'Agrimissions' Site Will Be Venue for Training, Internships
Contact: Ty Mays, 770-256-8710, tmays@inchristcommunications.com
NORCROSS, Ga., April 7 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Mission Society, an interdenominational Christian organization that recruits, trains and sends missionaries worldwide, has celebrated the 10th anniversary of its "Agrimissions" program with the formal opening of a new Crockett, Texas, headquarters for its special agricultural division.
Founded in 2000 to help relieve hunger and poverty in communities around the world, Agrimissions is The Mission Society's extension for field missionaries that offers such ministries as nutritional and on-site agricultural training, water quality improvement and pilot projects. Agrimissions helps nationals and missionaries launch and advance agricultural projects in Ecuador, Paraguay, Brazil, Peru and areas of Central Asia.
The new headquarters sits next door to Crockett United Methodist Church in a former high school the church purchased for use by parachurch ministries. The Agrimissions center includes classrooms, a greenhouse and demonstration areas.
The facilities will be used for Agricultural Missions 101, a weekend introduction training for church mission teams, and for week-long courses for missionaries with no previous agricultural training. The Crockett site also will host a 10-to12-week internship program, with two weeks at The Mission Society's Paraguay facility.
The East Texas town is a great fit for The Mission Society's Agrimissions program, as Crockett and Houston County are agriculturally oriented.
"So many area producers, both small and large, share our heart for helping missionaries improve the lives of poor, hungry people in agrarian societies around the world," said newly appointed Agrimissions director Doug Neel. "We are honored to dedicate this marvelous facility to further the Gospel and help people improve their physical well-being through health and agricultural education."
The United Methodist Men of Crockett donated labor to refurbish the Agrimissions center. Nearby agricultural producers have offered the use of their own ranches for hands-on training in fields such as animal husbandry and small-scale farming. This allows the program to teach farming methods economically, with low overhead.
Agrimissions will hold an open house at the new facility later this spring.
Founded in 1984 in the Wesleyan tradition, The Mission Society (www.themissionsociety.org) recruits, trains and sends Christian missionaries to minister around the world. At present, The Mission Society has more than 200 missionaries in 37 countries. It develops diverse programs and ministries in accordance with its missionaries’ unique callings and gifts, ranging from well drilling and the arts to more traditional ministries, such as teaching English and church planting. Its church ministry department provides seminars, workshops and mentoring for congregations in the United States and overseas, helping equip churches for strategic outreach in their communities and throughout the world.
