Reaching the Nations


"And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”


Our goal is to fulfill the mission Jesus gave us to make disciples by helping unreached people trust and follow Jesus.


There are many ways you can participate in mission life at GFC. You can be a:

  1. Go-er
  2. Pray-er
  3. Giver
  4. Encourager
  5. Welcomer


To GO is a challenge for many and sometimes intimidating. So what does it mean exactly to "GO" on a mission trip. For our church, GO means to...


"go on a mission that is outside your normal or immediate sphere of influence"


Being on mission takes us out of our comfort zone and into the unchartered waters of helping unreached people trust and follow Jesus.



SCROLL DOWN TO SEE:

  • OUR MISSIONAL EMPHASIS
  • WHO WE SUPPORT NATIONALLY & GLOBALLY
  • OUR 2022 SHORT TERM TRIPS

OUR MISSIONAL

EMPHASIS

1. To focus on unreached people groups. Unreached groups lack enough followers of Jesus to evangelize their own people.


2. To emphasize making disciples, rather than simply evangelism. Jesus gave each of us a calling to make disciples and we want to partner with like minded individuals and organizations.


3. To work with indigenous church plants, rather than autonomously. We want to engage, strengthen and support local believers as they see people follow Jesus, gather together as disciples, develop leaders who can equip the flock, then nurture that church go on mission to reach others.


4. To enable our members to directly engage with mission efforts. Whether by going, praying, welcoming, praying or encouraging, we desire to see each person in our congregation directly connected with a missionary or organization that is reaching the unreached.


Please continue reading below about who we support Nationally and Globally and our trips. 

WHO WE SUPPORT

NATIONAL MISSIONS


SOMA Asheville, NC - We sponsor this gospel centered church plant in Asheville whose mission is to restore God's beauty and brightness to the city of Asheville by harvesting the seed of the gospel. Click here for SOMA's website.



GLOBAL MISSIONS

We currently support missionary families making disciples in:


Ecuador - Serving youth leaders through Nexus International with Paul Wingfield.


Middle East - Serving in a Muslim area.  


Central Asia - Supporting church planting in this area.


Punjab, India - Supporting an organization that uses a reproducible disciple-making process that leads to biblical church planting.


Operation Christmas Child - Not only do we collect hundreds of shoeboxes per year, but we are a distribution center for area churches. Between 15,000 and 20,000 shoeboxes pass through our church each year on their way to kids who will have the opportunity to be discipled across the world. Please see the OCC brochure on our Missions wall.

TRIPS WE TAKE

Here are the trips we are taking in 2022:


1. Local Mission Trips - Saturday - June 11 & June 18. Home & grounds improvement projects. More details to come. Contact Josh Burke: burkejw57@gmail.com


2. Youth Mission Trip to MFuge - June 23 - 26. Our youth are heading to Asheville, NC for a week of service. Contact Paul Wingfield: paul@gracekingsport.org


3. Regional Mission Trip - July 7-9. Community service project in Harlan County, KY. Contact Stephen Hamby: shamby@eastman.com or Joe Douthat: jdouthat@eastman.com


4. Missionary VBS - July 13-16 in Louisville, KY. This is a conference for missionaries in Central Asia needing people to help with a Vacation Bible School for kids whose families are attending the conference. Cost: hotel and food. Contact Tim & Melissa Pitts: pittsfamily8@gmail.com. *Sign up deadline: May 1*


5. FunFest - July 15-23. Everyone at GFC is encouraged to volunteer at one of the FunFest events as we spend the week BLESSing our community. There are a variety of ways you can serve during the week with your friends, family or Life Groups. More details and sign ups to come. Contact Leslie Fuller: leslie@gracekingsport.org


6. Global Mission Trip - Gordon & Varinka Williams, along with Global Health Outreach, are planning a medical mission trip to El Salvador July 23 - 31. This is a great trip for families and students. Anyone interested in serving please contact Gordon (thewilliamsgho@gmail.com) or call 865.385.3790. You can find details on the trip HERE. The mission team will sponsor a portion of your cost. *Sign up deadline: April 29*


7. Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Packing Party - GFC is partnering with Heritage Baptist and West Colonial Hills Baptist Churches to pack 1,000 OCC shoeboxes that will be sent to Hard to Reach Areas. Join us August 27, 2022 at West Colonial Hills Baptist Church. Contact Melissa Pitts: pittsfamily8@gmail.com


8. Model Love - Saturday, October 1, 2022. This is a multi-church event meant to BLESS the community of Kingsport.  Service teams will be made up of a blend of people from various churches to serve as a unified expression of Christ's love. More details to come.