Articles for tag: Missions of Hope International

‘UNPRECEDENTED’: How CMFI Has Endured the Pandemic’s Challenges . . . and Their Plans for the Future

By Kip Lines People use the term “unprecedented” to describe the COVID-19 global pandemic. But in the grand story of God’s mission in the world, we are not living in unprecedented times. There have been pandemics before. There have been times God’s people could not gather, and yet the church has persevered and grown. Even during the last 100 years, the Restoration Movement has dealt with uncertainty and challenges. In fact, after the first few North American Christian Conventions were held from 1927 to 1929, the Great Depression and World War II dictated that the gathering would happen only seven

Waran People Celebrate Bible Dedication (Plus News Briefs)

Compiled by Jim Nieman and Chris Moon Mac Silvey recently posted a YouTube video showing the Waran people of Papua New Guinea celebrating the dedication of the New Testament translated for them by Pioneer Bible Translators. The translation was a labor of love for PBT’s William and Robin Butler, as detailed in Greg Pruett’s article “To the Least and the Last” in our November issue. The celebration took place, but due to “issues and setbacks” at the printing plant, Silvey said, the actual printed Bibles didn’t arrive for another few weeks. _ _ _ Other News Briefs A Dallas Christian

Laura-McKillip-Wood

A Partnership of Hope

By Laura McKillip Wood The sun beat down on the American visitors as they made their way through dirt streets and stepped over the open sewers that lined them. Tin and wooden shanties crowded together. Whole families with five to ten members lived in one room. The smells of smoldering cooking fires, garbage, and sewage permeated the air in the slums of Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya. Just the week before, a 14-year-old boy, loved by many in the community, faced the guns of a corrupt police force. Shot multiple times, the boy died immediately. The visitors knew nothing

Headlines: June 2018

By Chris Moon   Fire Destroys MOHI School but Not Hope in Its Mission Missions of Hope International suffered a blow to its efforts to spread the gospel in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya, when one of its school buildings burned to the ground in February. The building in the Bondeni community housed 18 classrooms that served 694 students. Desks and textbooks were lost in the blaze. MOHI is a partner of Indianapolis-based Christian Missionary Fellowship International, which immediately began fund-raising to replace what was lost. The estimated loss was $300,000. “We thank God there were no injuries,” said Mary Kamau, executive

Our Mountaintop Mission

By Stephen Bond Here”s what I learned from our group climb to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, the roof of Africa.  January 4, 2017, is a day I will never forget. At 8:00 that morning, I stood on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. Looming 19,341 feet above sea level, Kilimanjaro is called “the roof of Africa.” The views are breathtaking. Reaching the summit was an over-the-top, bucket-list experience, made even sweeter because I was part of a trekking team that raised more than $140,000 to build classrooms for impoverished children in Kenya. The vision to climb Kilimanjaro exploded into my

Motivation Through Missions!

By Janet C. Smith If you”re looking for a way to motivate people to use their gifts and talents for God, CMF International has a suggestion: Get them interested in missions! Since the Indianapolis, Indiana, mission organization launched its partnership with Missions of Hope International (MOHI) in the Mathare Valley slums of Nairobi, Kenya, in 2005, scores of churches across the country have sent teams of people with all kinds of jobs, connections, interests, and abilities there to provide medical clinics, training, education, sponsorship, and more. Most people come back saying the experience changed them. But some””like those in the

We”re Making Great Strides in Missions

By Justin Horey “If you have no churches, and you have no Scripture, you have no hope.” With those sobering words, Greg Pruett explains why he has made Bible translation his life”s work””to bring hope to those who have none. Pruett, president of Pioneer Bible Translators, says there are still about 1,775 languages worldwide without a written copy of the Bible. Pioneer Bible is one of many organizations committed to reducing that number to zero by translating the Bible into every language on Earth. Pioneer Bible”s passion for cross-cultural evangelism is shared by several missions organizations with roots in the

A Seven-Day Cycle for Shoes

By Jennifer Johnson A British man living in Dubai rode his bike across the Alps this summer to raise funds for a Missions of Hope International school, part of Christian Missionary Fellowship”s ministry in the Mathare slums of Nairobi, Kenya. Tim Hooker, his American wife, Fiona Petrocelli, and their son, Quinlan, became acquainted with the work of MOHI when they were planning a luxurious safari holiday in the Masaai Mara in 2011. Fiona wanted to add a different perspective to the trip by spending a day doing some type of service for local people. “Some friends of ours put us

Too Pretty?

