And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Romans 10:15
Lebanon Presbyterian Church is a mission-driven church that provides many opportunities to serve abroad and here at home. As a mission-driven church, a significant portion of our budget is devoted to worldwide evangelism, disaster relief, medical care, and education of both youth and pastors.
Missions Brochure
Family Promise
Formerly known as Interfaith Hospitality Network, Family Promise provides shelter and food for families regaining their self-sufficiency. LPC has been a part of this ministry since its inception and regularly hosts parents and children on a revolving basis.
Holiday Giving
The fall season provides various ways to serve. Recent programs have included Thanksgiving Baskets, Feeding Nicaragua, Operation Christmas Child, Angel Tree, Elizabeth New Life Center, Matthew 25 Walk for the Hungry, Ukraine clothing drive, and special offerings.
Rebuilding Lives
Disaster trips as far away as Louisiana, Mississippi, and south Florida, and as near as Dayton, Eastern Kentucky, and Indiana have provided much needed help after hurricanes, floods and tornados. At home, we have built children’s beds for Sleep in Heavenly Peace, and our quilters have made dozens of quilts for SHP and Family Promise.
Africa
In Kenya, in east Africa, LPC has worked for many years with Solomon and Alice, in sports ministry, agriculture, and construction. Several years ago, LPC purchased 10 acres of land to build a well in Illmamen and now we are in the midst of building a school complex, which currently has over 100 students. In N’gundu, an LPC hospital now serves as an eye clinic. In west Africa, we built a well with the DOXY project and in another area, we have given support to school children through Project Mercy.
Europe
Currently we support missionaries and programs in Europe that minister to North Africa, Ukraine, and within the continent. Programs focus on a variety of issues including orphans, refugees, and sending the Gospel to unreached people groups.
USA
We have two sister EPC church partners, 5 Point 7 Church in Detroit MI and Genesis Church in Mercedes, TX, both located in underserved areas. Our youth programs serve a week each summer in churches or community programs like these. We have served in such places as Chicago, Philadelphia, the Tennessee mountains, and the Yakama Reservation in Washington state.
Feeding Ministry and Food Pantry
LPC provides a free meal every Monday night at the Soul Food Café, also known as Fellowship Hall, in the church’s lower level. LPC is a founding partner in the Lebanon Food Pantry, which serves people in the Lebanon school district.
Encouragement and Discipleship
LPC regularly offers encouragement and discipleship through local programs. Joshua’s Place mentors kids in the Lebanon area with tutoring, school supplies, and hunger issues. For older youth, we sponsor Young Life and our own Encounter program. Love Packages and UNTO spread love, Christian books, Bibles, and needed items around the world. Gideon’s provides New Testaments and Bibles to students, the military, and hotel rooms. KAIROS enters Ohio prisons, including our two local ones, for a retreat weekend and follow-up mentorship.
Fund Raisers
The LPC Mission Committee sponsors two major fund-raisers. In the spring, along with Encounter, we hold an all-church rummage sale, where the congregation is invited to donate household items and clothing. The money raised is used mainly for summer mission trips for our youth and for our Mexico trips. Leftovers are given to Matt. 25 and other local organizations. In the fall, a Golf Tournament raises money for a particular project, such as the Illmamen School in Kenya.
Mexico and Latin America
Our longest ongoing project has been in the Yucatan Peninsula, where we have worked since 1943. We have built Presbyterian churches and supported local pastors ministering to the Maya indigenous people. Supporting education, medical needs, evangelism, and poverty eradication, hundreds of adults and youth from LPC have become better disciples through our short term trips to the region. We have also sustained pastors from various areas, such as Mexico, Cuba, and Argentina as they continue their seminary education.
Asia
Over many years, we have supported programs from various areas, such as Mongolia, Siberia, Afghanistan, and Cambodia through evangelism, education, and medical needs. Partnering with India Gospel League, we support the Barefoot Pastors and Adopt a Village programs. After the evacuation of Afghanistan, we adopted two families to help with their relocation, education, and language needs.
Christian Organizations
This webpage is just a snapshot of our mission program in an everchanging and complex world. Some of the organizations which we regularly have supported include Samaritan’s Purse, Matthew 25 Ministries, ECHO to train agricultural workers, Global Lead to train youth pastors, and International Justice Mission, which helps free enslaved factory and sex workers from bondage.
How Can I Help?
The feeding ministry is always looking for volunteers to cook meals or make desserts. Covid shut down our in-church Family Promise for a time, but as we go back to our original model, cooks and other volunteers are needed on our rotations. Workers, skilled and unskilled, are welcome after national or local disasters, to help rebuild. Opportunities are posted on a regular basis on our weekly online bulletins and given during the announcement part of our regular Sunday services. The LPC Mission Committee tries to engage every member in mission, with events throughout the year. Not only are these opportunities to help others, but they create times for fellowship and lifelong friendships. We thank all the congregation for their gifts of time, talent and donations that further the mission of Jesus Christ.