ONE LESS
GIFT
what is one less gift? One of our favorite Christmas traditions at College Heights is our One Less Gift initiative. Between Thanksgiving and New Years we set aside money that we would have spent on ourselves so that we can give to others in need around the world. Last year over $100,000 was given to people who have greater needs. Half was used locally and the other half was used internationally to those struggling with hard issues that confront the poor. This year we would love to be able to give away another $100,000! In this catalog you will find a variety of wishlist items from our Community and Global Partners. As a sponsor, your contribution will go toward the One Less Gift fund. We then distrubute these financial gifts to each of our partners. Come be a part of this amazing opportunity to make a difference this holiday season! Gather your family, sit down with a cup of hot chocolate, and consider how you will give to those most in need. You can give at church any Sunday between November 25 and December 31, give online (just mention One Less Gift in the description), or donate at the church office. If you would like to donate to One Less Gift in honor of a friend or family member, we have gift certificates available so you can let them know. This would make a great Christmas gift or stocking stuffer! These are available at the Sign Up Counter in the Atrium.
MILESTONES & MEMORIES
2010
2011
2012
2013
$100,088 $107,500 $101, 091 $107,419 This year of One Less Gift we gave approximately $49,000 locally and $51,000 internationally to projects that would directly impact individuals and show them the compassion of Christ. Little did we know what God would do through One Less Gift in years ahead!
Though we ourselves were recovering from the tornado, we were still able to bless a pregnancy crisis center in Serbia, a therapy center for disabled children in Africa, houses for persecuted Christians in India, and a training institute for Christian leaders in Sudan.
One Less Gift funds in 2012 were used for surgery to return sight a near-blind woman, utilities for a family who had lost their jobs, a water well for the poor in Asia, cows for milk for an orphanage, and motorbikes for evangelists in India as well as other projects.
The money this year went toward projects including cleft palate surgeries for children in India, a water well in Uganda, supplies for Neighborhood Lifehouse in north Joplin, wood for windows in Eastern Europe, and therapy supplies for boys rescued from sex trafficking.
2014
2015
2016
2017
$134,680 $121,563 $104,222 $115,000 This year we gave some of the funds to buy goats for a children’s home in India, micro-loans for farmers in Togo, a playground for kids in Sudan, food for families in Serbia, Bible translation in Eastern Europe, and food and blankets to widows in India.
In 2015 we were able to provide care packages to Syrian refugees, a dental clinic in Northeast Africa, seeds for farmers in Eastern Europe, meals to Joplin residents struggling with poverty, and therapy for kids in North Africa, among other projects.
In 2016 we were able to help earthquake relief in Haiti, buy motorcycles for evangelists, help refugees overseas and in Missouri, purchase clothes for poor children in India, and sponsor kids with disabilities to go to camp, among many other gifts.
Last year, we were able to help a new church in Harlem, bring relief to hurricane victims in Puerto Rico, provide medical training to doctors in Central Asia, purchase blankets for refugees, help victims of trafficking, along with many other efforts.
ONE LESS GIFT AROUND THE WORLD Various Projects Eastern Europe Church Plant New York
Welcome Gifts for Kids Oklahoma
Meals for Artists New York Therapy Center North Africa Blankets & Bibles South Sudan
Boys Rescued from Trafficking Dominican Republic Various Projects Missouri
Compassion Projects Eastern Europe Drug Rehab Southeast Asia Various Projects Central Asia
Clean Water India
Girls Rescued from Trafficking Cambodia
Microfinance Malawi
NEW YORK CITY COMMUNITY MEALS FOR ARTISTS $1,290
This grant will fund a hospitality effort by our partners, the Schauberts, in New York City. They want to provide meals around their kitchen table for neighbors of all castes, classes, races, religions—people who are not alike and not connected, to share ideas and make works of art while eating together. This will not only provide an opportunity for them to get connected, but also to experience God’s love in a practical way.
HARLEM HELPING A NEW CHURCH HELP OTHERS $10,000
Kenny Hart and his wife Shanika (a Brooklyn native) love the people and understand the culture of Harlem. They feel the call to give the rest of their lives to living out the Gospel in this community. They see a need for the ethnic reconciliation that can happen with the spread of the Gospel. The church they work with, The Harlem Gathering, recently celebrated their one-year anniversary and had over 250 people in attendance. Their Community Outreach ministry has grown immensely and they are about to have their second event of the season where people can learn more about community development and community outreach from a biblical standpoint. The grant for this project is $10,000. It will create a benevolence fund to help this church show the compassion and mercy of Jesus to the community of Harlem.
CAMBODIA
CARING FOR GIRLS RESCUED FROM TRAFFICKING $7,000
Rapha House knows that meeting the basic needs of children rescued from trafficking allows them to see and feel that they are being cared for and protected. These are the first steps in the healing process. This grant includes $5,000 to provide a generator for the Girl’s Home, which will improve their safety and stability during power outages. It also includes $1,000 to offer weekly classes at the safe house, giving residents the opportunity to learn skills such as knitting, sewing, crocheting, ceramics, jewelry-making, etc. This is both therapeutic and empowering for the girls they minister to.. It also gives $1,000 to buy a motorcycle for one of their workers so they can better meet the needs of their girls.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC RECOVERY FOR BOYS RESCUED FROM TRAFFICKING $5,000
Blackbox International is one of our partners who provides holistic aftercare to boys rescued from sex trafficking. Counseling and therapy are key parts of their ministry to bring about change in the boys rescued from sex-trafficking who are receiving care at the Blackbox home. It is critical in the healing process. This project directly serves the first boy transitioning from the aftercare facility into their transitional program. They will work with him to continue his education and counseling, as well as secure employment and housing. They hope he will continue to serve with the local church and find opportunities to serve in the community. This project will be available for all current and future boys in their safe home as they near this transition point.
INDIA
NORTH AFRICA
CLEAN, COOL WATER
THERAPY TOYS FOR KIDS
This grant will help CICM purchase a water cooler with a purifier for their general medical wards in the Mother & Child Care Centre. Their hospital treats over 42,000 patients every year. They will be able to get safe, pure drinking water through this project.
The therapy center in North Africa gives our team there a good reputation and standing within the community as they bless kids with special needs and their families. It has also opened many doors to share God’s love. This grant allows them to purchase new toys for the children they help.
$1,750
$800
SUDAN
BLANKETS AND BIBLES FOR REFUGEES $4,965
South Sudanese refugees have run from violence in their country to the surrounding countries. College Heights is working to walk alongside these refugees in the largest refugee settlement in the area. As the rainy season approaches, blankets will help keep people from disease and sickness. This gift will also provide Bibles to the refugees in the Maaji Refugee Settlement.
SERBIA HELP FOR SPECIAL NEEDS KIDS
HEAT FOR THE WINTER
Choose Life Center in Serbia desires to reinforce human dignity through the affirmation of those who are dependent and weak. This grant will help four families with special needs kids.
Each winter, Choose Life sees some people struggle with the basic need of heating their homes. This grant will either provide wood or electricity for heat for 10 families to survive the cold, Serbian winter.
$1,400
$1,800
FOOD BASKETS FOR FAMILIES
SEWING MATERIALS
Choose Life Center works with women in crisis who are choosing life for their babies. Each food parcel delivered helps them become friends with these moms and to show God’s love.
This gift will help Rosalie who is a client of Choose Life and is a mother of four small children. She will be able to buy materials for her sewing business so she can support her family.
APPLIANCES FOR PREGNANT MOMS
GIFTS FOR NEW FAMILIES
Choose Life started the NEST Maternity Home three years ago. During this time they have helped six moms and eight children. They now have need for several small appliances in their home to help additional pregnant single moms.
As a testimony of God`s care, Choose Life desires to help 20 clients by filling their fridges (which are usually empty), buying hygiene products and diapers, and providing winter shoes for their children.
$500
$450
$300
$2,000
CENTRAL ASIA CHILDREN’S SAFETY
FINISHING A HOME
Our global partners in Central Asia have a good relationship with a school who serves the poorest in their city. This grant would allow them to help the school by providing funds to install fire safety doors. This would help prvide a safe space for the kids as well as be a gesture of good will toward the community in which they live and serve.
Our partners want to help national friends complete a new house after moving out of a very dangerous part of the city. They see this as a way to remain a part of their friends’ lives and a great way to show them the love of Christ with donations coming from a church to help them build the rest of their home.
$3,000
$1,200
SOUTHEAST ASIA DRUG REHAB $3,000
This project will provide sponsorship at a center that focuses on counseling, discipleship, and rehab for two Tai Dam people struggling with drug addcition. This grant of $3,000 helps our global partners show compassion amd communicate God's love to people who do not yet know Him. We hope to help them get clean and off drugs and to encounter Jesus through the process and be transformed by Him. Additionally, we pray their families, friends, and community will see the transformation in the lives of those being rehabilitated which will spark people’s interest and desire to learn about God and follow Him, especially as most people in the local community have never heard about God before.
EASTERN EUROPE A FAMILY HOME FOR MINISTRY $5,000
One of our global partners wants to help a family by finishing their house. This project will not only bless the family, but also make it possible for that family to help with language-intensive stays for our global partner’s team. Additionally, the family would also be able to provide short-term and long-term housing for teams visiting their city. It will also allow our global partner’s new recruits to stay with a local family to learn more about culture, be immersed in language, and learn ways to effectively share the Gospel with the nationals.
MALAWI
MICROFINANCE
$5,000
Lifted Up International, one of our partners, provides grants for microfinance projects in the most impoverished areas of the world. One group they work with is the Namikango Village Savings and Loan. Members of the group put their savings together and then use that money for a loan that rotates through the group. These types of programs have been successful in the most impoverished areas. This grant will fund the overhead of the program to support and train loan officers and participants.
