Reaching Union Bridge with Christ

Uniontown Bible Church’s Missions Team has been intentionally involved in reaching Union Bridge since 2001. 

2001-Live Nativity-just off the square in UB.

2002-Thanksgiving Outreach-door to door meeting people and handing out light bulbs-Why light bulbs? They are a practical gift everyone can use-attached gospel tract.

2003-Live Nativity-Sharon and Doug Little’s back yard.

2004-Christmas Outreach-on Main Street in front of the pharmacy. Handed out rolls of tape. (Have you ever run out of tape while wrapping your gifts?) The pharmacist welcomed us and offered anything we needed including hot coffee.

2005-The UBC Outreach Team prayerfully stepped out in faith and started the A Little Love food pantry ministry.   A.L.L.-for 5 years served out of the Fellowship Hall of the Union Bridge United Methodist Church on Main St. In the year 2010, God nudged again and in obedience the team stepped out to ask our friends we serve, if we could come and deliver to their home. We would go out in the weather and serve them in their homes. Only 1 of the 24 families said they did not want us to come.  We were tremendously encouraged that the trusting relationships we had built were real, and we received addresses and phone numbers. A.L.L. currently serves 30 homes. Now under Brian Chapline’s oversight, God is leading to begin a Bible study for our A Little Love friends. Pray with us for God’s timing and we have a clear plan for the study, where, when, etc. Serving in Nov 2011 each home was told about the study and there was a great response.  People are bending their knee and acepting Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Today-Dec. 13 there is a meeting with a  A.L.L. family where members are interested in baptism at UBC. Praise the Lord.

Outreach to Stambaugh’s-During the winter and spring months Stambaugh’s Inc. worked on the new church building the Missions Team provided hot chocolate/iced tea and snack for the workers every Friday. Invite cards and gospel tracts were given and the staff followed up with serving them a lunch at the farmhouse.

2010-Shriner Court-is a low-income village in Union Bridge. There is an income requirement to be accepted, but is not subsidized housing. The Missions Team learned about Shriner late 2009. A resident there told us that they were promised by management that there would be activities, and other social events and those promises were not followed through. We asked, what kind of activities would you like? Simple gatherings, games, fellowship.  Every Thursday night Bingo in the very small ‘activities building’, began in Jan 2010. No cost, no fees to play. Prizes are practical-postage stamps, food, fresh produce, note cards, toiletries…of the 20 residents, there are usually 10-12 participants for Bingo. All residents are visited regularly.  Word got out about Shriner, and Bark Hill Bible offered a weekly Bible study. 5-6 residents attend on a regular basis. Finishing Genesis  a field trip to Lancaster to Sight and Sound to see Joseph was a great follow-up. There have been a few trips to Lancaster to visit a huge farm market and farm for homemade ice cream. After months of fun together, our S.C. friends asked ‘what can we do to serve’? Keep in mind-median age of the residents is 70+.  For several months we volunteered at Serrv in NW. Once a week we took 6-7 residents to pack health kits. The Union Bridge Church of the Brethren became aware of Shriner, and offered their M&M gathering. Once a month the ‘Modern and Mature’ meet on a Thursday and have lunch together. They invite someone to speak, could be on travel, gardening, health care, and each month the local retired Dr gives health tips as well. Several are attending and look forward to the fellowship each month. The greatest testimony of the this ministry is the real community, the real ‘caring for each other’ relationships that have developed among the residents. They are friends, they care for each other, look out for each other through family issues, health concerns, etc. Getachew has visited with Shriner Ct.  as a group a couple of times.  Many of the ladies wanted to give back,  in appreciation for the things done for them,(a couple dollars for gas money or tip for lunch-things like that). None of the servers want to be ‘paid back’ at least in the world’s terms. So, our Ct friends together (outside of any server knowlege) to come up with a way to give for all they have received. They bring a quarter or dollar or what they can afford to Bingo and with their offerings they are sowing into Getachew’s ministry. You have to know that there are many subsidized homes in UB. There can be a great stigma attached to that way of life. It is the same with the Ct. It is low-income, there is a worldly stigma, and these dear ones were deemed ‘outcasts’, tucked away. Image what a few activities and encouragement does to a body, the emotional, and physical being when gathered with friends to laugh, and have a good times, to forget about struggles for a while. Prayer is part of our gatherings, prayer requests are made and Jesus is made known. A few residents have home churches. A couple have began attending Bark Hill Bible, and a few have visited UBC a few times. Praise the Lord.

The Lutheran Church in UB has a weekly food pantry that has begun serving dinner the 4th Monday each month on their serving evening-5pm. A.L.L. friends attend this opportunity as well the residents of Shriner Ct. Shriner Ct friends have helped to serve at this pantry. Bark Hill Bible now serves regularly, and the Brethren church has provided food and servers from time to time. This pantry does a Christmas ‘adopt a family’. This year the Lutheran church will provide a Bible for each child served. This is a huge step for this ministry. God is working.

Bridges-a Union Bridge Youth outreach made up of a few UB residents under the  Community Foundation of Carroll County. The focus of this organization is to provide opportunities for young people and their families in UB. Twice a week there is a computer lab at the Community Center. Once a month activites are planned for all ages-year round. Servantsof A Little Love attend the annual Christmas party, a family event. We provide 15-20 food bags containing an entire ham dinner and other food items. Great opportunity to tell of Jesus, and invite to UBC Christmas opportunites and connect with A Little Love.

Reaching out to our neighbors.  Serving and partnering with the local churches. Impacting a community that they might know Jesus Christ. 

