Missions
“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.’”
Mark 16:15
Known as the Great Commission, this Scripture was Jesus’ post-resurrection instruction to his disciples. The Graham Memorial Presbyterian Church Missions Committee continues to follow this instruction by distributing fifteen percent of the church annual budget to local ministries and missions around the world. This page describes the organizations we support whose primary focus is evangelism.
Organizations that provide both social services and promote evangelism appear on our Outreach page.
Angel Tree
Every child has a story. For 2.7 million children in the U.S., that story may be filled with abandonment, loneliness, and shame that comes from having a mom or dad in prison. For many, it may also include following their parents down the same destructive road to incarceration. Angel Tree reaches out to the children of prisoners and their families with the love of Christ. Every Angel Tree parent’s family is also given access to a free, easy-to-read copy of the Bible (available in English or Spanish). And while Angel Tree starts with a gift, it doesn’t end in December. All year, you can join Angel Tree to help to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of families in your community through camp scholarships, sports clinics, and mentoring opportunities.
Baja Presbyterian Ministries
Baja Presbyterian Missions helps promote Christ’s message of hope in Baja California by building missions and churches. When Baja Presbyterian Missions (BPM) entered the Mexican mission field in 1964, there were no Presbyterian churches in Baja. Since then, BPM has helped build 34 Spanish-speaking Presbyterian churches throughout the Norte and Baja Sur communities, reaching people in Cañón de Buena Vista, Ensenada, Mexicali, San José del Cabo, San Luis Río Colorado, San Quintín, Tecate, and Tijuana. BPM also helps support these newly planted churches until they become self-sufficient, through funding purchase of Baja land and buildings, overseeing Baja church construction, and supplementing Baja pastoral salaries until churches are self-sufficient.
New Generations
Graham Memorial has supported this ministry and its predecessor organization for 16 years. Using the Disciple Making Movements (DMM) model: prayer, locating the person of peace, Discovery Bible study (DBS), and call to obey, this mission has created organically growing groups. New disciples replicate by making more new disciples. New Generations trains new leaders and churches plant new churches. They have over 300 partner organizations and is instrumental in training leaders throughout Africa and beyond. In November of 2018, the Light and Life Center was dedicated. GMPC was instrumental in raising funds for the construction of the Light and Life Center. Aychi Beyene and his family visit Graham annually. Watch this video to catch a glimpse of the work being done by New Generations.
Urban Youth Collaborative
Rev. Dr. Nate Landis founded Urban Youth Collaborative (UYC), a coalition of 56 church partners that support student-led faith clubs and motivational assemblies at middle and high school campuses. In San Diego, students currently serve physical and spiritual food to 3,200 of their friends each week and look for practical ways to make a difference in their local communities. In Baja, our partners reach 5,000 students each semester at 22 schools. UYC’s Atlanta program has formed 7 clubs to date. In 2019, young leaders generated over 30,000 hours of voluntary service to benefit their communities. Things have looked a little different this past year, but UYC is still working to reach students with the Gospel message. This video is a great snapshot of the work being done by UYC in 2020.
World Vision: Child Sponsorship
Founded in 1950, World Vision helps children and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the root causes of poverty and injustice, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. A $39-a-month pledge supports a child in one of more than 100 countries by providing clean water, educational opportunities, health care, nutrition, and spiritual nurturing.
Child sponsorship is so much more than just a monthly gift. It is a personal partnership that encourages the child, their family, and their whole community. World Vision believes in empowering communities to heal from the effects of poverty, and works to give them the tools and resources to do so. If you would like to learn more about the tangible impact of child sponsorship, click here.