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International |
INTERNATIONAL MISSION The Mission Statement of the Mission Council, First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta is: “With all wisdom and insight The First Presbyterian Church (FPC) Mission Council serves 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 - HAITI - KENYA - HONDURAS - OTHER MINISTRIES
First Presbyterian Church also supports programs of the Messejana and Pirambu Churches; is engaged with Camp Sara (under construction); and PRECE Project. In 2007, 12 persons traveled to Brazil to be with our partners, learning from them, and sharing our love for them. A Mission trip is planned for July 2008. Haiti, a beautiful island in the Caribbean, has a population of over 6,000,000 people. 80% live in rural areas. 60% of all Haitian children suffer from malnutrition and life expectancy is among the lowest in the world. More than 50% of the population is in its twenties and 42% are younger than fourteen. 75% of the population cannot read or write. In partnership with the Episcopal Church of Haiti, First Presbyterian Church has been working in Haiti since 1990. From 1990 to 2000 our work concentrated on the health of some 15,000 people in a rural area called FPC primary involvement in Nouvelle Cite is supporting the teachers salaries at Holy Cross School. Our work there includes building desks, repairing the roof, building classrooms, supporting children's scholarships.
Other supported projects include The Goat Husbandry Program. Mothers are encouraged to join the program because it improves family nutrition by providing meat and milk. As family herds multiply families can sell their goats at market.
Our work in Kenya began in 1995 in partnership with the Presbyterian Church of East Africa. Since then, we have formed several partnerships in Kenya.
First Presbyterian has supported St. Andrew’s Church in the construction of a new youth hall. Like First Presbyterian, St. Andrew is bringing hope to the inner city through its community ministries. Presbyterian College/University of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa Education is an integral component of the activities of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa.
Mt. Kenya Academy Senior School 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.
First Presbyterian’s relationship with Mt. Kenya Academy dates back to the mid 1900s. Our congregation supported the school’s construction of a campus chapel, Grace Chapel, which was dedicated in 1999. We are also committed to providing scholarship for Academy students.
With Mt. Kenya Academy, First Presbyterian works together at Mukuri school and Kirathimo Church
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 the San Esteban Valley in Honduras to assist villagers with their basic housing needs—pouring cement, building latrines, and even erecting walls and roofs. The youth relate to villagers and their children by providing Bible Clubs for children in the afternoons following their morning labors. First Presbyterian provides support for the registered nurse who cares for patients at the area clinic as well as funds for the Honduras Outreach doctors who regularly visit the clinic. First Presbyterian, in partnership with the Hillside Presbyterian Church of Atlanta and the United Church of Jamaica and the Cayman to assists the Mt. The Mt. Olivett 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.
The offices of Childspring International are located at First Presbyterian Church and we are honored to have them among our ministries. Childspring’s purpose is to heal the whole child: At its facility on Clifton Road, Villa provides affordable housing and genuine hospitality to men and women from around the world—especially medical professionals and researchers studying in Atlanta at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and related institutions. Friendship stands at the heart of Villa’s mission: guests with other guests, with staff and with volunteers. Friendships grow as Villa hosts tours of the area, promotes cultural events, or stages pumpkin carvings, marshmallow roast, or ice cream parties. Faith exchange occurs during conversation or at the weekly prayer service in Villa’s chapel, open to all. First Presbyterian has volunteers who give the approximately 1000 international guests per-year - friendship, hospitality, peacemaking opportunities, and ways to interact with one another in a Christian atmosphere. AMIS — Atlanta Ministry with International Students AMIS exists to welcome, introduce, and serve international students studying in the metropolitan Atlanta community. The program also gives international students from across the country a chance to come to Atlanta at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Students stay in American homes so they get to experience the American culture and traditions at those times of the year. AMIS is supported by several churches including First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta. The Internationals Class at First Presbyterian Church meets every Sunday to learn about international issues. It provides a “home away from home” for the increasing number of internationals in our area. This class collectively explores problems of the world while trying to understand God’s plan for us. It is especially for globally-minded persons who are interested in understanding other people and cultures. The class meets every Sunday at 10:05 a.m. on the third floor of the church in Room 327.
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First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta began work in northeastern Brazil in 1997. We cooperate with the Independent Presbyterian Church of Fortaleza in areas of church growth and evangelism seeking to bind the two congregations together in fellowship and mission.
Beyond every mountain is another mountain, says a Haitian proverb. There are so many obstacles to success in Haiti. 
St Andrew’s Church is a large urban church located in the heart of Nairobi, Kenya. First Presbyterian Church’s relationship with Dr. George Wanjau and the St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church began in 2000, and during these eight years, we have built a strong relationship with St. Andrews Presbyterian Women. Together we have built Tumaini Orphanage. 
The New Broughton Sunset Bay Rehabilitation Center 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. This facility gives them an opportunity to grow crops and raise livestock which they sell to members of the surrounding community.
Every three seconds a child in a developing country dies from an infectious disease. In some countries one in five children die before their fifth birthday. As Christians our hearts ache at this loss of young life. First Presbyterian Church holds hands with Childspring International to save precious lives by supporting programs that offer medical care and in many instances healthier living conditions to impoverished children.