A General Gift to Global Ministries helps to provide a Critical Presence among approximately 270 church partners in 70 countries in the world; appoints missionaries serving in dozens of countries; provides educational resources for individuals, congregations, and other church bodies; and provides support for missionary visits to congregations and for People-to-People Pilgrimage experiences.  Global Ministries is committed to Critical Presence, meeting God's people and creation at the point of deepest need: spiritually, physically, emotionally, and/or economically.

A Gift for Missionary Support allows Global Ministries to appoint new missionaries or to support the assignment of a missionary currently serving.  Global Ministries partner churches and programs submit requests for persons in mission on a regular basis to fill their special personnel needs – usually a position involving skills or talents that they cannot fill themselves at the present time.  There continues to be a large backlog of requests from partners for missionaries that cannot be fulfilled due to financial limitations. 

Chile: The Shalom Center, a ministry of the Pentecostal Church of Chile, has developed programs and resources that provide reconciliation leadership. The Shalom Center offers programs and activities in peace education, environmental education, spiritual development, and staff training. Since the 2010 earthquake, the Shalom Center also has been providing trauma care, including developmentally appropriate activities for children. A gift of $10 can provide materials for a trauma workshop with children; $15 can send a pastor or lay leader to a conflict transformation course; $25 can send a youth to environmental camp.

India: The medical work of Global Ministries partners in India is a critical ministry to an immense population in poor rural and agricultural communities for whom medical care has always been unreliable in quality and availability. Healthcare providers include Tilda and Mungeli Hospitals. Tilda Nursing School trains well-qualified nurses to work at these and other hospitals in India. In a country where over 40 percent of the population cannot afford adequate nourishment on a regular basis, healthcare costs are more than most can afford. Patients are asked to pay what they can but quality healthcare is only possible within the church hospitals because of outside support. $10 could provide life-saving immunizations; $50 might help set and cast a broken bone; a gift of $1,000 could provide a new operating table.

Japan: The Asian Rural Institute (ARI) Rural Leaders Training Program educates students from Asia, Africa, and the Pacific who then lead their local agricultural communities in transformational development practices. In the nine-month training, students learn sustainable agriculture, technology, conflict resolution, environment and development, micro-credit, and community organizing. In 2011, ARI continued their work but moved to a temporary location until it was safe to return to their land in northern Japan after the earthquake and tsunami. They continue to work to clean up from the damage caused.  A gift of $20 can help to update critical resources; $300 could help maintain and replace technology and equipment at the Institute.

Palestine: The Olive Tree Campaign is a joint project of the East Jerusalem YWCA and the YMCA of Palestine to replant olive trees which have been burned or uprooted. Over 548,000 have been uprooted since 2000 during the building of the separation wall, and to prevent local farmers from earning income to support their families. Olive trees have been cultivated for over 4,000 years and are a symbol of peace and traditional symbol of Palestinian people. A gift of $20 covers the cost of a young tree, including distribution, planting, and information on tending for the olive tree.

South Africa: Bridgman Development Centre works with children and youth in the Zola Soweto area of Johannesburg. It is a project of a congregation within the United Congregational Church of South Africa (UCCSA) and has been reaching out to some of the most marginalized students for over 35 years. Bridgman offers help with homework, tutoring, as well as HIV and pregnancy prevention programs. Gifts for Bridgman can support ongoing programs and can help purchase computers to ensure that youth learn computer skills which give them a much better shot at escaping the cycle of poverty. $10 can provide flashcards for study help; a gift of $40 might help purchase a computer; $75 can provide a month’s access to the internet.  

Any Special Giving Opportunity listed on the Global Ministries website. For ideas, look under projects listed in each country. 

To learn more about giving an Alternative Christmas gift, click here: http://globalministries.org/get-involved/special-giving-opportunities/alternative-christmas-giving.html

To make an Alternative Christmas Gift online, click the yellow box below: