Mission Partners

Bible on WorldAims

Christ Church has pledged to support in prayer (and financially) 3 overseas missionaries and three home based missionary activities. Please pray for our mission partners even though you may not know them personally

Michael and Nicki Duncalfe - Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF)

Our mission partners with MAF are the Duncalfes, who have been serving with MAF in Papua New Guinea (PNG) for many years now. Hopefully this coming summer, when they are back on home assignment, we will be able to invite them to Christ Church and find out more about them. In the meantime please pray that:

  • Their home assignment will be a balance of work and rest.
  • The severe drought in Australia will come to an end soon as it affects farmers far and wide, even in PNG.
  • The tribal fighting will stop and communities will be able to resolve their differences peaceably.
  • There is continued safety while flying. MAF have lost two pilots in the last year.
  • The exciting and good news of the first expected grandchild will continue to bring delight to all.

    Patti Squire - Mengo and Guluddene Schools, Uganda

    Patti is the Principal of the two schools for the children with disabilities and special needs in Uganda. They are the only non-private schools for these children in the whole of Uganda.Mengo school is in grounds of a hospital and is mainly for younger children, Guluddene is in the 'bush' and serves the local area and older children from Mengo board there too.

  • Please give thanks for recent donations that have enabled new facilities to be provided e.g. new toilets and girls craft and sewing unit.
  • However, the financial situation is very hand to mouth, staff salaries are not keeping up with inflation. Please pray for increased financial support.
  • Please pray that UK based support can be better established to be able to give presentations about the work.

    The hospital suffers from frequent power cuts, which disrupts the work and makes external communication difficult. Please pray for a more reliable electric supply.

    Mark and Penny O'Sullivan - Baptist Missionary Society (BMS)

    Mark and Penny work alongside the local Pastor in the Baptist church in Kazanlak, Bulgaria. They get involved in youth work, leading worship and with the local orphanage. They have three young children Cedar, Caleb and Nandi.

    Please give thanks for:

    Their visit to England over the summer, the chance to meet up with friends and family, to attend their home church and to receive God's blessing and feeding at New Wine.

    The Summer team from BMS who went over the Kazanlak and helped decorate rooms in the local orphanage, get involved in the local church meetings and showing love to all they came across.

    The united evangelism week held recently in Kazanlak where three local churches worked together to hold evening meetings.

    Please pray for:

  • The integration of new children from a nearby town into the local orphanage
  • The O'Sullivans for God's guidance and wisdom as they test a call from God to move to Sofia and set up a church plant. That they will be faithful to his calling.
  • The family as they continue to work in God's service - Mark, Penny, Cedar, Caleb and Nandi.

    Community Cafe - London Street, United Reformed Church

    The community Cafe at London Street URC is opened during some weekdays for shoppers and also some afternoons after school to provide a drop-in centre for students. Snacks and drinks are offered, and a person or two are available for more personal talking and fellowship.

    Give thanks for answered prayer: there are now sufficient funds to enable the recruitment of a manager to run the Youth Caffe (See July prayer focus)

  • That God's choice of person will be selected for the role.
  • Wisdom for those dealing the recruitment process.

    Christine Daniel - Interserve

    Christine was an active member of Christ Church for many years and still has personal friends in the congregation. Thus we have seen her in church over the years. We gave her financial support for two years to work in China with Caring for China?s Children and then we helped her through a theological year at Trinity College, Bristol. Following this Christine worked directly for the charity Interserve.

    Interserve works very closely with its international partners, encouraging local ownership, direction and support for Missionary work.It works in over 20 countries and has around 900 mission partners and staff worldwide.

    Initially Christine was appointed to a post within the International Leadership Team, being responsible for Europe and Asia. One of the challenges that went with this is that it was not a salary appointment and thus Christine took a leap of faith that sufficient partners would give her financial support. Christ Church supported Christine in that work, and continues to support her now that she has moved to North Wales following her marriage, working part-time on a new project focussing on sharing information with the charity's fellowship.

    Youth in Mission

    We budget to support our church youth in Christian activities as they seek to understand God's word and respond to what he is calling each of them to do. It is very much seed money to see what the response is.

    We could be supporting our youth in such things as:

  • A junior leader at a Christian Youth camp
  • A group that becomes actively involved in a mission project
  • A gap year student doing Christian work.

    In 2008, a group of young people went to Moldova, the poorest country in Europe, on a two week mission placement with the Christian charity Mission Direct. The main project was to build a toilet block for a local kindergarden, but the group was also involved in church services, visiting kindergardens and local people, and taking part in a local evangelistic football project.

    In August 2010 seven young people from Christ Church will be going to the Ukraine on a 10 day mission trip with four adult leaders. They will be based at a church in Kiev, and will be involved in Church services, a youth camp, children's work and visiting local people, as well as doing some practical work.

    Please pray for wisdom and discernment for our youth leaders as they develop programmes, and for the young people to prayerfully seek God?s direction to them.

    We also support the following organisations:

    Baptist Mission, Didcot - collecting used stamps and postcards to support their work

    Camrose Resource Centre, Basingstoke - tinned food for people who are homeless and socially vulnerable

    Mustard Seed Relief Mission, Eastbourne - Shoeboxes filled with Christmas gifts for needy children in Eastern Europe

    Naomi House Children's Hospice, Sutton Scotney - foreign coins to raise funds for the work of the hospice

    Rose Road Association, Southampton - collecting tops from supermarket milk bottles to raise funds for disabled teenagers

    Street Children Aid Pro Deo - Clothes, furniture and household goods to people living in poverty in Romania and Moldova

    Compassion - The children and young people here at Christ Church support two children via the Christian charity Compassion

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