“Therefore make disciples of all nations, baptizing them…and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. Surely I am with you always.” Matthew 28:19-20
We voted to stay in the city & embrace it
Every year we support global missions through Methodist networks and God is telling us to keep a global view of his whole kingdom, even though Saginaw is our first love. (In 1994, we took a vote and chose to stay in our city location rather than build a new church in the township. It was the harder road, but Christ clearly called us to love our city.) You can see our own “mission” in our outreach, youth & children’s activities. But here are our current global interests, besides supporting a few members who are missionaries:
Global child & women’s advocacy- If your mom lives far away, United Methodist Women is a good group to develop relationships with mature women. Current UMW groups, Ser Pra Lo and M&Ms, raise money to help children and women worldwide, addressing slave traffic, abuse, poverty and other needless suffering. The women also read & discuss books that help them know what’s really going on in the world beyond what media tell us.
Hunger- If you want to help alleviate hunger locally, you can help with our community gardens or give to various food ministries through Ames’ city networks. If you want to help alleviate global hunger, you can join an annual 7 kilometer CROP walk held every October or donate to Ames youth’s annual 30 hour Famine, both of which go toward local and global hunger.
UMCOR- Ames supports the United Methodist Committee on Relief, which is often one of the first organizations on the ground when disaster strikes. By using existing financial channels, UMCOR can get funds and supplies quickly and cheaply to meet human needs without any overhead!
Ames Missionaries - Ames supports short term and long term missionary projects in areas across the globe.