Missions
Mexico Trip
In August 3-7 of 2009, two of our members, Beth and Isabella Osborn, participated in a missions trip coordinated by Lord's Harvest International (LHI) to Labor Vieja, Mexico. They put on a Vacation Bible School and to help with renovations and repairs to the church and the parsonage there. Beth and Isabella first travelled to Oregon, Ill. and met up with other team members and then took a van to Texas where they joined the rest of the team. After traveling another day, they arrived at the village of Labor Vieja .
The church is currently run by a wonderful woman, Lupe Badillo. Vacation Bible School was held in the church, and attendance was terrific. The auditorium was overflowing with over 80 people. It lasted 1 week from the ... to the .... The participants put on skits, sang songs, made crafts and enjoyed some good food.
The church's electrical system was updated from extension cords and drop lamps to proper fixtures and outlets. Replacements were done to the window screens and the gate was repainted. Everywhere the team went in Mexico, they were met by very friendly people. Overall the trip was a great success and the team was an encouragement to Lupe.
Photos of the trip can be seen here.
Pakistan Outreach
On January 21, 2009 our General Conference was contacted by two groups in Pakistan who are interested in joining our Conference because of the common beliefs we share. Between the two groups there are around 60 pastors and over a thousand individuals who believe like we do. In addition to these two group there is another man from Pakistan (a former pastor) who enrolled in the 29 lesson on-line Systematic Bible Study Course through the Hutchinson, MN Church of God website.
One of the groups in Pakistan has been using Dr. Alva Huffer's Systematic Theology book and also an Urdu translation of Anthony Buzzard's Doctrine of the Trinity book in their Bible studies. The other group became aware of the Church of God through Sean Finnegan's Kingdomready.org website.
There are now more than 2.5 million followers of Jesus in Pakistan. Because of our belief in the oneness of God, Muslims seem to be much more open to our teachings than they are to Trinitarian teaching. Muslims are strongly Unitarian and many refuse to accept the idea of the trinity. As a church, we at Garden Park, are committing to help support these churches in Pakistan financially to provide rent for an office, printing of literature, and to rent meeting rooms for seminars in new areas. If you would like more information, you may contact Atlanta Bible College at 2020 Avalon Parkway, Suite 400 P.O. Box 2950 McDonough, GA 30260.