Missions: "Beyond the Walls"

We are involved in Missions because Jesus Christ left his followers with a command before He ascended back into Heaven (aka "the Great Commission"). At RCC we believe it is a command the Church is to obey even today: 

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:19, 20 NIV)

BUT... we would miss the heart of missions if we simply left it as just a "duty" to be fulfilled. Worship of God fuels Missions and therefore Missions is an expression of Worship. The overflow of our worship is a desire to share God's glory with others and, thus, we naturally become missional!  THAT causes us to be excited to join God in what He is doing in our backyards, our nation and throughout the world!

Role of the Missions Ministry at RCC is to:

1) Create Missions awareness

2) Promote Missions involvement

3) Build our Missions partnerships (through regular communication, prayer, & short-term trips on location) 

I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. (Romans 1:11-12)

 

There are three areas that we are involved in with Missions based on Acts 1:8:

"... you will be my witness in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

1) Backyard Missions - in Rochester & Springfield communities and surrounding area

Check out some ways you can serve locally.  Click here!

2) National Missions - throughout the United States

3) International Missions - throughout the World

4) Short-term Mission Trip Opportunities (click HERE for our mission trip application)

5) Crisis Response - responding to U.S. natural disasters.

  

Other areas to get involved:

In His Hands: adoption and orphan ministries outreach

  • check their website for more information

 

UIS Host Family Program:  host an international student from University of Illinois at Springfield while they are studying in the U.S. 

  • contact UIS International Student Services at (217) 206-6678

 

 

My Perfect Mission Trip

by Darcy Holloway 

In June I had the opportunity to go on my first mission trip.

I had always wanted to go on one, but was unsure of what to expect. When my mom, sister and I saw that there was one in Dallas, Texas that involved childcare, we knew that it would be perfect. The three of us and Heidi Wareham left early in the morning on June 6th. When we arrived at the International Linguistics Center Campus that evening and began meeting people, I got nervous. All of the people there from Pioneer Bible Translators (PBT) seemed to already know each other, and then when we met the Davenports who our church supports, the first thing Nathan told me was to watch out for scorpions. All I could think was that it was going to be an interesting week.

The rest of the week was amazing, though. PBT was having a week long Missions Institute where their missionaries or people who were interested in missions came for training and to learn what PBT was all about. I taught in the afternoons in the 1st and 2nd grade classroom. There were 7 kids in my class, and they happened to all be girls. Everything was planned out for them to do, I was just there to help them with it. I also had the chance to go to morning chapel with the missionaries and learn more about all of the translating and work that PBT is doing all over the world.

I started awesome relationships with the people there, including the kids. By the end of the week, it was like we had become part of the family that we had watched over on the previous Saturday night. I actually cried our last night when I had to say goodbye to everyone. I had the opportunity to learn more about the mission field, make new friends, and help out part of our long distance church family, and I thank the church for that.
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