Missions Council Update
This month, our church blog will hear mid-year updates from our four councils: Discipleship, Worship, Missions and Community. This week, we get caught up on the work of the Missions Council.
The Missions Council has spent the first half of 2023 focused on engaging the congregation and community and supporting our valued missions partners. Here is a snippet of how we worked to meet and exceed our goals:
• We were thrilled to have Rev. Allie Osborne join the Missions Council as our staff liaison. Her calling to missions service and engagement were immediately evident and we're grateful to have her creativity and passion on our team.
• A team of 10 SPdL members participateed in the Atlanta Community Food Bank's Hunger 5k Run/Walk (Even on a wet and cold Sunday afternoon!).
• To support the Toco Hills Community Alliance, we held a canned goods drive in April. We collected 250 cans of fruit and—this was an expected divine opportunity—one of the students from the Collective Learning Academy (an on-campus partner) delivered them for us.
• We continued our work as an Encourager Church for Janee and Hary Angel, missionaries serving refugees in Belgium. This included exploring the possibility of offering an international mission trip to visit them and participate in their work. You can read about our role as an Encourager Church at www.spdl.org/missions.
• In support of Garden Hills Elementary School, our neighborhood education partner, SPdL members volunteered at their annual Spring Festival and provided an end-of-the-year lunch for the teachers and staff. At the end of this update, look for the thank you note from Atlanta Public Schools for our 2022 holiday toy and gift donation.
• Our church's many missions endowments distributed much needed funds to 11 missions partners.
• In just a couple of weeks (leaving July 8), a group of 15 members will be going to Miami to work with our friends at Touching Miami with Love (TML). This is our seventh year serving the children, families and staff of this wonderful organization.
While many other exciting things are in the works for the second half of 2023, we ask you to join the Missions Council in praying for:
• The success of our second canned food drive of 2023 (to be held later this year)
• Janee and Hary Angel, their daughters and their work in Belgium
• The students, families, teacher and staff of Garden Hills Elementary School
• The health and stability of our church's missions funding streams
• Our Miami mission trip team and the children, families and staff of TML
• The rest of our SPdL missions partners and the people they serve
To learn more about the work of the Missions Council, you can email missions@spdl.org or chat with one of our council members: Anna Bowen, Biana Grogg, Melissa Hollingsworth, Drew Kelly, Allie Osborne (staff liaison), Jim Smith, George Trusler (Chair) and Keith Valentine.
