Helping Flooded Areas of KY and TN

During the first weekend of May, Central Kentucky and the surrounding region received record rainfall causing major flooding.

We received a call on May 4th from a dear friend, Bill Teegarden. Bill preaches at Farmers Christian Church, a few miles west of Morehead, KY. Bill (pictured right, showing the water level) says they had 4-5 feet of water in the church basement and considerable damage to their new activities building. Several homes in the community were also damaged.

He asked if Teen Mission could possibly organize some work teams to help in any way. We plan to do so.

I’m happy to report that IDES (International Disaster Emergency Service) in Kempton, IN, has sent us $3,000 to help with repairs to the church building.

 

In Nashville, much of the city was under water, thousands of people in Tennessee have been driven from their homes, and nearly 20 people have died in some of the worst flooding in memory. Please keep all those affected by the recent floods in your prayers.

 

Teen Mission will be organizing teams and individuals who would like to help in these areas. If you and/or your church would like to help for a day, weekend, or a week-long mission trip, please contact me right away (contact info can be found below). You may also contact our Disaster Relief Coordinator Jack Whitaker at 859/582-7061.

 

Teen Mission Notes (March & April, 2010)

A couple of months have gone by since my last Teen Mission update. We had a blessed Easter and pretty decent weather for spring. The spring has also been very hectic season. Here’s some of what’s been happening:

2010 MISSION JOURNEYS – The 2010 schedule of Mission Journeys is starting to really pick up. A team of 23 from Southern Acres Christian Church (Lexington, KY) were in Honduras, March 14-22. In San Lorenzo (outside of Tegucigalpa), the team worked with the local church, building a room for the minister’s family and a patio for children’s classes.

In April, we had several teams working in different areas of the United States. April 3-10, a team from Big Hill Christian Church (Richmond, KY) worked on homes in New Orleans, LA. April 9-11, a team from Gateway Christian Church (Mt Sterling, KY) helped with home repairs in Beattyville, KY, while groups from Catalyst Christian Church (Nicholasville, KY) and Leesburg Christian Church (Cynthiana, KY) did ministry programs in the area. You can read more and see pictures by going to the following post on my blog: http://gregherriford.wordpress.com/2010/04/19/spring-programs-in-eastern-ky/.

In all, we’re expecting to have 30 trips and 450-500 participants this year. There’s still room for you to join a team or project in 2010. The Mission Journeys web site (www.missionjourneys.org) has been updated with dates, prices, etc. Check it out!

CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP ALLIANCE CONFERENCE (Apr 19-21) – In late April, I attended a conference put on by the Christian Leadership Alliance in San Diego, CA. This group strives to provide Christian nonprofit leaders with insights and expertise to effectively build resources, both people and finances, for ministry.
I had several workshops on working with technology and social media. The main sessions and speakers were outstanding. The weather was not so nice. It rained most of the time I was there and even hailed one morning.

NEW INITIATIVE IN BELIZE - Since 2006, the leadership of Teen Mission, USA, has been praying about expanding the Mission Journeys by starting one or more Teen Mission “mission locations.” This would involve a TM staff member living in a location year-round and helping nationals and churches in ministry.

 

Last May, Dan Underwood approached Ken and I about the possibility of working together on such a project in the Central American country of Belize. The plan is that Dan and his wife Toni (pictured left) would begin by working with a few existing churches he met with last summer, then plant some new churches and eventually establish a ministry center outside of Belize City. They will serve as hosts for our short-term mission teams beginning in 2011.

 

Over the past year, Dan & Toni have been busy raising support and preparing for doing ministry internationally. They are hoping to be in Belize by early summer of this year. Please keep all of us in your prayers as both the Underwoods and Teen Mission enter into this new phase of ministry. If you would like learn more about this project, please check out the following web site: www.bpministry.org.

 

Please continue to pray for us as we head into the “meat” of the 2010 schedule. THANKS again and may God continue to bless!

In Him,
Greg Herriford (Teen Mission, USA )