For many years Unionville Church had an Outreach program that consisted of Harvest Homes at Thanksgiving.

A few years ago, under the direction of Nancy Listen, the Outreach Program took on a new dimension. Nancy and her committee established a Food Pantry and a Clothes Closet at the church. They obtained a list of people in the community that needed help on a short term basis and found ways to help them. Sometimes it was with household goods, clothes, food or house repairs. Easter and Christmas parties were held for the children and the parents were given Easter baskets and Christmas presents for the children. Each year an average of forty five children receive new underwear and socks at Easter, Christmas and the new school year. The Freedom United Methodist Church, the New Sewickley Presbyterian Church, the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, the Freedom School District as well as our church family here at Unionville have been very supportive of this mission.

Jesus set forth a clear and concise description of the mission of the Church when he spoke these words:

And Jesus came up to them saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” Matthew 28:18-20

Understanding our mission is essential to the spiritual life of our church because God has called us into being to fulfill a unique purpose in the world. In that respect, “missions” is not simply something that we do as a Church but, rather, it is an expression of who we are as the people of God. The Church's very existence in the world is to glorify God and to bear witness to the nations of the truth of the Gospel.

Jim and Dene Wood

Jim and Dene Wood were saved at Unionville Methodist Church in 1963. Five years later they were impressed with the mandate to take the gospel to the world. They were accepted into New Tribes Mission and entered training in Durham, Ontario Canada in September 1968. After studying language and culture in Camdenton, Missouri, they went to Asuncion, Paraguay in December 1971 to begin 20 years of work with the Angaite Tribe in the jungle. They lived and worked with the Angaite people and through the years saw primitive people come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior. After much teaching and getting the Bible in the Angaite language they were able to leave a propagating church. The Angaite Church is on its own with missionaries visiting periodically.

Jim and Dene are now retired and living in Sanford, Florida at the New Tribes Retirement Homes. Their ministries include a singing ministry at a nursing home in the community and a teaching ministry with Child Evangelism at the local elementary school.

Missy and Jesu Harrison reside in Waynad, Kerala South India and are a part of More Grace Ministries of Beaver Falls. Missy is originally from the Beaver Valley and had been working in India with a youth mission group when she met Jesu who was also working with the group. They were married in February 2002. Their desire is to start an old age home, orphanage and medical clinic in Kerala, where they can love the unloved and give them hope in God.

Jesu was saved when he was 30. He is now 50 and wants to share Jesus and not waste the years he has left. Missy was raised in a Christian home and was drawn to the mission field as a teenager.

Since moving to Kerala in 2002, Jesu and Missy have been building friendships with the people and gaining their trust. Jesu spends time with the men and women and teaches the children English. Missy and Jesu wait for opportunities to share Jesus' love with the people. They visit with various Christian missionaries in the jungle and try to support the other missionaries with food, prayer and friendship.

Darlene Rimer

Darlene Rimer was saved at a youth retreat at Unionville Church in 1964. God reconfirmed His calling of her to the mission field during her senior year of high school.

After college, Darlene was accepted as a missionary under Un evangelized Fields Mission (UFM). Darlene studied language before she went to the Dominican Republic where she teamed up with fellow missionary, Mary Wyllys. For twenty six years Darlene was in Santo Domingo, where she conducted Bible Clubs for children, gave Bible studies for adolescents and ladies, conducted Vacation Bible Schools and trained Sunday School teachers. Many souls were won for Jesus through her faithfulness.

After studying “Experiencing God”, Darlene and Mary felt that God was inviting them to join Him where He was working in Santiago. They moved to Santiago in 2002. It has been a big change but they are busy training Sunday School teachers, teaching Bible classes at a Christian school, conducting Bible Clubs, acting as a resource for youth leaders and doing God's work where ever they are called. Darlene is truly excited about all that is going on in the Dominican Republic.

Frantz Payoute and Bethany Evangelical Church School

“Digging a big hole to bury Voodoo in Haiti” is the mandate of Pastor Frantz Payoute and the Bethany Evangelical Church School in Duty-Haiti. Frantz went to Duty in 1982 after graduating from Bible School. Haiti is one of the world's poorest countries and Duty was considered the Voodoo capital of Haiti. Some said that Duty was reserved for the devil, but God had other plans for Duty and for Frantz. Frantz founded the Bethany Evangelical Church in Duty and then the school.

The church has grown in Duty and has several smaller churches in out lying areas. The school's attendance has also grown to about five hundred children. Because some of the classroom were in the church and that was against local ordinances, additional classrooms had to be built. Frantz said that if he has a child in school for five or six years, the child will forget his Voodoo background and will follow Christ.

The needs of the school are many. Frantz has instituted a sponsorship program so that more children can attend school and get to know Jesus. The school also needs money to pay the teachers on a timely basis, to buy food to feed the children, to buy wood to build benches, and to buy school supplies such as chalk, books and pencils. Many of the children are so poor that the food they receive at school is their main meal for the day.

    

The Crossman Family

Though they are not able to be actively engaged at JAARS until their support is adequate, they have been busy. In January 2009, Karl began working for a different company in the Waxhaw, NC area.The new job was more in line with the type of aviation work he will be doing with JAARS and the schedule was more flexible than where he had been working. This meant that if they were asked to present this ministry to a church or other group somewhere, they had more freedom to travel. The pay was less, but their hope was that this job would make it easier to prepare for Karl's job assignment with JAARS. However in April he was told that the company would be moving to a location too far away for a commute. He was offered a full time, salaried position at a helicopter company he had worked for last year, but just before the job was to begin; it turned into a "contract" job with no guarantee of hours after the first two weeks. Please pray that this job will continue to offer plenty of work. Or maybe God has something else in mind for them.

One of their big hopes for 2009 is for Karl to be working in the avionics shop at JAARS. They are ready to go - waiting only on God to supply the necessary prayer and financial support.

In order to resume their work with Wycliffe, they need new partners. At this time they have promised 50% of the monthly support needed. If you know of individuals or churches that may be interested in this ministry, you may contact Karl or Deb Crossman at 704-843-4661 or via e-mail at kdcrossman@windstream.net.