First Baptist Church of Roswell A Heart for Missions By Kathleen Boehmig First Baptist Roswell, under the leadership of Interim Pastor, Dr. Kevin Head, views the entire world as a mission field. Their congregation, from the oldest to the youngest, participates and shares the vision of serving the world, and sharing the love of Jesus. Internationally, FBR has taken groups comprised of members of their own congregation, as well as other churches on trips to the Amazon, Mexico, Africa and Haiti. Many of these trips have been medical mission trips and have included doctors, dentists, nurses, dental hygienists and nurse practitioners. Every January, a FBR mission team goes to Nakuru, Kenya to help people who cant afford medical or dental treatment. Larry Feldman, Chairman of Deacons and head of this mission trip, says, In a compound sponsored by the Presbyterian Church of East Africa, we put in about seven days of clinical help, treating people of all ages. We treat 3,500 patients, and we follow up to make sure our patients receive the proper after-care. All medical and dental services offered by the FBR team are free. Because many children come to the clinic with their parents, free childcare and supervised VBS-style learning and play are organized for the children. Of all their patients in Kenya, one of the best success stories has been a teenager named Mercy. Unable to walk from the time she was born, she has lived her life in a wheelchair. Last January, the FBR team met Mercy and tried to determine why she was unable to walk. After meeting with several specialists, they discovered that with surgery, Mercy would be able to walk. FBR was able to pay for Mercys surgery by using mission funds. Mercy is now walking with the help of physical therapy! For the past two summers, Rev. Robert Turnbull, Minister of Youth and Dr. Kevin Head, Interim Pastor, have taken a group of our youth and their parents on a mission trip to Cercadie, Haiti. The poverty in Cercadie rivals that in Africa, Rev. Turnbull says. Five hours from Port-Au-Prince, there are no paved roads, no electricity and no running water. Families sleep on dirt floors without beds or even pillows. They walk two miles to get water for cooking. But the Haitian people are so loving, grateful and generous. Its an eye-opening experience. Here in the United States, three-year-olds have iPads. In Haiti, youngsters who dont even have pencils or paper hunger for education. The Haitian people are industrious and smart. We dont go there to do things for them, but to be with them and to help them in their quest to learn. While in Cercadie, the FBR team holds backyard bible clubs, plants coffee and mango trees and teaches English. These mission trips can be expensive. In order to raise money for all of the missions it supports, FBR hosts an annual golf tournament, as well as a yard sale. The youth host spaghetti lunches and pancake breakfasts to raise money for Haiti. The church helps fund these missions, as well. FBRs children participate in missions, too. Each year, they raise money at VBS to support a cause. Last year, they raised money for clean water for children in India. This years VBS mission project raised over $2000 for water filters for Nepal earthquake victims. Clean water has been a focus of FBR for the last several years. Through the Pure Water, Pure Love campaign, FBR partnered with other churches through the Womens Missionary Union to help provide clean water for international missionaries and the people they serve. This year the WMU has been focused on helping victims of human trafficking. FBR members of all ages participate in Operation Christmas Childs Shoebox Ministry each year. The boxes are filled with gifts for children around the world and are distributed through Samaritans Purse. FBR enthusiastically implements and supports local, state and national mission efforts, too. For the past 17 years, a group of FBR men have participated in Appalachian Outreach mission trips in Tennessee to rebuild homes. They spend five days working on an assigned renovation project. The results are always miraculous, Larry Feldman says. Each March, the youth go to March Mission Madness where they do mission projects in conjunction with CBF. Locally, FBR supports organizations like the Foster Care Support Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, the Drake House, North Fulton Community Charities, North Fulton Child Development Center, Jessies House, and Uplift Ministry. FBR provides restroom facilities and bottled water during the Roswell Arts Festival and Youth Day Parade. For 19 years, FBR has provided sack lunches for the children in day camp at Waller Park during one or two weeks in August. FBR opens its doors to the community in other ways, as well. In addition to regular worship services at 8:30 am and 11:00 am, FBR hosts a Hispanic congregation in the chapel each Sunday, from 9:30 am-12:00 pm, as well as Vietnamese worship services and fellowship time in the chapel each Sunday, from 4:00-7:00 pm. First Baptist Roswell truly demonstrates the love of Jesus through their heart for missionsin our community, our nation and around the world. First Baptist RoswellTraditional Worship, Contemporary Message710 Mimosa BoulevardRoswell, GA 30075770-587-6980FBRoswell.org
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