At Mandeville Bible Church, we are committed to the growth and spread of the Gospel. We take seriously Jesus’ Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20, where He calls us to “go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.” As part of doing that, we maintain a strong focus on missions. As described below, we support several missionaries, both locally and around the world. We also support the work of The Samaritan Center, which serves our neighbors who are in need right here in Mandeville.
Our future vision for missions includes the development of a “ministry cycle” which begins with our members serving the needs of the community through service projects, ministry partnerships, and outreach opportunities. Through these acts of service and compassion, we will seek to build relationships with others in the community, with the hope that those relationships will one day lead to opportunities to share the gospel. The cycle is then completed and begins again as those who come to Christ join the church, and then join with us in going out to serve the community.
Missionary Support
One of the ways in which a local church should be engaged in the work of the Great Commission is by helping to meet the needs of those who have been called to serve God on the mission field. The Biblical model for this is seen in Acts 13, where Barnabas and Saul were sent out on mission by the church at Antioch in obedience to the Holy Spirit.
We currently provide financial and prayer support to a total of 9 missionaries and/or missionary families associated with the following organizations:
Amazon Focus
Be One Together
Avant (formerly Camino Global)
Campus Crusade For Christ
Greater Europe Mission
North America Indigenous Ministries (NAIM)
Team 5:18
United World Mission
Our missionaries serve in the following locations: Southeast Louisiana; Texas; Florida; North Carolina; Canada; France; Honduras; and the Amazon Basin.
Missions Conference
Each spring, Mandeville Bible Church hosts missionaries for our annual Missions Conference. We hold two events on Saturday morning, a men’s and kids’ breakfast and a ladies’ tea, with missionaries invited to speak at both events. On Saturday evening, we host a congregational dinner followed by an evening service, where we hear reports from several of our missionaries. The conference concludes on Sunday morning with missionaries addressing the congregation during both the worship service and the adult Sunday School class.
The Samaritan Center
We are one of 24 local churches that support the work of The Samaritan Center in Mandeville (www.samcen.org). We provide monthly financial support, and we also hold regular food drives, including one during Vacation Bible School every summer.
In 2020, The Samaritan Center served 3,259 local families, which included 4,788 children, 6,636 adults, and 1,252 seniors. These families received:
1,929 grocery carts filled with food (valued at $250,718)
924.5 personal hygiene care packages (valued at $11,094)
$2,144 in clothing and household items from Gran’s Attic
$22,903 in utility bill assistance
$129,579 in rent and house note assistance
$1,462 in homeless expenses
Operation Christmas Child
Every year, we participate in the annual Operation Christmas Child program sponsored by Samaritan’s Purse. Shoeboxes are filled with gifts, toys, hygiene items and school supplies, and Samaritan’s Purse distributes the shoeboxes to needy children all over the world. Throughout the year, we collect gifts, toys and other items for the children, and we raise money to cover the cost of shipping the shoeboxes. Each November, we hold a “packing party” where the children of our church pack shoeboxes for girls and boys aged 2-4, 5-9, and 10-14. In each of the past 5 years, we have packed and shipped more than 120 Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.
In 2017, we were asked by Samaritan’s Purse to become the “drop-off church” for the city of Mandeville. We gladly accepted, and for the last 5 years, volunteers from our church have manned the drop-off location in our church office during the collection week in November, and have assisted with transporting the collected shoeboxes to the regional distribution center in Hammond. It is a great honor and privilege to serve in this role, and we look forward to continuing as the Mandeville “drop-off church” in the future.
Northlake Crisis Pregnancy Center
We began partnering with the Northlake Crisis Pregnancy Center in 2018, by holding a diaper drive. We have now had our 4th annual diaper drive, and we continue to seek other ways to partner with this fine organization, which offers the love of Jesus, as well as counseling services, educational programs, and material assistance for families with children up to age 4.
Homeless Ministry
Starting in November 2019, we began partnering with Church Without Walls and Light of Hope to serve the homeless in Duncan Plaza in downtown New Orleans. However, we were forced to stop going in March 2020 due to COVID-19.
APRIL 2022 UPDATE - Hollis and Elaine McGehee, members of our church, lead our homeless ministry. They go to New Orleans on Saturdays to minister to the homeless by offering coffee, food, haircuts, and most importantly, prayer, and the Gospel message of hope. Donations to their ministry in the form of clothing, food, and toiletries are accepted in our Fellowship Hall. For more information on how you can get involved, please speak to Pastor Eric, or call the church office.
