INTERNATIONAL MISSION

“With all wisdom and insight
He has made known to us...
A plan for the fullness of time,
To gather up all things in Him,
Things in heaven
and things on earth”
                 Ephesians 1:8-10

We serve the international community in the Atlanta area and around the world. In Atlanta, the congregation serves internationals through Atlanta Ministry with International Students (AMIS), Childspring International, the Refugee Committee, and Villa International. Internationally, the congregation works through Partnerships in Brazil, Haiti, Kenya, and Honduras. Through our partnership with Hillside Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, we also work in Jamaica.

BRAZIL

FPC Atlanta joined hands and hearts with the First Independent Presbyterian Church of Fortaleza in 1997, coming alongside to support their work to improve living conditions, enhance educational opportunities, and increase economic development for their extended church community. Each year, as part of our Family Mission Program, we send a team to Brazil which includes families with children 10 years and older.

Working cooperatively with the First Independent Presbyterian Church of Fortaleza in church growth and evangelism, FPC has assisted in the construction of the Christ is Life School at the Presbyterian Church at Pirambu, a place of hope in a dangerous and disparate Pirambu favela. Currently under construction, Camp Sara is a retreat from the city that will enable impoverished youth as well as church leaders to study the Gospel together and will also provide a self-sustaining community center.

The Independent Presbyterian Church of Messejana, a mission church of Fortaleza, has grown into a vibrant independent church which fosters new mission churches of its own. FPC continues deep relationships with its members, especially the children, renewing these bonds each visit through worship, bible study, assisting with a soup kitchen, and working to maintain the facility.

The educational cooperative PRECE is a project based on students helping other students to pass university entrance exams. The cooperative now has more than 15 locations and has assisted 350 students who have passed exams. 40 of these students are now university graduates!
 

HAITI

Our work in Haiti focuses primarily on the health and education of the citizens in the rural island of La Gonave.  Through a partnership with the Episcopal Church of Haiti, we've been working in Haiti since 1990. 

In the area of Nouvelle Cite, our work is mostly in support of Holy Cross School. We've done anything from building desks, repairing roofs, and building classrooms to supporting scholarships for students and teacher's salaries.  Recently, we were able to distribute vegetable seeds to help support their lunch program and take a census. 

A mission team from FPC was in Haiti at the time of the devastating earthquake in 2010.  During that time, we were able to support the citizens of La Gonave, who were overwhelmed by a population influx following the quake. 

HONDURAS

Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, is another area of First Presbyterian Church international outreach.

The youth group of First Presbyterian regularly travels to Roatan Honduras as part of our Youth Family Mission Trip.  Our work with Stepping Up and Reaching Out Ministries often has us rebuilding, repainting, caulking, hanging doors, and other renovations to Jonesville Church. 

JAMAICA

Our work in Jamaica, in partnership with the Hillside Presbyterian Church of Atlanta and the United Church of Jamaica and the Cayman is mostly with the Mt. Olivet Boys' Home, the Theodora Project, and the New Broughton Sunset Bay Rehabilitation Center.

The Mt. Olivet Boys' Home is a facility for about 50 boys between the ages of 5 and 18 who are unable to live with their parents due to various circumstances beyond their own control.  We have been fortunate to send several mission teams to Mt. Olivet to build relationships with the boys, help rehab some buildings, and to provide financial assistance to the home. 

We've been able to support The Theodora Project - an education and support organization for young people previously involved in the human trafficking trade - primarily with financial support. 

The New Broughton Sunset Bay Rehabilitation Center, which we have helped to rebuild, is for men over the age of 54 who are serving prison sentences. The men, deemed to no longer pose a threat to society, are housed at the New Broughton Sunset Bay facility, which gives them an opportunity to grow crops and raise livestock, which they sell to members of the surrounding community.

KENYA

Our work in Kenya is done annually by two mission teams.  Adults and College students travel to Kenya every year to do work with several of our partner groups. 

At St Andrew’s Church, a large urban church located in the heart of Nairobi, we worked together with the St. Andrews Presbyterian Women to build Tumaini Orphanag and construct a new youth hall. Like FPC, St. Andrew's brings hope to the inner city through its community ministries.

Since 1995, we have worked in partnership with the Presbyterian Church of East Africa, who supports education as an integral part of their mission. FPC has been able to support the establishment of a University, Presbyterian College/University of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa, founded on the bedrock of Christian faith and values at Thogoto. 

In the shadow of one of Africa’s tallest mountains, an extraordinary Christian school is brightening the future for an entire country, and potentially an entire continent. Over the past two decades, Mount Kenya Academy Primary School has become a hallmark of educational distinction in an area of the world where the general state of schooling is poor. Throughout Kenya and East Africa, the School is widely admired for its exceptional quality and gracious, hope-filled spirit. FPC’s relationship with Mt. Kenya Academy dates back to the mid 1990s. Our congregation has supported the school’s construction of a campus chapel, Grace Chapel, which was dedicated in 1999.  And, in addition to our on-site mission support of the school, we continue to provide  scholarships and uniforms for Academy students. In partnership with the Academy, we work together with Mukuri school and Kirathimo Church.