South Main has a heart for missions work, and we don’t think of Kingdom work as a spectator sport. This means there is a place for you to jump in.
As our faith grows in worship and through discipleship programing, so grows our calling to exercise our faith out in the world. Of course, that doesn’t mean we take on every mission project. We simply can’t. We organize and focus our resources so that when we do respond, we can make an impact.
There are different ways to think about how we organize our efforts. For example, thematically we focus on Healthcare (Sojourn House, Amazing Place, Operación San Andrés), Education (MacGregor Elementary), International Populations (refugee resettlement) or Housing (SEARCH Homeless Services, The E.A.C.)
Alternatively, you can look geographically at how we focus. Think about concentric rings radiating out from 4100 Main St., and you’ll discover a different view of how we approach our work.
Starting on our own campus we hold outdoor worship services for 30-40 unhoused people every week (Manna). We host a chess club two to three times a month that has built a genuine community of people who care for one another. In our neighborhood, we work with a public elementary school, three housing organizations (for example, The Beacon), one addiction recovery facility (The ReCenter), and one food and clothing distribution organization ( The E.A.C.).
Jump one concentric ring out, and you’ll discover that we partner with a memory care organization (Amazing Place), housing for single moms (Gracewood), and disaster recovery coalitions (Houston Responds). Move out further still, and you’ll find our regional partners Fellowship Southwest and CBF Texas. Go a little further still, and you’ll discover South Main is making an impact all over the world. There’s work being done in Peru through OSA. Through CBF Global we further the work of 46 different field personnel working in 25 different countries.
So yes, there’s lots of lenses through which to view South Main’s missions work. Regardless of your vantage point, our work is not scattershot or haphazard. We’re led by our missions committee, a group of dedicated lay leaders who pour their energy into discerning how and where to best allocate our resources. These committee members visit and interview our partners, and they review yearly reports all to better understand who our partners are and what they do. Likewise, the committee bury their noses in spreadsheets, prioritizing budget dollars and Mission Offering dollars all to maximize impact. We develop programs for Mini-MainKids all the way through our senior adults to make sure that we are activating the faith grown through worship and Adult Bible Communities. Our missions are embedded into how we grow as Christians, making us better informed and more enthusiastic. AND we also understand where we’re no longer having an impact. Which is to say that as we grow and the world changes, we can be both responsive and responsible.
We are doing great things, and there is much to be done. The world isn’t static, meaning that what we’ll be doing tomorrow may not look like what we did yesterday. We hope you see this as an invitation to jump in, bring your passion, bring your expertise, and help as we move the world a little closer to what it ought to be.
