Mission Statement
The Home Missions Team leads by example and provides the congregation of St. Philip’s opportunities to minister to the people of Charleston that they might come to know and experience the saving love and mercy of Jesus Christ.
Overview
We are commissioned by the Vestry to discern, communicate and organize the parish’s local mission and outreach efforts. We do this by partnering with local Christian organizations who minister in the name of Jesus and then giving members of the congregation a “leg up” in serving through these partner ministries. Typically, this takes place through supply drives and on-sight participation.
Philosophy of Ministry
We believe that we can do far more good, by God’s grace, if we focus our prayer, financial and volunteer efforts on a small number of mission organizations (no more than four). Doing so will allow us to form meaningful relationships with both the mission organizations we support as well as the people we serve. The Home Missions Committee is charged with discerning (in consultation with the clergy) which organizations the congregation will support each year and determining how the Home Missions Budget is spent.
As a Christian church, commissioned by our Lord to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19), our aim is to partner with Christian organizations whose ministry flows forth from the Great Commission. We use the term “missions” as an explicit reference to this Commission: mission is helping nonbelievers find the saving grace of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:18-20). We use the term “outreach” to refer to acts of merciful service outside the borders of our parish, ministering to those in need, as described by our Lord in his teaching on the Final Judgement in Matthew 25:34-46 (“…for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me”). While we are grateful for all persons and organizations who seek to relieve suffering, we focus our outreach partnerships and contributions on those organizations who undertake such efforts in the name of Jesus. Having said that, we will also be attentive to God’s call to be “salt and light” in this world (Matthew 5:13-16) and may, from time-to-time, partner with a secular organization for a specific event (e.g. hosting a blood drive through the Red Cross).
Members of the team help to organize and implement several initiatives during the year, including 2-3 supply drives and tours of partner ministries. They also help the parish celebrate these efforts by submitting articles and photographs to the parish newsletter for publication.
Partner Organizations
The Home Missions Team has prayerfully discerned that St. Philip’s will partner with the following organizations this year:
2021 Team Members
- Swain Marion, Chair (843) 709-8131
- Jennie Richardson, Co-chair
- The Rev. Andrew O’Dell, Clergy Advisor
- Joy Avera, Recording Secretary
- Becky Barber
- Gantt Folline
- Guv Gottshalk
- Ben Hagood
- The Rev. Gerry McCord
- Frenchie Richards
- Connie Rink
- Jill Settle
- Amey Maybank Warder
The Team typically meets on the third Wednesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. and annually on a Saturday for a half-day retreat (typically in January).