The world is starving for Jesus Christ. We at First Church share the bread of life by mission efforts of our local congregation and through our support of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries. There is a place for you in mission. We solicit your prayers, your giving and your active involvement in feeding the world!

Aldersgate Camp & Retreat Center Located in a beautiful mountain setting near Ravenna, KY, Aldersgate Camp is the Methodist camp for the Eastern portion of the Kentucky Conference of the Methodist Church. Children, teens and adults have opportunity to learn about Christ through many outdoor activities. Aldersgate hosts groups year-round and has a full summer program of camps for children and youth. Construction and maintenance assistance is always needed. Contact Lee Padgett, Camp Director, via e-mail at: aldersgate@irvineonline.net You can learn more by clicking on this link: Aldersgate Camp and Retreat Center - Ravenna, KY

(Formerly Faith Promise) "Here is the church. Here is the steeple. Open the church, and there are the people."  With our hands we pray for and serve those in need, thus letting God's love shine through us.  That's what our mission campaign and fund are all about. The majority of our missions funding comes through our "Because We Are Christians" Pledges (Formerly Faith Promise program). These pledges are new as of 2008 and are an opportunity for God to use you for missions. In March/April each year we have have a mission campaign to focus on what the Bible says about serving and how we can invest ourselves in mission and service.  Part of the campaign is Compassion Weekend when volunteers come together for a weekend to impact the community with multiple service projects. The culmination of the campaign is a time of commitment for persons to help support our mission partners by investing themselves and their resources through pledges that our mission organizations can depend on through the year as support for their ministries.   Our mission fund is a chance to get closer to Christ through faith and share Him with the world through missions!

Estonia For 50 years, starting in 1940, Estonia was occupied by Communist Russia. Ethnic, cultural and religious persecutions were wrought upon the once free peoples. During the occupation, nearly 25% of the population was deported to Siberia. All of Estonia bore great loss, but the church suffered most of all. Anti-Christian Soviet legislation systematically persecuted and closed churches. Many church leaders were martyred. On August 20, 1991 Estonia regained her independence and started the long road back to economic and religious recovery. The Methodist Baltic Mission Center, in downtown Tallinn, was built with funds from around the world and was the first church in Estonia's capital since WW II. The BMC, http://www.bmk.ee/indexenglish.html, was created as a worship center and to house the Baltic Methodist Theological Seminary, http://www.emkts.edu.ee/eng.htm. Several Asbury Seminary professors whose church home is First United Methodist have assisted at the BMTS. Other churches are being reestablished and First United Methodist is helping with the effort. You can be a part of this mission effort in supporting the people of Estonia, the Estonian church and our mission team with your prayers and your financial support for any upcoming trips.

Nabil Samara - Middle East (Israel)

John and Katheryn Heinz Missionaries to Downtown Lexington John and Katheryn Heinz are responding to God’s call to serve in downtown Lexington, KY. They are both graduates of Asbury Theological Seminary. Over the past several years, they have experienced the sorrows and joys of joining God in His work in urban contexts. Lexington is a small city experiencing “big city” dynamics, including increasing diversity, complexity, social problems, and spiritual hunger. Downtown is a mix of professionals, young bohemians, various ethnic groups, non-Christians, marginalized people, and many others. Their ministry is to help the traditional, downtown church navigate the changing urban culture, and to learn how to effectively communicate the Gospel in word and deed to this culture. John and Katheryn will guide church members into city life through community involvement, urban mission experiences, and relationships and Bible study with those from all walks of urban life. Click here for John and Katheryn's web page on The Mission Society's web site for more information...

Volunteers In Mission First Church's Volunteers in Mission (VIM) Disaster and Recovery team is devoted to early response to local, regional and national disasters.  This work-ready team needs skilled and non-skilled volunteers with a heart for helping those in need following hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.  Visit here for an overview and report on our VIM Team

Habitat for Humanity First Church has an active Habitat team that has built 18 homes through the years.  If you have a heart for building a home for someone who has never had that blessing in their life, ask about our next Habitat build, which is usually in August and September every year.  Visit our Habitat page for more information

