Your giving to the Reformed Presbyterian Missions & Ministries (RPM&M) fund helps in numerous ways. Here are a few examples of how these monies have been used in recent months.

Christ (Providence, R.I.) RPC

By Michael Howarth

After 16 years of prayer and searching, we have found and purchased a building in the Providence metro area. Christ RPC began in the early 2000s as a Bible study, and in 2006 we gathered for our first worship service in a rented church building in East Providence—the same space in which we would gather for the next 16 years. In that time, our core group of fewer than 20, including children, grew to a congregation of more than 70. Over the years, we investigated dozens of building opportunities, hoping to find not only a larger main meeting space but also one with suitable classrooms and offices. The heart of our prayer was that the Lord would shut all the wrong doors and open the right one.

Real estate in southern New England is notoriously expensive and, in this “graveyard of churches,” many former church buildings become condominiums. But in spring 2022, after years of shut doors, God opened that right one. It was well worth the wait. Built in 1965 as an Episcopal church, 10 Turner Avenue in Riverside is just six minutes from our church’s former meeting space, nested in a thriving neighborhood, and has both ample parking and an adjacent residential rental property. Those years of looking for a building were also years of careful saving; and those savings, combined with generous donations, made purchasing the building begin to look feasible. But there was one critical piece still missing: a mortgage. Our elders reached out to the Trustees of Synod and began collaborating with Treasurer Jim McFarland and Controller Vida Brown, who graciously helped shepherd the church through the process of submitting an application, which was approved. With that final piece in place, we were able to pursue and purchase the building with confidence. Christ RPC began worshiping in the building on September 4, 2022.

Speaking of open doors, the building has a lot of them, with seemingly every turn revealing another expansive room for the church to fill, now or in the future: room to worship, room to eat, rooms for offices and classrooms, and room to grow.

South Sudan Mission

By Julie Decker

Trying to sum up what a mission does is like trying to carry water in a slotted spoon. It is simply not explainable. I had the privilege of being part of the Cush4Christ team in South Sudan for a small portion of last year.

One of my favorite privileges was being in charge of the finances for part of that time. Yes, I thought it was a privilege! I was able to have an inside scoop into just how many financial transactions take place in Parot, South Sudan. One of the very important “mundane” parts of living in South Sudan is having a security guard on the compound at all times. The security guards seem to have three jobs: keep people’s “sticky hands” to themselves, unlock gates for the trucks, and be a translator if people come to the gate. Okay, maybe the last one is more specific to my experience, but it is a great help. In turn, these men and women are able to help provide for their families through their salaries.

Another big part of the financial ministry is referred to as diaconal ministry. During the dry season, food is often incredibly scarce and the food that is around is more expensive. Therefore, many of the church families struggle. Because the purpose of missions is to build up the church, the team purchases sorghum (the primary nutritional source), which the church distributes. Twice a week, two women from the church came to my door for the key to the shed. These women, some of the most trustworthy women in the church, do not receive the distribution. They fill their bags with the correct amount of grain, carry it on their heads, and hand me back the key. They know who actually needs the food. It is very important that the church is shown as the lead rather than the missionaries. Missionaries are not the saviors, but Jesus is. The church, through the faithful preaching of God’s Word, is where people can find the true Savior, Jesus Christ.

We also use money to help conduct workshops. These workshops often involve feeding people and driving people to other villages so that psalms can be taught to others. There is also the famous Pastor’s Conference that the Lord has used to train many men in leading their congregations.

Some money is used to help support the school. Supplies must be brought in from the United States, since many in-country supplies are very poorly made. For example, pens and pencils that can be bought at the market last a very short time and break frequently.

These categories do not even include how funds are used to transport missionaries to and from the village and other “minor” tasks. Even though these might be looked at as mundane, the reality is the financial support that the Cush4Christ team receives is no small thing to the missionaries or to those in the community.

Elkins Park, Pa., RPC

By John Edgar

Elkins Park, Pa., RPC and I benefited from a Vital Churches grant. I had completed the coursework for the doctor of ministry program at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and I needed time to write the concluding doctoral project.

Elkins Park RPC provided me with a sabbatical to write, and Vital Churches provided a grant that helped the congregation pay for supply preaching while continuing to provide me with my regular salary. I don’t know how I could have written the project without the four-month break from preaching. I am scheduled to defend my project and graduate in May.

Las Vegas, Nev., RPC

By Edgar Ibarra

Las Vegas RPC applied for reducing aid from the Home Missions Board (HMB) in early 2022 and began to receive aid in the summer. We give thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ for the help that the denomination has given to us through the HMB, as the aid will assist Las Vegas RPC to stabilize its finances and allow me to remain a full-time minister of the gospel. This opens the possibility of greater outreach into the community, including the very large Spanish-speaking community that we hope to reach with the gospel of Christ.

For the congregation, this aid encourages us in our hope and prayer to grow as a fully functional congregation. Las Vegas RPC has had several evangelistic outreaches this past year. We had one former Baptist family join us as communicant members, having embraced the Reformed doctrines of covenant theology and infant baptism. We have regular adherents who come week by week and are learning more and more about our congregation and denomination. Two weekly prayer meetings take place on opposite sides of the city to ensure maximum participation by all.

We continually pray that the Lord will add 10 more families to our numbers. We have had one family join this year and are anticipating another family to be members in the coming months. We currently rent from a PCUSA congregation; they have been very hospitable to us and enjoy our presence. In fact, we have developed friendships and good interaction with their youth pastor and others.

Among some of our desires and prayers are to have church officers, to increase our numbers, to begin a Spanish-speaking Bible study that will develop into a Spanish-speaking congregation, to acquire our own building, and to see a second congregation develop in the coming years. Our Lord God is a God of promises and One who answers prayers. These are small matters for Him, and, if it is His will, we hope to see these prayers answered in the coming years.

Pray for us as we minister in the city where America comes to sin, for, as the Apostle Paul stated in Romans 5:20, “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” Pray that this Sin City will see that grace is greater in Jesus Christ.