Our Church in Mission

Gifts of the Heart Kits
  • The Witness Committee is putting together two school kits and one baby kit for the Church World Service “Gifts of the Heart” Program. If you want to provide additional kits, you are encouraged to do so. A sign-up sheet will be in Fellowship Hall in June and July for you to sign up to provide items for the kits. Monetary contributions to the church can also be made to cover processing and mailing costs (Please designate that your contribution is for the Witness Committee’s 2006 Gifts of the Heart Kits).

    Special Offerings

    We participate each year in the four special offerings of the Presbyterian Church (USA):

    1. One Great Hour of Sharing--used for disaster response and self-development of people.
    2. Pentecost Offering--used to help children at risk and to support ministries with youth and young adults. Twenty percent of this offering is used locally for this ministry.
    3. Peacemaking Offering--used for peacemaking projects and programs. Twent-five percent of the offering is used by the local congregation for our own peacemaking ministry, 25% goes to Presbytery and Synon for their peacemaking efforts, and 50% goes to the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program to support a variety of resources and events designed to help the whole church in peacemaking.
    4. Christmas Joy Offering--divided between funding Presbyterian racial ethnic schools and the Board of Pensions, which gives grants to retired and disabled pastors with extraordinary needs.

    Our congregation also participates in the Church World Service CROP Walk and Blanket Sunday.

    Food Bank Sunday:

    The first Sunday of each month is designated as Food Bank Sunday. Members bring non-perishable fooditems and paper goods to church, then the young children collect the items following the Time for Children and place the food in a grocery cart that is placed at the front of the sanctuary. This collection is then delivered to Genesis-Thomas County, Inc. for distribution at the food bank for local families in need.

    In addition to the monthly food collections, the church also budgets $100 per month donation to Genesis-Thomas County, Inc. for the food bank.

    Other Mission Projects:

    First Presbyterian Church welcomes organizations who use Fellowship Hall. These organizations include Hospice Services, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and High Plains Mental Health.

    Another aspect of our mission to the community includes providing office space for Hospice Services, Inc., an organization that provides end of life care for terminally ill patients in their homes and support for patients' families.

    Our congregation sponsors a child through the Christian Children's Fund. A good portion of the monthly sponsorship fee comes from the Sunday School offerings.

    Our congregation is also active in mission in other ways as we respond to needs in the community and within our congregation.

    Our congregation participates in the 1% Theological Education Fund. One percent of our annual budget goes toward supporting ten Presbyterian theological seminaries as well as Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico and Auburn Theological Seminary in New York State that are related to the Presbyterian Church (USA) by Covenant Agreement.