High Street Neighborhood Center

Nathaniel Mission

The Rock/LaRoca UMC

Mel and Fran Noah--Brazil Melvin Noah Melvin, son of retired United Methodist missionaries Raymond and Cleo Noah, was born in Pratt, Kansas on August 12, 1944.  When he was six years old, his parents moved to Portugal where they learned Portuguese before heading to Angola, Africa where they served.  They also served in former Southern Rhodesia, present-day Zimbabwe, and Brazil before retiring to western Kansas. Melvin graduated from Asbury College in 1968 and taught two years at Bryan Station High School before he and Fran applied for missionary service with OMS International, INC (the former Oriental Missionary Society).  They first arrived in Brazil in October of 1972. Every furlough has been spent in Wilmore where he pursued two masters and a doctorate in missionology.  At present he teaches inductive Bible courses at the Londrina Seminary and also serves as OMS Field Director, Londrina Seminary Board Chairman and interim pastor of the Airport Missionary Church, the OMS-related national church. The Noahs have three grown children:  Chris, married to the former Jennifer Pike, living and teaching middle school in Louisville, KY; Neil, engaged to be married to Shauna Stewart of Kokomo, IN on June 29, a videographer for the Fayette Co. government; and Jennifer, serving a short-term in Brazil working with English evangelism. Fran Noah Fran was born in Bradenton, Florida on June 15, 1946.  She graduated from Asbury College in 1968 with a secondary education English degree.  She and Melvin were married in December 1969.  She taught two years in the US and a year and a half in Brazil where she worked with missionary kids.  Over the years in Brazil she has served in a variety of ministries:  hostess, mission secretary, mission treasurer, and in women's work.  Presently she is teaching English in the seminary language institute and together with Melvin leads the couples' ministry in their local church.

Step by Step

Room In The Inn A Ministry of Hospitality and Shelter Room In The Inn is a seasonal winter shelter for homeless men of the Lexington area. It is modeled from an existing ministry in Nashville, TN that started with 4 congregations in 1986; the program has grown to more than 156 congregations of all faiths working together toward a common goal of hospitality by welcoming those in need to their congregations. It is now Nashville’s second largest provider of overnight shelter during the winter months, averaging 180 guests each evening. Lexington’s Room In The Inn ministry has completed its third year. It was first introduced in January 2004 with 4 churches serving 4 nights per week through the end of March 2004, hosting more than 325 homeless guests. The 2005-06 season began November 6, 2005 with 10 churches serving 7 nights per week, continuing through April 1, 2006. During that time, we hosted approximately 1,810 homeless guests over a 147-day period. We look forward to opening this season beginning in November for the Winter 2008-09 ministry season with last season’s 10 returning churches and the promise of many more joining us as the season progresses; still serving all 7 nights per week through Saturday, March 31. For more information, visit www.roomintheinn.net Participating Congregations

The Rock/LaRoca

God's Pantry Food Bank God’s Pantry Food Bank, founded in 1955, is a non-profit organization based in Lexington, Kentucky, dedicated to reducing hunger, providing nutrition education, and improving the nutritional quality of food available to the hungry in central and eastern Kentucky.   God’s Pantry serves a 49-county area as an affiliate of America’s Second Harvest national food banking network. To accomplish this mission, they operate four major programs: ·        The Food Bank acts as a clearinghouse for surplus, improperly weighed, cosmetically imperfect and about-to-expire food and non-food products from donors.  These products are distributed to more than 300 private, non-profit organizations such as soup kitchens, homeless shelters, abuse centers, senior programs, day care centers, and emergency food box programs.  The Food Bank allows agencies throughout central and eastern Kentucky to get food and non-food items that they otherwise would be unable to obtain.  Last year, over 5.6 million pounds of products were distributed to agencies serving those in need. ·        Nutrition Education Programs encourage self-sufficiency among low-income parents through six-week workshops called Super Pantry (conducted throughout the service area) and one-day sessions in an on-site training kitchen.  These workshops teach participants important nutrition and life skills such as budgeting, self-esteem and job readiness.  During each session, parents prepare a meal together and receive the groceries necessary to prepare that same meal at home for their families. ·        The Emergency Food Box Program provides a week’s supply of nutritious food to an average of 900 families a month in Fayette County.  These families are referred by local social service agencies and churches and receive food boxes through a network of six neighborhood food pantries. ·        The Kids Café program is an initiative developed by America’s Second Harvest that provides free evening meals to children at risk of hunger in an environment that is safe, friendly and within their own neighborhood.  God’s Pantry currently operates six Kids Cafes at various sites throughout Lexington.  These programs are a collaborative effort involving churches, community centers, and volunteers from the community. For more information on God’s Pantry’s programs or ways that you can help, please call (859) 255-6592, or visit their website at www.godspantry.org.