The mission of All Saints Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ: people who worship God in spirit and truth, who grow together in mutual love and ministry, and who serve our community in word and deed. We seek to serve our community in four concrete areas:
If you are interested in getting involved in any of these areas of Local Mission, please contact Thomas Kortus
(919-619-5007 and
thomas@allsaints-chd.org).
1.Neighborhood Initiatives
The neighborhood initiatives address the needs of the community in which we live, work and worship. The are birthed our of organic relationships and seek to love and serve the community by proclaiming the gospel in word and deed.
Eagles Nest After School Program
Eagles Nest (EN) began in 2005 to specifically meet the needs of students from Creekside Elementary School who live in Oak Creek Village. Eagles Nest meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays at All Saints Church from 4-6 pm. This tutoring program serves approximately fifteen second and third grade students from Creekside Elementary School. To read more about Eagles Nest, click here.
Give-a-Kid-a-Chance
In August for ASC purchases backpacks and fills them with school supplies for students who cannot afford these back to school items. Backpacks are donated to both Creekside and Ephesus Church Elementary schools. Every year ASC has been able to significantly increase the number of backpacks donated. event.
Christmas Project Each Christmas ASC 242 groups adopt local families, youth, and recently resettled refugees to bless with Christmas gifts. We receive referrals from the Oak Creek Village Apartment management, Turning Point Adolescent Center Program Directors and case managers from World Relief. 242 groups buy, wrap, and coordinate the delivery of the gifts to the recipients with the help and support of the local missions team. .
242 group Neighborhood Initiatives
During Eastertide 242 groups are encouraged to plan and orchestrate an outreach or service event. These events will be influenced by the context and interests of each 242 group. The local missions team has resource guides available with ideas and contact information in order to support and encourage groups in this process. Examples of 242 group neighborhood initiative include: serving with Habitat for Humanity for a few Saturdays, helping host an Eagles Nest family event, planning a kids activity day for local refugee children, volunteering at the Durham Food Bank, or planning a neighborhood get-together or block party.
Oak Creek Village Kids Day Camp.
ASC Youth are planning and organizing a summer kids camp for elementary students living in Oak Creek Village in June. This exciting community event will be the youth’s summer mission project. Parents and adults will also provide support and help make this project a reality.
Northeast Central Durham
We are blessed to have Jordan Capps as a member of our body and we feel deeply called to walk along side him and serve with him in Northeast Central Durham. A number of years ago Jordan felt called to serve the urban poor of Durham, but the Spirit impressed upon him that coming from the outside to serve a neighborhood was not what he desired for him. In March Jordan purchased a boarded-up uninhabited home a few blocks from the Durham Rescue Mission. With the help of many friends and members from ASC Jordan is in the middle restoring this home as a place for community and relationship.
The men of ASC frequently meet for prayer, fellowship, and work at the house and have met many of the neighbors through Jordan. Our prayer for Jordan is that his life in this neighborhood would point many to Jesus and that we can walk with him and enter into relationships with the community as his friends and brothers and sister in Christ. To see pictures of the initial walk through of Jordan’s home click here.
2. Direct Evangelism
ASC desires to encourage and foster personal evangelism by planning and implementing intentionally evangelistic programs and equipping our church to engage people with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Christianity Explored
We are planning tofacilitate a ten week Christianity Explored (CE) course in the Fall of 2010 for anyone who wants to investigate Christianity with a group of other people. Hosting Christianity Explored will give current ASC members a chance to invite co-workers, friends and acquaintances to a non-threatening church environment. It will also give us an opportunity to learn how to share our faith with those who may not yet know Christ. To learn more about Christianity Explored please click here.
3. Creative Mission Projects
ASC plans and hosts film nights, art shows, concerts, lectures, public forums and designated projects that engage the community by initiating conversations concerning justice, truth, beauty and goodness and give us a context in which we create conversation, increase relationship, and witness to our faith in Jesus Christ
The communities of Chapel Hill and Durhamvalue intentional engagement with the world and the its many complex issues. The public square is where people exchange ideas and convictions and passionately dialogue and as a church we are called to intentionally enter into the conversations and issues to publicly witness to our faith in much the same way that Paul did in the book of Acts. Last April, we hosted two film screenings for As We Forgive and were overwhelmed at the response from the community. This area of engagement is ripe with potential.
4. Local Mission Partnerships
All Saints Church relationally and financially supports individuals and ministries engaged in evangelism and discipleship in our local community.
Current Local mission Partners:
InterVarsity Chrstian Fellowship: Reaching Out to College Students
We have a very close connection to Intervaristy Christian Fellowship @ University North Carolina and are grateful to have four full time campus ministers as members of our body. We are privileged to support them in relationship, prayer and financially. To learn more about Intervarsity @ UNC click here.
Graduate Students Hank Tarlton Alex Kirk John and Julie Farmer
Ralph Ennis: The Navigators
ASC is also privileged to support Ralph Ennis in his ministry with the Navigators. He is also a member of our church community. Ralph serves with the Navigators National Training Team. In this role he trains staff, consults leaders, researches cultural decision patterns and develops resources to better minister to the hearts and minds of the 18-35 age group. He is also involved with the navigators undergraduate ministry at Duke University.
Urban Hope: Serving Walltown
Urban Hope is raising up generations of young heroes – who are beating the odds by the grace of God – through creating safe places in our neighborhood to grow together into wholeness. Urban Hope is a year-round inner city initiative of the Navigators focused on bridging spiritual and economic resources to youth and families in the Walltown neighborhood in Durham. Our desire is to empower Walltown youth by developing their God-given potential through academics, sports, life skills, discipleship, and financial literacy while maintaining a foundation centered in Christ. To learn more about Urban Hope click here. http://urbanhope.us/info/
Young Life: Reaching Out to High School Students
All Saints actively prays for and supports Young Life Durham and Chapel Hill. Many people in our congregation have been touched by the ministry of Young Life and we desire to partner with YL in their commitment to reaching out to local high school students who would otherwise never hear the gospel. For more information about Young Life please visit their website.
World Relief: Serving Refugees from Around the World
ASC collects furniture and household donations for refugees and there are many opportunities to relationally partner with refugees as they learn English, adjust to a new area, and figure out what life is like in the Triangle. There are numerous opportunities to love and serve these families. Consider how you could get involved. People are also needed to host refugee families in their homes temporarily before their apartments are ready, driving refugees to appointments and showing them around their new communities. The possibilities are endless.This is a great opportunity for families who wish to serve together because many of the refugees have children and would love to play with your kids. ASC member Tim McGee is the volunteer coordinator for the World Relief Durham office. Please contact him for more information about getting involved. Contact Thomas Kortus if you have furniture or household items to donate to arrange for the youth group to pick them up.
For more information about World Relief click here.
Kairos Prison Ministry: Reaching Out to Prisons
Members of All Saints Church are involved in Kairos ministries and recently baked 102 dozen cookies for a Kiaros Ministry Weekend at a local prison. To learn more or to get involved in reaching out to the local prison please contact Carol Ohmstead (cohmstede@nc.rr.com).
Church World Services: Serving Refugees in Durham and Chapel Hill
The Church World Service (CWS) Immigration and Refugee Program was created by several Protestant denominations that came together at the end of World War II to respond to the needs of refugees in Europe.CWS strives to meet the needs of refugees upon their arrival to the United States, assisting them as they strive to attain self-sufficiency. Click here for more information.