Northminster has a rich history of supporting and leading missions
We have always supported local work through well known organizations. Our support has either been financially or volunteer time, depending on the needs of the group.
Mission support beyond Indianapolis has been both direct support and through the Whitewater Presbytery and their outreach programs. We have also reached beyond the city with our youth programs.
This outreach has been with travel by bus, car, or planes. They have been called “Caravans” or mission trips. The end result of these many trips over the years has been the growth of the participants faith and their awareness of Christ’s call to care for and love our neighbor
Refugee Family Sponsored by Northminster
One way Northminster has responded to Christ’s call to reach out to others is to sponsor a family through Exodus Resettlement. The Wube family arrived on December 15, 2005 from Eritrea. They came from a resettlement camp in Ethiopia. Mekonen is 42 and is now working at the Jiffy Lube in Broad Ripple. Abrehet is 32 and is the proud mother of Keflome (12), Tesfome (7) and new baby Merhowe born in the USA on November 17th of 2006.
Northminster members and friends furnished an apartment for the Wubes and we continue to help them adjust and assimilate to American culture. Tesfome and Keflome are in Washington Townships Schools and have become almost fluent in English in just a year.
Northminster members tutor the boys each night to help them with their schoolwork. We have volunteers to take the family to the doctor and dentist. We have folks who help the boys play soccer and take them to basketball games, hockey games and to the movies.
The Wube family has had much to adjust to in coming to America. We have been able to help them do that. In return we have gotten to know Mekonen, Abrehet, Keflome, Tesfome and baby Merhowe. They are loving, kind and generous people. It has been a joy and a privilege to get to know them and to sponsor them this past year.
Northminster has over 15 youth and adults who help support the Wube family each month with visits to doctors, dentists, tutoring, immigration issues, banking, and just having fun playing with the boys. If you are interested in getting to know this family and working with them please contact Associate Pastor Ruth Moore, at 251-9489 or ruthcmoore@northminster-indy.org
Recall what the Book of Hebrews (13:1-2) reminds us: "Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it."
Our refugee family is doing well and continuing to adjust to life in the US.
Below is an excerpt from Dr. Teri Thomas's sermon, October 1st, on how our mission work is able to help those in need:
Bread and Others
by Dr. Teri Thomas
October 1st, 2006
James 5:13-20
The Presbyterian Church of Ghana is one of the oldest Christian churches in Ghana. It was founded in 1828 through the efforts of Swiss missionaries. After World War I the church came under the control of the Church of Scotland. In 1926 it became an autonomous church and today the church has approximately 450,000 members, approximately 60 percent of whom are under 35 years old. The Presbyterian Church of Ghana commits itself to health care work and maintaining educational institutions from kindergartens to universities. For the church, offering these services means spreading the word of the Gospel in a holistic way. It sees its existence as a missionary task.
Why am I telling you this?
Well, you help support ministry and out reach in Ghana. Some of your mission money goes to support schools, provide medical assistance, safe water, and education to the people living there.
You help people experience the love of Christ in very real and practical ways—half way a round the world. So, some time back there was a young man living in Ghana by the name of Elvis Kpodo. He served as a deacon in the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. In church he learned about outreach and caring and loving his neighbor. Our mission work in Ghana had an impact on this man’s life and helped make him the person he is today.
So, who is he today?
Today he is the manager of the Jiffy Lube on College Avenue in Broad Ripple. Now being manager of a Jiffy Lube may not sound like a position of great power and influence. But it is. Mr. Kpodo uses his position to change the lives of people. As of last Friday, he is the supervisor of Mekonen, the father of our refugee family from Eritrea.
Mekonen doesn’t speak English, can’t read or write and doesn’t have employable skills. He does have a good heart, great pride in doing a job well, and a strong desire to support his family.
You don’t hire Mekonen as a good business move; you hire Mekonen out of a sense of mission, promise, or hope. Mr. Kpodo has hired other refugees at his Jiffy Lube. He takes them in and teaches them with patience and acceptance. He gives them skills. He gives them training. He gives them a chance to make it in a new country. Their lives are changed and so is our community.
Chaos theory says that when a butterfly flaps it wings in Brazil, it can cause a tornado in Texas. Gospel theory says that when you sit in Indianapolis and support mission in Ghana, you find employment for a refugee from Eritrea in Broad Ripple.