H.E.L.P. (Helping with Emergencies of Local People)
This local Williams County agency distributes funds to those in financial need for utility shut offs, gasoline, and medical needs. It also handles government food distribution for the Williams County area. Volunteers can donate money or food items.

For further information call:

Jeff Lewis

419-636-7199

Monday and Friday from 9am to 12pm

or email tpc@cityof bryan.net

Helping with Emergencies of Local People

903 Center Street

Bryan, Ohio 43506

Outreach of Bryan

Outreach provides food to the needy of Williams County. First Presbyterian collects nonperishable food and monetary donations for Outreach. Our grocery cart is always available to be filled in the gathering area for our neighbors in need; monetary donations may be directed to Outreach through the church office. April and October are our designated months to actively fill their pantry, and we communicate any special needs to the congregation during these months. Outreach may be contacted directly at 419-636-4717.

World Vision: 30-Hour Famine

World Vision is a Christian relief and development organization dedicated to helping children and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty. Motivated by faith in Jesus, they serve the poor as a demonstration of God’s unconditional love for all people.

World Vision’s 30-Hour Famine started in the U.S. 16 years ago as a way for junior high, high school, and college-age students to help save and change children’s lives. By going without food for 30 hours and raising money to help needy children, young people gain a deeper awareness of the needs in our world. Youth of 1st Presbyterian Church and friends have been making a difference by participating in World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine for the last 12 years. They have been involved in local service projects during the famine and have sent over $20,000 to World Vision to help fight the causes of poverty.

All youth, 12 years or older, are invited to join next years famine, Friday and Saturday, February 27th and 28th. Contact Person: Marjorie Buell @ 636-5349 or for further information www.wvi.org. 

Compassion Medical Clinic of Williams County
Compassion Medical Clinic of Williams County, Inc. was established in 2006 with the goal to help the 4,000 individuals in Williams County who lack insurance and thus, access to affordable medical care.

There are 20 physicians who have volunteered along with numerous other medical professionals and caring individuals in the community.

Numerous services are offered other than just visits with a doctor. Clients are assisted with Prescription Assistance Programs, and have access to social workers, area pastors and counselors. A pharmacy is on the premises for non-narcotic prescriptions.

The clinic is located at:

614 East Edgerton Street

Bryan, Ohio 43506.

Appointments can be made by calling 419-630-0313.

Sanctuary of Williams County

The Sanctuary of Williams County is a local Christian mission to homeless people in our area. Why are there homeless people in this area? Families and individuals find themselves homeless due to marital separations, loss of income, eviction, fires and floods. The vast majority of individuals are served because of a domestic crisis.

While housed at the Sanctuary individuals are required to:

1) keep apartments clean

2) observe Christ’s moral standards (no drugs, alcohol, pornography, fighting, cursing)

3) complete 5 job applications daily until work is secured

4) attend a Sunday worship service unless working.

Individuals are assisted in making a budget to save enough money for an apartment/house rental.  There is no limit to the time individuals/families can stay but the goal is less than 45 days.

In 2007 the Sanctuary provided housing for 147 individuals constituting 109 family units. The average stay was 33.3 nights. The Sanctuary spent $13.33 per individual/night but there is no charge to those served. Concerned Christians, churches, companies, and the United Way meet the budget.

This mission provides food, medical help, guidance, safe housing, and used furniture along with a practical demonstration of the love of God.

First Presbyterian Church of Bryan supports this local Christian mission. In addition to funds, the Sanctuary needs: sheets, pillows, towels, toiletries, toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning supplies, and good used vehicles. They collect used cell phones and inkjet/laser toner cartridges to raise cash.

Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA)

Since 1954, Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) has been challenging coaches and students on the professional, collegiate, high school and junior high levels to use the powerful medium of athletics to impact the world for Jesus Christ. Students do not have to be on an athletic team to participate. FCA has grown into the largest sports ministry in the world reaching nearly 1.5 million annually. FCA has four core values that are standard for all relationships in and outside the ministry: integrity, service, teamwork, and excellence.

Locally we have had FCA in our high school for three and a half years and in our middle school since January 2006.  Both Bryan's high school and middle school FCA meetings average between 35-60 students each week.

We are helped and encouraged by the Buckeye Border FCA, which includes five counties: Williams, Paulding, Fulton, Henry, and Defiance.  The Buckeye Border FCA is lead by Rex Stump and a leadership board.  They have 33 schools that hold FCA meetings (huddles) during the week, before, during, or after school hours.

The huddles are mostly student-lead with guest speakers on occasion. The Bryan huddles are lead by adult coaches/teachers. In our high school, the adults are Kim Pepple, Kurt Plouck, and Stephanie Mazur, and in the middle school, Mike Tippin, Todd Grosjean, and Joy Echler volunteer.

Williams County Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry working both locally and internationally to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world by making decent shelter a matter of conscience and action.

Habitat has built more than 225,000 houses around the world, providing more than 1 million people in more than 3,000 communities with safe, decent, affordable shelter. Millard Fuller and his wife, Linda, founded habitat for Humanity International in 1976.

Through volunteer labor and donations of money and materials, Habitat builds and rehabilitates simple, decent houses with the help of the homeowner (partner) families. Habitat houses are sold to the partner families at no profit and financed with affordable loans. The homeowners’ monthly mortgage payments are used to build still more Habitat houses. Habitat is not a giveaway program. In addition to a down payment and the monthly mortgage payments, homeowners invest hundreds of hours of their own labor – sweat equity – into building their Habitat house and the houses of others.

Locally Habitat is working on their 18th home in Williams County. Want to get involved with our local Habitat chapter or get more information? Call Steve Collins at 419-636-9873. Habitat for Humanity is supported by our church annually through the mission committee.

Solid Rock

Solid Rock Missions was officially incorporated in 1992 as a 501(c3) organization to support Dominican run ministries.  They are a non-denominational group of individuals and organizations that have partnered to help meet the needs spiritually, physically, socially and educationally in the name of Jesus Christ.  Their volunteer board comes from the United States and Canada.  The North American staff is headquartered in Wauseon, OH.

Several members of our church have participated in this Caribbean project through their medical mission and we financially support and correspond by mail with multiple children at their school.

More information may be obtained at www.solidrockmissions.org.

Reach Up

Reach Up is a group of local individuals with a mission to serve the local jails including CCNO in Stryker. They facilitate Bible study, worship services, and individual Christian growth through one-on- one contact.

Further information may obtained by contact with Reach Up.

Mr. Dick Erb, CEO

CONTACT INFO

Tel.: (419) 428-3800

Send email to this ministry

World Wide Web Site:

http://prisonministry.net/rum

PO Box 167

Stryker, OH 43557-0167

Sponsoring children in need is breaking the cycle of poverty.

Compassion International exists as a Christian child advocacy ministry that releases children from spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enables them to become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults. Founded by the Rev. Everett Swanson in 1952, Compassion began providing Korean War orphans with food, shelter, education and health care, as well as Christian training. Today, Compassion helps more than 1 million children in 24 countries.

First Presbyterian currently sponsors two children. Tekalgne Abebe, age 10, lives in Ethiopia and Ana Dias, age 12, lives in Brazil. If you would like to write one of these children, contact the mission committee. If you would like to sponsor a child, contact Compassion at www.compassion.com.

Isaiah 6:8 Missions Ministry

The Isaiah 6:8 Missions Ministry is an evangelical ministry of mission volunteers. Their work includes sharing the gospel, counseling troubled youth, Bible schools, revivals and missions seminars, distribution ministry and construction teams. Teams are composed of men, women and young people of all Christian denominations who have experienced a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The ministry reaches out to people in the United States, Mexico, Brazil and Venezuela through preaching, witnessing, Bible schools, prayer, music, drama and construction.   First Presbyterian supports Isaiah 6:8 both financially and through the Blessing Bag Ministry. More information may be obtained at
www.isaiah6-8missions.beliefnet.com or call Mike Rickenberg at (912) 729-5445.

Cherry Street Mission/Sparrow's Nest

Cherry Street Mission has served the homeless and low-income individuals in Toledo since 1947. Its mission is “to serve all who come to us in need, and to provide purposeful discipleship by rescuing the downtrodden, restoring hope to the hopeless and releasing God's greatness to those we serve.”

The ministry operates with open doors 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to provide food, clothing, shelter, and other vital services including, literacy and vocational training, resource networking and job readiness assistance.

A Christian organization, Cherry Street Mission is directed by the two Great Commandments:

Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:29-31)

And by the Great Commission:

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded to you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)

More information is available at www.cherrystreetmission.org.

SIM (Serving in Mission)

SIM is an international community of God’s people, whose purpose is to glorify God by planting, strengthening, and partnering with churches around the world to evangelize the unreached, minister to human need, disciple believers into churches, and equip churches to fulfill Christ’s Commission.

In the Muslin country of Bangladesh, missionaries recognize they cannot make anybody believe, but they can take away hindrances that are in the way of Muslims seeing Jesus. They engage with Muslims on a regular basis so they have a chance to see Jesus in and through Christians. Gradually relationships grow into opportunities to share the gospel and to disciple Bangladeshis who come to faith in Jesus.  

More information is available at www.sim.org.

World Gospel Outreach

 “Believers equipping children and families for spiritual and moral excellence, serving the nations for Jesus Christ.” World Gospel Outreach serves the Lord in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, by providing medical services to meet the physical and spiritual needs of the poorest of the poor. Short-term teams from churches in the United States travel to the capital of Honduras for a week to offer medical assistance and the love of Jesus. Doctors, nurses, therapists, optometrists and dentists offer basic medical assistance to the poor.  Non-medical volunteers distribute medicine in the pharmacy, give out glasses in optical, assist with patients in dental, offer hair care, and improve homes by pouring cement floors. Most importantly, all the people who come for services also receive the gospel message.

More information is available at www.wgoreach.org.