UBC Missions Team’s Annual Retreat

UBC Missions Team Annual Retreat

Retreat: a period of group withdrawal for prayer, meditation, study.

 The UBC Missions Team is inviting you to retreat from the daily hustle and bustle and come join us on Saturday November 5, 2011 to hear how God is using His people to make His glory known around the world. We will pray for local serving, short term missions and our missionaries. We will meditate on Acts:1:8 and Matt 28. We will study, through hearing about what God is doing here and abroad.

 The day:  Sign in begins at 8 a.m. followed by Worship at 8:30

With your group (and a passport) you will travel to 3 ‘destinations’ : Africa, Appalachia, and Arizona, to hear the trip reports from 2011 short term mission trips. The 4^th stop is a tour of UBC Local Outreaches, did you know there are serving opportunities from Union Bridge to Westminster, to Baltimore and Appalachia? The Missions Team takes a Serve Local, Go Global approach to world missions believing that sharing Christ begins at home, our communities and reaching the nations.

Pastor Steve will serve children of attendees grades 1-5 with a children’s missions program.

After everyone has completed their missions tour everyone will gather back in the multi-purpose room for closing statements, then lunch will be served.

It’s all FREE! Sign up at the kiosk on Sunday!

The title of this year’s Retreat is: Passport to Missions-Where is God Sending You?

“Finish the Mission: For the Joy of All Peoples.” Desiring God 2011 National Conference

A missional community is a family of missionary servants who make disciples who make disciples.

Family

First of all, a missional community is a group of believers who live and experience life together like a family. They see God as their Father because of their faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ and the new regeneration brought about by the Holy Spirit. This means they have and know of a divine love that leads them to love one another as brothers and sisters. They treat one another as children of God deeply loved by the Father in everything — sharing their money, time, resources, needs, hurts, successes, etc. They know each other well. This knowledge includes knowing each other’s stories and having familiarity with one another’s strengths and struggles in regards to belief in the gospel and it’s application to all of life (John 1:11-13; Romans 12:10-16; Ephesians 5:1-2).

Missionaries

God’s family is also sent like the Son by the Spirit to proclaim the good news of the kingdom — the gospel — and fulfill the commission of Jesus. A missional community is more than a Bible study or a small group that cares for other believers. A missional community is made up of Spirit-led and Spirit-filled people who radically reorient their lives together for the mission of making disciples of a particular people and place where there is a gospel gap (no consistent gospel witness). This means people’s schedule, resources and decisions are now collectively built around reaching people together (Matthew 3:16-4:1; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 13:2).

Servants

Jesus is Lord and we are his Servants. A missional community serves those around them as though they are serving Jesus. In doing so, they give a foretaste of what life will be like under the rule and reign of Jesus Christ. Living as servants to the King who serve others as he served presents a tangible witness to Jesus’ kingdom and the power of the gospel to change lives. A missional community serves in such a way that it demands a Gospel explanation — lives that cannot be explained in any other way than by the Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus (Matthew 20:25-28; John 13:1-17; Philippians 2:5-11; 1 Peter 2:16).

Disciples

We are all learners of Jesus our rabbi who has given us his Spirit to teach us all that is true about Jesus and enable us to live out his commands. Jesus commanded us to make disciples who believe the gospel, are established in a new identity and are able to obey all of his commands (Matthew 28:19-20).

The missional community is the best context in which this can happen. Disciples are made and developed:

1. through life on life, where there is visibility and accessibility
2. in community, where they can practice the one anothers, and
3. on mission where they learn how to proclaim the gospel and make disciples.

Jeff Vanderstelt is a pastor at Soma Communities, an Acts 29 church in Tacoma, WA. He coaches and trains church planters, serves on the Board of Acts 29, and leads the Soma movement in vision and teaching.

Thank you for sharing your comments. All comments are moderated for content. Comments that fail to acknowledge God or Jesus with “caps” will not be posted. In addition any posts containing foul language or blasphemy of any form will not be posted.-UBC Missions

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One With Them

Missions and Outreach: Serving Local and Sending Global at UBC

UBC Missions Policy: DEFINITION OF MISSIONS AND LOCAL OUTREACH

Missions at Uniontown Bible Church is defined as “The sending out and supporting of equipped disciple-makers who cross barriers of distance, culture and language in order to establish and strengthen the church in places beyond the normal sphere of influence of our members, both within and outside the USA.” Uniontown Bible Church’s normal sphere of influence is defined as the area of Local Outreach. Examples are Uniontown and the Carroll County region.

Local Outreach includes presenting the gospel and meeting the spiritual, social and physical needs of people within the local community. Local Outreach involves more of our people’s time and personal efforts locally. Missions, on the other hand, involves sending our people into and investing more of our finances outside our normal sphere of influence. At UBC, the Missions Leadership Team, (MLT) is committed to mobilization of the body to be involved in Missions and Church Planting. Church Planting is described as sending teams from UBC anywhere around the world to make disciple makers.  

Uniontown Bible Church prayerfully and financially supports people in:

Missions: (missionaries who are equipped disciple-makers who cross barriers of distance, culture and language in order to establish and strengthen the church in places beyond the normal sphere of influence of our members, both within and outside the USA) —and in—

Outreach: (outreach servants work  in local ministries who may also have to raise their financial support.  We also financially help 3 pastors in the economically depressed  Appalachia regions of Jolo, WV and Big Rock VA.  The outreach servant’s  ministry includes presenting the gospel and meeting the spiritual, social and physical needs of people within their normal sphere of influence-local communities), click on the Sending Global page.  

UBC is also blessed by the many outreach servants within our church body who coordinate and lead several outreach ministries at UBC-found on the Serving Local page.