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Local
Our strategic location in the heart of the city enables us to be involved in a variety of efforts to meet physical, emotional and spiritual needs. We want to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our world. The community outreach of the Central Church of Christ takes several forms: |
 Homeless Ministry
Our congregation is represented on the Community Council for Homeless Advocacy (CCHA), as well as other groups currently meeting to address various needs of the estimated 700 people who are homeless on any given night in Wichita. We have joined local homeless advocacy groups to host annual “sleep-outs” on our property for the purpose of raising awareness of the homeless population. Every winter since 1991 we have cooperated with other downtown churches in providing an overflow shelter during the months of December through February, when traditional shelters are at capacity.
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Common Cause Teams
These are groups of Central members who regularly work together on a common interest or passion of community outreach. Current groups include:
• The Lord’s Diner—This is a program initiated by the local Catholic diocese to provide an evening meal 365 days a year for anyone who needs it—low income, homeless, etc. Our Common Cause Team works at the Diner the fourth Tuesday evening of each month. (A food handlers card, issued by the city of Wichita, is required for participation.)
• Franklin Elementary School—This elementary school is located within five minutes of our church building, and serves primarily low income families. Our team has formed a partnership with USD 259 to work with Franklin in a variety of ways: tutors; “helping hands;” serve on school SITE Council; provide school supplies in August for students; encourage the faculty and staff. Other projects under consideration are a Bible Club and an initiative targeting greater involvement by dads in their children’s education (WatchDOGS, an initiative of the National Center for Fathering).
• Simple House—Through this ministry, food is distributed two days a week. Clothing is also available through Simple House. Other area congregations support this effort as well.
* Saturday Sack Lunches for Homeless--On the second Saturday every other month, Central members assemble and distribute 200 sack lunches to the homeless of our community. (Distribution takes place at St. John's Episcopal Church, corner of 3rd and Topeka.) |
 Mustard Seed Project
This outreach is located in a facility across the street from our church building—238 N. Waco. It houses the Diabetes Center of Hunter Health Clinic, a medical outreach to the homeless and low income of our community. And this facility is also the home of Simple House, our food distribution center. In addition, a Hispanic congregation that was “birthed” by Central now meets in this facility for their Sunday and Wednesday gatherings. Other uses for this facility are always under consideration, as space permits.
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Kids Kamp
Every summer we host a 2-3 week activity for children that come primarily from the Franklin Elementary School area. Led by our teens and supported by adults, this is like a vacation Bible School experience. Through this outreach we also hope to reach beyond the children and make contact with their parents. It has been our joy to witness some of these children grow into followers of Jesus. |
Saturday Sack Lunches for Homeless
On the second Saturday of every other month, Central members provide 200 sack lunches to be distributed to the homeless in our community. This is a wonderful opportunity for all ages to participate in serving our neighbors. |
“Shopping Free” Day
In August we provide good, used clothing to people in our community. More recently we have added haircuts for kids, along school supplies, to the list of items available at this one day event. |
 Maude Carpenter Children’s Home
Central members work and volunteer on the campus of this facility, located at 1501 N. Meridian. Our congregation has a long history with this ministry that celebrated 60 years of service in the summer of 2006. Members volunteer on various boards of MCCH, tutor children who live on campus, help with landscaping, and serve in other ways as needed. We enjoy having several of the residents in our worship assembly every Sunday, and in our Bible classes on Wednesday night. Check out the MCCH website at www.MaudeCarpenter.org.
Throughout the year, the Central Church of Christ responds to other needs in our community as we are made aware of them. We continue to look for new ways to involve our members in community outreach, believing that this is a way to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our world. |
 National
Impact Church of Christ--Houston, Texas
Beginning in 2007 we are assisting with the financial support of Ron and Linda Sellers, who for 25 years have been working with others in this vital inner city ministry in Houston. For current news and ministry updates go to the Impact church of Christ website at www.impacthouston.org and check out their blog spot. |
Foreign
The mission effort of the Central Church of Christ takes several forms in far off lands: |
African Christian School - Nigeria
Central makes a monthly contribution to the ACS, which is then used for scholarship support for native Nigerian preachers. Nigerian Christian Bible College has been in existence for over 50 years, training Nigerians to take their nation for Christ. Over the years, Central-sponsored scholarships have enabled many men and women to spread the gospel in their own country. |
 Operation Guyana
For six years we have fully supported the work of Jerry and Pat Veatch in the South American country of Guyana. Jerry teaches classes, preaches, and counsels, helping people learn more about Jesus Christ as the way, the truth, and the life. Pat supports Jerry in his efforts, and supervises a medical clinic in Georgetown that serves dozens of Guyanese citizens every month with simple medical needs.
The Veatch's have completed their work in Guyana. However, we will continue to support Jerry as he returns to the country 3 or 4 times in 2007 for extended teaching opportunities at the Bible Institute that meets in Georgetown. |
Christ’s Prison Fellowship – Wichita, Kansas
C.P.F. is a two-prong ministry that involves both an outreach and a correspondence ministry.
Jim Horner oversees the outreach ministry, it is designed to be a hands-on approach at the local level. This ministry involves meeting with inmates on a weekly basis to discuss the word of God.