By Mary Kamau (From our series “The Best or Worst Advice I”ve Ever Received.”) It is very easy for me to pick the worst advice I ever received. The heart behind the advice was pure, but the thinking behind it was opposite of the direction God was leading. The advice came from a trusted board member of our organization. He felt we were growing too fast. Somehow we needed to slow the growth and take more control. He wanted us to stop the growth until all aspects of the ministry were “pretty.” This advice was offered in 2008, when we

On Fire for Mission in Africa

By Jennifer Johnson Dave Moore didn”t even want to visit Africa. Today he”s the founder and president of Africa Fire Mission. “When our church, LifeSpring Christian in Cincinnati, offered a mission trip to Kenya in 2012, my wife, Nancy, asked me to go with her,” says Moore, who at that time served as the fire chief of a wealthy suburb. “The trip would include working with Missions of Hope International (MOHI), part of Christian Missionary Fellowship“s ministry in the Mathare Valley. I wasn”t excited about it, but I went, and I realized how much the people there needed fire safety

JUST ONE: Sole to Soul

TRUE STORIES OF WORLD CHANGERS WHO STARTED ALONE: This month we share stories of individual Christians who couldn”t wait for others to tell them when to help the hurting and share the gospel. Their clear vision of a pressing need pushed them to do what they could as soon as they could. SOLE TO SOUL / www.facebook.com/ShoesForKenyaKids By Janet Smith As Andrew and Rachel Scott and their four children, members of Crossway Christian Church in Nashua, New Hampshire, prepared for a mission trip to lead a VBS program at Missions of Hope International in Nairobi, Kenya, an event occurred that sharpened

A Conversation with Doug Priest

Meet Our Contributing Editors: This month we talk with Doug Priest, executive director of Christian Missionary Fellowship International, about missions trends, short-term missions trips, and the worldwide multiplication of urban squatters. Interview by Jennifer Johnson How did you get started in missions? My parents went to Ethiopia as missionaries before I began high school. We first heard about it when I was a sixth-grader, and I said, “Oh boy, I get to be Tarzan!” My younger sister was very excited because she wanted a monkey. (She actually did have a pet baboon for a while.) I attended a very good boarding

For the Love of a Child

Child sponsorship programs are changing lives””in distant lands and right here in the United States. Discover the facts. Listen to the testimonies. And realize how this is happening. By Doug Priest “Our people sponsor nearly 400 children, and congregational giving continues to grow. In fact, the more we give to others outside our walls, the more our general fund has grown.” “”Steve Reeves, Connection Pointe Christian Church (Brownsburg, Indiana) Alice was conceived out of wedlock. She never knew her father. After the birth, her mother entrusted Alice to her grandmother and moved to another country. Alice lived in the Mathare

How to Follow a Great Act

By Kent E. Fillinger Succeeding a well-known, well-loved, successful, retiring senior minister is a daunting task for virtually anyone. But Aaron Brockett also faced stepping into the ministry of a church with minimal growth for five years prior to a major relocation and building project. Granted, several factors contributed to the lengthy attendance stall at Traders Point Christian Church, Indianapolis, Indiana. “¢ A prolonged relocation process kept the church idling in an undersized facility. “¢ A daughter church grew out of Traders Point”s young adult ministry””a good development that nevertheless cleared the bench of younger, upcoming leaders for a time. “¢

Big Dent””A Personal Touch to Lessening Poverty

By Janet C. Smith Microfinance is the latest new tool Christians can use to share the old, old story. CMF International”s new BigDent.org website has made it simple, easy, and fun to do. Christian Missionary Fellowship, a 62-year-old mission agency in Indianapolis, Indiana, has worked in Nairobi, Kenya, for many years. Executive Director Doug Priest and his staff believe there are many Christians who are interested in providing a microfinance loan within a faith-based framework to aspiring entrepreneurs in an impoverished community. CMF now has the tools for small gifts to make a “big dent” in poverty. BigDent.org went live

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