Missions

Serving at Home and Throughout the World

Because of the great love we have experienced in Christ, our mission is to share His love to others by investing in our community, nation, and world. We desire to push beyond ordinary service and engage in extraordinary opportunities for life-changing engagement with people. No matter your age or ability, there is a place for you to invest in the ministry partnerships we’ve formed with our community and the world.

Local Missions

Our mission begins right here in our community as we invest locally through partnerships with ministries and organizations here in Bay County. Our main areas of focus locally are education and work with children in need, assisting persons with disabilities, poverty-alleviation, and foster/adoptive family support.

Through our partnerships with Southport Elementary, New Horizons Learning Center, our Mobile Food Pantry, and the Hardly Able wheel chair ramp ministry, we are able to share Christ’s love right here in Bay County.

Click the Program Names below to learn more about each ministry.

Nest Builders is Lynn Haven UMC's local program that targets foster and adoptive parents with the goal of surrounding these special families with hands-on love and encouragement.

Each September we host a spiritual retreat for foster and adoptive moms. The first Nesting Place Retreat was held in 2017 and the event continues to grow each year.

As a ministry, the ultimate goal of Nest Builders is to provide wrap-around care for families who are caring for children from hard places. Teams of six to eight people will be matched with a foster or adoptive family in need of support. Those team members will provide care and support such as meals, mentoring, clothes donations, and babysitting.

Our prayer square ministry has been a blessing to people all around the world! Knit or crocheted prayer shawls & squares are given to those needing comfort and prayer, providing a sign of God’s love and support. This ministry was started by two women who prayed as they made shawls for those who were hurting. The completed shawls/squares are brought to the church prayer team, who lay their hands on them and offer prayers of blessing on each, asking God to bless those who will be receiving them and for God to also bless those who have made them. Whether the recipient is experiencing a time of grief, pain, distress, or joy, the shawls and squares are a constant reminder of God’s love.

To sign up to serve with any of these ministries, please fill out our Interest Form and someone will connect with you soon!

U.S. and International Missions

Our mission continues as we go beyond our community and reach out to those in need throughout our country and world. God calls us to go into all the world and share His love. In response to that call, we have partnered with friends around the globe so that everyone will know His name and have a chance to live eternally with Him.

We have the great joy of partnering with friends in Uganda, Honduras, Mexico and Ecuador. Yearly international mission trips along with visits from our friends from these places keeps us connected and allows us to invest in what God is doing in our world. If you are interested in being on one of our upcoming Mission Trip teams, please complete our Mission Trip Application.

DURANGO, MEXICO

We support the mission of the Martinez Family in Durango, Mexico financially, prayerfully, and through short-term mission opportunities.

Jorge Martinez and Yulimar Gil lead New Life Ministries in Durango. The ministry was founded in 1998 by Jorge's parents. In 2009 Jorge was appointed as Senior Pastor and has been serving there in that capacity since then. Jorge and Yuli have one son, Santiago.

LHUMC members travel to Durango to support the work of New Life Ministries to share the Gospel with Durango's children and youth.

UGANDA

Missionaries Jack Williams and Dale Jones lead a trip to Uganda approximately once a year. Our church has committed to supporting the building of two church/school buildings each year to further the Gospel in remote areas of Uganda.

Our region’s superintendent, Doug Pennington, met Pastor Isaac Kyambadde, superintendent of the Jinga, Uganda district, at a UMC annual conference. Pastor Isaac's goal is to preach the gospel to as many of his people as possible and to help them grow and deepen their faith and relationship with Jesus. Our goal is to come alongside him and support his efforts. Prior to the partnership being formalized, Jack Williams traveled to Uganda to assess the needs of the church and look at ways we might help. We determined that two of the greatest needs are for meeting places in villages surrounding the city of Jinga and training for the pastors that are rising up to answer God's call. As of 2018, LHUMC missionaries have constructed a total of six church buildings to serve the people of Uganda. These churches transform communities as they grow the local congregation and see numerous people come to Christ. The church buildings also provide a school building for children that were previously not receiving an education.

HONDURAS

Lynn Haven UMC is proud to partner with and support New Vision Baptist Church in Honduras and two fantastic organizations that serve the people of Honduras:

Pumping for Life

Emerald Coast Missions

Teams from Lynn Haven travel to Honduras regularly to support various projects including construction, clean water sourcing, medical outreach, and teaching the Gospel to children at Vacation Bible School programs.

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD

Our church collects shoeboxes full of gifts, school supplies, and personal care items to deliver to children all over the world.

Every shoebox gift delivered by Operation Christmas Child is a tangible expression of God’s amazing love. But a shoebox is just the beginning. It also presents an opportunity in more than 100 countries for our church partners to invite children into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ through The Greatest Journey.

UNITED METHODIST CHILDREN'S HOME

The United Methodist Children’s Home has helped transform the lives of thousands of hurting children in Alabama and Northwest Florida since 1890. Lynn Haven UMC is proud to support the UMCH financially and through other support. Every child deserves a loving home, and a chance to thrive. UMCH provides safe homes, caring support and life skills to vulnerable children and youth who are unable to live with their families. Each child follows an individualized plan of care developed by highly trained caregivers. The goals of the plan are to increase self-reliance, emotional stability, spiritual growth, and interpersonal competence.

UMCOR
DISASTER RELIEF

Lynn Haven UMC financially supports the work UMCOR is doing locally and around the world to help disaster victims. Our Associate Pastor Chris Ackerman is currently serving as the Hurricane Michael Recovery Director for UMCOR, in partnership with the Alabama-West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church.

In addition to many other services, UMCOR provides early response training that covers the basics of early disaster response, including roof tarping, cleaning out damaged homes, spiritual and emotional care, team protocols, and more. The purpose of the training is to prepare United Methodist Volunteers to do good and do no harm.