Communicating the love and hope of a relationship with Jesus Christ is one of our fundamental callings as believers (“Go into all the world and preach the gospel…” Mark 16:15). At Sonrise we are passionate about fulfilling that calling and we do that by partnering with several ministries around the world on mission trips, sponsoring students, supporting missionary families as well as international pastors.
Dominican Republic / Guatemala / Haiti / Kenya / Liberia / Mexico / Myanmar / Nicaragua / Spain / Zimbabwe
Destiny Rescue
https://www.destinyrescue.org/us/
Destiny Rescue is an internationally-recognized Christian non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing children trapped in exploitation and the sex trade.Their vision is to rescue the sexually exploited and enslaved, restore the abused, protect the vulnerable, empower the poor and be a voice for those who can’t speak up for themselves.
Dominican Republic
The World Baseball Academy, in partnership with Crosswinds, offers an annual mission trip to Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic. While there we work with three local pastors to help build leaders in their churches and in their communities. Through sports ministry, children’s ministry, service projects, and door to door evangelism, we have been able to build strong relationships in each of the three communities and look forward to returning with servants hearts.
We also have the opportunity while in the D.R. to stay at Caribbean Mountain Academy, a Christian Therapeutic Boarding School run by Crosswinds. Our time on campus allows us to work with the staff (mainly American missionary families) and students (mainly troubled American teens in need of counseling, mentoring, and a chance to disconnect from their lives at home), and have a positive impact on them through various activities on campus and as they join us in the communities.
The trip takes place the final weekend in July and returns the first weekend in August. The cost of the trip is approximately $1,600. We will have an informational meeting in March at the WBA offices, and then those that will be going will meet about 6 times on Sunday evenings in the summer to prepare for our time on mission. During this time we also try and collect donated supplies to help with our ministry (sports equipment, arts and crafts supplies, etc.). Funds can be raised to help offset the cost of the trip through tax deductible donations to the WBA.
If you are interested, feel free to contact Jamie Frazier. Thanks!
Guatemala – Animo – Will Deeds Family
Sonrise sponsors the Will Deeds family currently serving in Guatemala through Animo. This organization works at empowering Guatemalans for work and ministry.
Haiti – Jesus In Haiti Ministries
Sonrise Church has had a relationship with Jesus in Haiti Ministries for more than 15 years! JiHM consists of several ministries: Grace Emmanuel School, Victory Bible Church and the Lighthouse Children’s Home. Sonrise has sent numerous groups to JiHM over the years as its church and school have grown – we’ve had the chance to help expand the school, visit the families of the school’s children, lead worship, play with the children, head up building projects, and more! Our founding pastor, Stan Buck, even donated a basketball court to the school! We also sponsor students from pre-kindergarten through high school.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and it has experienced incredible unrest in recent years. The last Sonrise group visited in October 2018, and it is our hope to visit again in 2021. Learn more at www.jesusinhaiti.org.
Kenya – B.T. Cooper Academy
Dr. B.T. Cooper United Methodist School opened in 1997 as a nursery school with one class operating inside Kayole St. John’s United Methodist Church. The school is named in honor of the late Dr. Bernard Trent Cooper of Sonrise United Methodist Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, who helped raise funds for the school before his death in 2005. Cooper and Dr. Dan Odipo, both orthopedic surgeons, were instrumental in supporting the school. Cooper’s son, Dr. Jerry Cooper, also has provided valuable support to the school since his father’s death.
Since 1997, the school has grown into a full primary school. In 2019, over half of the students were Congolese students with refugee status. In addition, more than 100 orphans and vulnerable children from the surrounding community attend the school. Many students are from the Kayole-Soweto slums and live in abject poverty, with most people earning less than one dollar per day.
Sonrise continues to support this mission in Kenya and arranges periodic mission trips to Kayole. For more information on past or upcoming trips, contact Ken Boyd.
Liberia – Time To Revive
Sonrise helps to sponsor ReviveSCHOOL, a 2-year Bible Study Course through Time To Revive organization in Liberia. You can learn more about the organization and the ReviveSCHOOL by clicking on the Time to Revive Logo or visiting their website HERE. For more information about our sponsorship, contact Ken Boyd.
Mexico – Spectrum Ministries
Spectrum Ministries serves the people of Tijuana, Mexico through community outreach, building homes, holding annual camps for boys and girls, orphanage partnership, kid’s club, the Tijuana Municipal Dump ministry and a teen jail ministry.
The food packets Sonrise prepared last year through Project 216 went to meet the needs through Spectrum Ministries. We hope to do that again as well as sponsor mission trips to work with their various service projects.
Myanmar / Thailand – Nathan & Ellen Shaub
Sonrise supports Nathan & Ellen Shaub (and very new baby Judah!) who serve in Yangon, Myanmar. Their goal is to plant multiplying churches among those living in the slums outside of Yangon and see the church bring justice and transformation to society. You may email them at [email protected], visit them on the web at www.seashaubs.com or follow them on Instagram: @seashaubs.
Nicaragua – Nicaragua Resource Network (www.nicaresourcenet.org)
Through the Nicaragua Resource Network, we are excited to continue to build relationships between Sonrise and Iglesia Mahanaim in Vera Cruz! This partnership was established in 2013 and we pray that it continues to grow. Sonrise currently offers the opportunity to participate in a mission trip at least once a year where you will spend time distributing food in the feeding program we sponsor and reaching out to the people of the community. We also support the sponsorships of local students from elementary through college, to help provide them with a solid education and a spiritual foundation.
Our next trip is a college/young adult trip tentatively scheduled for July 2021!
Operation Christmas Child
Each year, Sonrise Church serves as a collection site for Samaritan’s Purse Ministries Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes. We love to see the semi filled with thousands of boxes for needy children around the world, not only containing special gifts just for them, but also including the gospel of Jesus. Shoebox distribution begins in late October/early November with collection of shoeboxes completed just before Thanksgiving.
This year Sonrise Church prepared 300 Operation Christmas Child boxes and as a regional site we collected more than 12,000 OCC boxes. Many thanks to Ashley Watterson for coordinating this ministry.
For more information on this world-wide ministry, visit their website https://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/ and to find out details about the local collection, call the church office.
Spain – TMS Global – Brian and Elizabeth Ballinger
The Ballingers are part of a team in Southern Spain ministering among refugees and immigrants. Their passion is providing hospitality in order to create a space for life-giving relationships and conversations about Jesus. They dream of doing this by connecting with the local community through music and discipling others in house churches.
Zimbabwe – Gospelink
Sonrise sponsors a pastor in Zimbabwe named Mahluli Moyo through the Gospelink organization. We are thrilled to be able to help Mahluli as he seeks to grow in His own faith and prepare to minister to the world around him. Learn more about Gospelink by clicking on the logo or visiting their website HERE.
For more information about our sponsorship, contact Ken Boyd.