James McArthur oversees the Correspondence Ministry, which is a lesson-based ministry. Its purpose is to provide study material to assist those seeking a way to better understand God’s word and how to live it. James currently works with a group of twenty-six Central members on Wednesday nights who correspond with over 300 students. Since April of 1999 (the first year actual records were kept) we have served over 1900 students. |
Eastern European Missions - Vienna, Austria
EEM serves as a primary literature resource for strengthening churches, supporting campaign mission efforts in Eastern Europe and Russia, and is the only ministry that prints, distributes and conducts routine follow-up in every country. The permanent presence of its printing and distribution center in Vienna, Austria, provides consistency, efficiency and dependability. EEM currently translates and prints in twenty languages. In its first four decades, over 8,000,000 Bibles and related materials have been printed and distributed throughout Eastern Europe and Russia. Political openness in former communist countries has allowed additional areas of service for EEM. |
Kampala Church of Christ - Kampala, Uganda
In March 1993, Greg and Debra Carr and Dave and Jana Jenkins arrived in Kampala to start a church and a ministry to the people of Uganda. Two years later, Gaston and Jan Tarbet joined them.
The church began meeting at the Grand Imperial Hotel, while a library and resource center was established in an office building. The Better Living Resource Center (BLRC) began with a few hundred books, and today the library holds over 5000 books and videos available for the public to use and borrow.
The Kampala Church of Christ has now grown to over 200 members, with seven Life Care Groups meeting at the BLRC throughout the week and five more meet in homes. Thousands of students have signed up for lessons with World Bible School, using the Kampala church as a forwarding agent for their lessons. The Christian Relief Fund provides school fees for over 100 children who would otherwise not be able to attend. school. The Kampala church has also sponsored several health-related community outreaches, including four eyeglass clinics that have given glasses to over 1000 people and a health fair to educate people on basic health issues.
In June, 2004, the property where the BLRC and Kampala Church of Christ had been meeting and paying rent on since 1997 was finally purchased. Owning the property will assure Ugandans of the longevity and stability of the church, will reduce immediate costs, and will enable the Uganda leadership the financial ability to take over administration when the time comes for the missionaries to leave.
Currently, Mark Long, Ellen Little, and Darla Bennett are the missionaries in Kampala, serving alongside the leaders of the Kampala church. |
Natasha Lezhnina - Barnaul, Russia
Several years ago we supported Zach Bolton (who grew up at Central), as a missionary in Barnaul, Russia. While he was there, he requested that we provide support for Natasha, who was helping with many youth activities and had a desire to do that kind of work full time. Even though Zach has returned to the states we continue to support Natasha and this allows us to stay in touch with the work in Barnaul.
From Natasha: “This summer was all camps. I think it was the busiest summer for me ever. And that’s why it was the most exciting summer. I should admit I didn’t have much rest between camps as I had to prepare for the next one, but it was worth it. The first camp was in Donetsk, Ukraine, working with orphans. Steve Taliaferro, a missionary who lives in Donetsk invited me to help working with the orphans. It was not a regular camp as every day we went to the orphanage to be with kids and stayed almost the whole day. While we were there, we tried to do everything possible to show those kids there are people who care and there is God who loves them very deeply. I am so glad God gave me those two weeks to work with them.
Our church organized the second camp. This year we had a smaller number of children because we did not have sponsorship from the States as we had last year. Parents had to pay more money if they could. The other part came from our church budget. Right now, Joseph Rhodes is in the States trying to find money for next year’s camp. We hope next year, parents would not have to pay so much and we would have more kids.
Camp lasted 10 days. The kids liked everything—Bible classes, sports, the assemblies—especially the singing. Parents liked it when their kids came home with better behavior. Several kids’ parents don’t come to church and one parent said her daughter came back from camp being a completely different person.
The last camp that I was able to participate in was the third session of “Sunshine”, an English-language camp. We had a team of six people, three Americans and three Russians. We mainly taught Bible classes every day, trying to be around the kids to get to know them. We didn’t have as many activities and were able to go hiking several times. (We were in Altai Mountains!)
Please pray for the ministry God has given me here and the opportunities to serve Him and others. |
Ray and Sally Leonard - South Africa
Ray and Sally Leonard continue their long-term work in South Africa. They are currently with the Atlantis congregation in Cape Town. Central has sent a small amount monthly to the Leonard’s work for many years. They have been tireless workers for the Lord, establishing many congregations throughout that country. They are under the oversight of the Church of Christ in McPherson. |
Victor Udohabasi – Nigeria
Victor Udohabasi began work with the Central Church of Christ in the month of July in 1996. He replaced Nathaniel Udom as the follow-up native preacher for the state of Bauchi. (21,000 square miles) Being a graduate of the Preaching School in Cross Rivers in southern Nigeria, Victor made the move to northern Nigeria with his wife and 4 children. Part of the perils of this leap of faith is that Bauchi State contains 64 different tribes and 14 different ethnic groups as well as many different languages to overcome than his native home in Southern Cross River State. Bauchi state is also predominately controlled by Muslims. Against the odds, Victor continues to baptize new souls regularly through his work with a weekly television program, prison Bible study programs, and the hundreds of World Bible School correspondence courses that he follows up with. Since Victor has begun his work in Bauchi, one church has for the first time ordained elders, many new congregations have been established as well as new church buildings have been constructed. His influence for the Kingdom is being seen through his continuous preaching of God’s Word and his genuine concern for lost souls.
Here is a brief excerpt of some of his work this year: "My trip to Cross River was a successful one. We held a three-day seminar for all those taking the Bible correspondence course plus the neighborhood. The attendance was 80 and the response very encouraging. Also pray for Joseph. He is 26 yrs old and according to tradition should have been married before age 18. His parents are pressuring him into returning to the village to choose a wife but all the girls in the village are Muslim. The possibility of converting these girls is very rare. I was also able to introduce four other brethren from the church in Bauchi to the prison ministry. They are very serious about it. With my traveling, I do not have time to be effective in that ministry again. We are wondering about your proposal for a contract between us and the church there in case anything happens in the future. We assemble in the church hall every Monday for a prayer meeting and have prayed for the terrible floods in parts of America from the hurricanes. We also thank you for the effort put in funding our work here in Nigeria and pray God gives you more meaningful years of service for Him." |
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