Are you looking for a church that is actively engaged in making a positive impact around the world? At First Baptist, our mission starts in Downtown Portland, but following the Great Commission of Jesus found in Matthew 28:18-20, it also calls us to share God’s love all around the earth. Through our connection to the American Baptist Churches of the Central Pacific Coast, we work with churches from around our region to meet the spiritual needs of people in our part of the country. Through our connection with the American Baptist Churches, USA, we serve with literally thousands of congregations in mission at a national level. And through International Ministries, we support Global Servants who are sharing the hope of Jesus overseas, by meeting both spiritual and physical needs. One particular mission that is near and dear to our hearts at First Baptist is the Cambodian Children’s Ministry in Kompong Chhnang Province. To learn more about the exciting mission work that is being done in and through First Baptist, contact us today!
Here is just a snapshot of some of the exciting ways in which God is at work through our International Ministries global servants deployed around the world.
Lauran Bethell
Lauran is a global consultant serving where needed around the world, as a consultant, to encourage and facilitate Christ-based ministries that address the exploitation of women and children. She is based near Amsterdam, The Netherlands. She writes, “I often walk through red-light districts in cities that I visit. I’m never comfortable being there, but I know that these are the places where God has called me to be present, despite being uneasy. When we opened the New Life Center in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 1987, I knew that it was important for those first girls to know Christ, to receive an education and to be prevented from having to support their families by being exploited. From that tiny beginning, God has multiplied the ministry beyond the bounds of what any of us could have imagined.” To learn more about Lauren, click here.
Dr. Rev. Ann and Bruce Borquist
Ann and Bruce serve as regional missionaries with partner Baptist conventions in Southeast Asia, including Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines. They work alongside national leaders to build capacity in servant leadership, church-based community and economic development, and cross-cultural missionary training. The Borquists have served since 1987 in he Philippines, the US, and in Brazil. Most recently in Brazil they worked with the National Baptist Convention of Brazil as co-Coordinators of the Integral Mission Network and the office of Leadership and Ministry Development, and helped equip Brazilian missionaries to share the good news of Jesus Christ is Brazil and around the world. To learn more about Ann and Bruce, click here.
Tim and Kathy Rice
Tim and Kathy are medical missionaries serving at the Vanga Evangelical Hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are from St. Lewis, MO where they served at the Saint Lewis University. Through short-term service in Vanga they became acquainted with Dr. Dan Fountain, who at the time was serving at the hospital, and is now retired. Tim has taken Dan’s place, and along with Kathy they train nursing and medical students for Christ centered whole-person care. Their vision is to train the next generation of Congolese doctors and nurses in Christ-centered, whole-person care, empowering them to use the limited resources available to restore life and health across the D.R. of Congo. To learn more about Tim and Kathy, click here.
Emerson and Ivy Wu
Emerson and Ivy began their ministry with ABC International Ministries in 2014. They began their work in Macau by assisting in the training of young Christian workers at the Macau Bible Institute . They have now been moved to Hong Kong and will be ministering to the larger realm of Chinese churches. Their area now includes Macau, Hong Kong and Mainland China, as Directors of Global Chinese Training Ministry.
They work with overseas partners and ABC International Ministries personnel to identify strategic locations to provide discipleship and pastoral training. Building on their service experience in church and campus ministries in Ohio and at the Macau Bible Institute, they help Christian training centers and Bible schools to run assessments and improve their curricula, libraries and faculty development.
Many of the locations they visit are in rural mountain areas where most of the people need to travel long distances, either by car, motorcycle or walking. Their resources in every aspect are very limited. To learn more about Emerson and Ivy, click here.