BENEVOLENCE COMMUNITY CARE $30,000
We want to draw people closer to Christ by helping meet their basic financial needs in times of crisis. These charitable gifts are accompanied by evangelism (when applicable), discipleship, and counsel on biblical financial stewardship. Our $30,000 grant toward the Benevolence Fund will provide: Counseling We work with several wonderful counselors in the area. Many from our church and community have received guidance toward healthier relationships and have been given the resources to improve their emotional and spiritual well-being. We also offer financial budget counselors who help people create personal budgets. For most people it is reassuring to have someone walk with them through this process. We offer basic budget tools, encouragement, and hope to show people that they are not defined by their financial situation. Car Care Outreach Four times a year, College Heights offers oil changes and minor car repairs to single parents, the elderly, and those struggling financially. Practical Help We regularly help with housing costs, utilities, food, and gas for people in need. We also send out teams in the community that adopt the widowed, single parents, and others with long-term needs. Teams of four meet on the third Saturday, for two hours, once a month. They perform basic handyman chores such as doing yard work, fixing leaky faucets, cleaning windows, etc. This is a relational ministry making longterm changes in the lives of people.
MISSOURI
WARM HOMES FOR THE WINTER $835
HELPING REFUGEES WITH MEDICAL AND LEGAL NEEDS $2,000
Most refugees who come to our area are from hot climates and have a difficult time acclimating to winter in this area They also have to rent low quality housing which is not winterized and in almost every case it causes their utility bills to be outlandishly high. This grant will help make their homes warmer throughout the winter, lower their utility bills, and show them the love of God in a practical way.
When refugees come to the U.S., they have huge adjustments to undertake like learning English, finding a job, and learning the laws in the U.S. This grant will help show compassion by allowing our Global Oureach Team to help local refugees navigate legal and medical issues. By participating in their lives during the hard times, our partners help the refugees know they are not alone and someone cares.
MISSOURI PARENTING CLASS FOR INMATES $1,000
This gift will provide classes called “Inside Out Dads” at seven prisons. This class attempts to help the inmates stay connected with their children, even while incarcerated. Did you know that 88% of male inmates in the U.S. grew up without a dad? And that a child of an incarcerated dad is five times more likely to go to prison? We want to help stop the cycle.
ESCAPING POVERTY $1,440
In conjunction with the Circles Program, we want to help families become economically stable and pursue goals to the best of their abilities. Circles pairs families with “Allies” who build intentional friendships that ultimately strengthens the families and keeps them on the path to successfully eliminating poverty in their lives.
WELCOME MOVE-IN BOXES $3,920
At God’s Resort, most new residents move in with only their clothes to call their own. God’s Resort is often able to provide a couch and a bed. A Move-In Box would provide the new resident family a jump-start on setting up a new household by providing them with some of the basics like linens, cleaning supplies, and cooking equipment.
SAFE PLACE TO PLAY $2,000
We partner with Neighborhood Lifehouse to minister to kids and their families in North Joplin. They desire to connect with the older youth in their neighborhood. This grant will help them create a safe spot that attracts older students so they can connect with them, mentor them, and share the love of Jesus.
missouri BLANKETS FOR THE COLD $1,000
Our partner, Crosslines, works with families in Joplin who can’t always afford basic necessities. This grant will help them provide blankets for those who need them to keep warm during the cold winter months.
BABY GIFT BAGS FOR MOMS IN CRISIS $1,000 LifeChoices’ emphasis on encouraging healthy choices and the value placed on life is tangibly felt as they offer a substantial gift basket to their new moms after they deliver their baby. This basket allows them to give young families clothes, diapers, blankets, bath supplies, and a few special items to welcome their new little one home.
DOMESTIC TRAFFICKING RESPONSE TEAM $1,000
In the last three years, LifeChoices’ medical team has responded to dozens of requests by local, state, and federal law enforcement for assistance with domestic trafficking operations. These operations allow them the opportunity to not only treat these young women for the physical repercussions of their exploitation, but to also care for them emotionally and spiritually. As of this time, they have served 80 survivors of sexual exploitation. The mobile medical unit and their trafficking response team allows them to take their services “to the streets”, instead of waiting for these young women to find them. Each deployment of their mobile medical team costs around $3,000. Currently, their team deploys around three times per year.
MISSOURI & OKLAHOMA
BEDS FOR THE HOMELESS
WELCOME GIFT FOR KIDS
This grant sponsors Bed 17 at Watered Gardens Gospel Mission. The sponsorship includes not only a bed, but also access to laundry and shower facilities, meals, hygiene items, clothing and shoes, an opportunity to hear the Gospel and enter a mentoring relationship for goal-setting, life skills and accountability.
Starting over can be scary, especially when you’re nine years old and you don’t know anyone in your new home. This gift will supply new children at Cookson Hills, one of our partners, with their basic hygiene and clothing needs, as well as a new pillow and blanket to curl up in at the end of a long day.
$1,350
$1,000
ONE LESS GIFT Giving one less gift to ourselves to give more to those in need around the world. How to give? In the offering collection or the Atrium on Sundays At the receptionist’s office during the week Or online at chjoplin.org/give anytime.