell For four years the West End Church has supported our own members, Hunter and Jillian Kittrell as directors of the Cap Haitian Children’s Home. In 2013 the Haitian Government passed a law saying all residents of Haitian orphan’s home who were 18 years or older would be required to move out of the orphanage. Because of this governmental decision Hunter and Jillian founded Emmaus House. The goal of Emmaus House is to train 18-24 year olds who will also live in Emmaus House. Hunter and Jillian are the American Directors with a Haitian minister and his wife serving at the onsite Haitian Directors. By supporting this effort we will be enabling these young people to develop job skills together with the basic life skills for them to be productive Haitian citizens and also stronger disciples for Jesus. The ultimate vision for these older teens is to move from life in an orphanage to living as mature adults both in God’s Kingdom and in their Nation of Haiti. This past year, new lodging was secured so that the girls now have their own space. Also during this past year, the first group of young people completed their training and moved out of Emmaus House, pursuing higher education or employment opportunities. For updates on progress, please visit www.emmaushousehaiti.org. For additional information please contact: Larry and Brenda Griffith (lagr99@comcast.net) Annual Support from West End-$12,400
Institute of Theology and Christian Ministry St. Petersburg, Russia Since 2005 the Institute of Theology and Christian Ministry has provided graduate level education in Theology and Christian ministry for church leaders. The instruction is in Russian for Russians so that the students may lead and reach Russians. The curriculum is given via distant learning technology allowing leaders to study in their homes. The instruction is intensely Bible-based and presented by leading professors in American Christian colleges and universities. Skype conferencing technology is used by the administration to encourage interaction of students with each other on the texts. The Russian government continues to limit not-for-profit organizations by restrictive laws. Due to government pressure the organization has changed its name to the Christian Resource Center Russia (CRCR). The Center’s ITCM is the only non-correspondence teaching program remaining in Russia, enrolling students from Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. The Center also publishes a newsletter, “In Christ,” providing news among the churches in Russia. We rejoice that CRCR’s Russian Bible School, a Bible correspondence program, led to at least fifty baptisms last year. For additional information please contact: Chuck Whittle (c.whittle@usa.net) Annual Support from West End-$12,400
San Vicente -- Mexico (Baja) Antonio and Nelly Gonzalez
For several years the West End family has supported the Gonzalez family to work in full-time ministry in San Vicente. The San Vicente church was meeting under an olive tree when Lipscomb students (15 years ago) began dropping change in a bucket outside the dining hall. When there was $6,000 collected, land was bought. Quickly, a small building was constructed. For thirteen years our church has had a personal relationship with this church in various ways. Joe Simpson sponsors a group of West End members who paint, visit members, distribute food, teach God’s word and are Jesus’ hands and feet in this small community. Through our special contribution we are also able to help pay the salary for Antonio and Nelly for the last seven years. They work tirelessly in spreading the good news of Jesus and ministering to that local church body. For additional information please contact: Joe Simpson (tbatennessee@gmail.com) Annual Support from West End-$5,000
Inter-American Bible Institute Lima, Peru Instituto Biblico Interamericano began in 2004 through a partnership between Dr. Tom Seals and several ministers in Lima, Peru who desired to start a Christian leadership academy to help train lay church leaders. Dr. Seals began visiting Lima, Peru by leading annual medical mission trips from Lipscomb University. He quickly recognized the need for a more permanent solution to help sustain churches and spread the hope of the Gospel in the city and beyond. While local ministers are often trained at traditional preaching schools, there is a dire need for educated disciples to lead and share ministerial responsibilities. From its founding, IBI’s goal is to strengthen student’s biblical knowledge and practice so they can become more effective Christian leaders. The Inter-American Bible Institute’s mission is to spread the Gospel in the nation of Peru through developing and educating Christian leaders. Our focus is to develop disciples by providing young men and women a challenging biblical curriculum, practical experience through service roles in local churches, and developing financial sustainability skills via technical training in various fields for students to use to support themselves after graduation. The ultimate goal: teaching leadership and discipleship so that our students can spread the Good News of Christ and strengthen churches throughout Peru. IBI is supported by West End and several other congregations and individuals across the USA. For additional information see: Tom Seals and/or: InterAmericanBible.org. For additional information please contact: Tom Seals (tom.seals@lipscomb.edu) or (InterAmericanBible.org) Annual Support from West End-$2,400
Caribbean Lectureship 1971-present The Caribbean Lectureship was founded by our own Ken and Jane Dye in 1971 in Kingston, Jamaica. Their dream was for the churches in the islands of the Caribbean to meet annually on a different island each year and spend several days together in worship, study and fellowship. Since that initial effort this annual event has been sponsored by the local churches throughout the Caribbean. Members come from the many islands of this archipelago together with others from Guyana, Bermuda and America to collectively gain strength from God and each other. What an event it has become with attendance peaking at 2400 when the lectureship finds its way to Trinidad and about 400 in the smaller islands. Ken and Jane attend this event annually together with various members from the West End Church. It has become something we are very proud to help sponsor and encourage. For additional information please contact: Ken Dye (kdye@westendcoc.org) Annual Support from the Keenagers Auction-$3,000 (not part of the November 13 special contribution)
Mission Travel Support for West End Members An extremely important facet of our outreach is the encouraging of our own members to go in person as short term missionaries. This enables our members to use their gifts to not only experience firsthand foreign outreach but to encourage churches in existence around the world. Our own members have gone to Russia, Mexico, Haiti, Guatemala, Caribbean and many other countries. In order to encourage our own to make these mission trips, $300/person is given to help with the expense. Our church chooses to invest an amount of money in each of our members so that upon their return their enthusiasm will be infectious with others, encouraging them to do the same. For additional information please contact: Fred Wyatt (fred.wyatt@comcast.net) Annual Support from West End-$5,000
World Christian Broadcasting, Franklin, TN
World Christian Broadcasting is an international broadcaster which uses a magazine format to send out Bible stories, devotionals, and Bible reading with features on health, current events, and parenting, along with positive, wholesome music. The guiding principle has always been to simply tell the story of Jesus with no strings attached in a way that is sensitive to the culture of the listener and to reach as many people as possible and in the friendliest manner. Currently, broadcasts are sent to listeners in Russian, Chinese, English, Spanish, Arabic, and English for Africans. Since 1983, World Christian Broadcasting has broadcast the good news of Jesus to billions of people in Russian, Mandarin Chinese and English from KNLS, a shortwave station in Anchor Point, Alaska. From a station in South America, broadcasts in Spanish are directed toward Cuba and Latin America. On March 27, 2016 a new station in Madagascar began broadcasting, which strengthens and expands World Christian Broadcasting’s signals to reach the Middle East, Africa, India, Western Russia, Western China, and Western Europe – practically the entire earth. WCB is planning to add Portuguese, Korean and French to reach people who can now listen from the new Madagascar station. One of West End’s members, Charles Caudill, is the president of World Christian Broadcasting. Dan Dozier, who was raised here at West End, is also integrally involved with WCB. Chuck Whittle was part of the group of people who envisioned the dream of reaching the world through radio broadcasts and who brought it to reality when broadcasting began in Anchor Point, Alaska in 1983. Support of World Christian Broadcasting is an addition to the foreign missions budget for 2017. The Missions Committee has purposed to provide $2,400 in financial support next year. For additional information please contact Charles Caudill (ccaudill@worldchristian.org) Budgeted Annual Support from West End $2,400.