Ministries Making a Difference

Church soccer league, responding to fires, ministry milestones

Greenville First Church of the Nazarene hosted its first soccer season for children in the South Carolina community. A grant from the Blessing Our Community initiative paid for soccer equipment and helped sponsor soccer league scholarships to refugee children. Church small groups “adopted” the soccer teams, providing snacks and showing up at games to cheer athletes on. The league began thanks to a start-up grant from Upward Sports, a ministry that helps churches start sports leagues. Upward Sports, which supports over 1,500 churches in the U.S., has 1 star, an “A” transparency grade, and a donor confidence score of 85 in the MinistryWatch database.

Photo via Facebook @Samaritan’s Purse

Last week, Samaritan’s Purse deployed a tractor-trailer stocked with tools and equipment to New Mexico after deadly fires blazed through the town of Ruidoso, destroying more than 1,400 structures, including hundreds of homes. Disaster relief specialists are working with local churches to strategize how best to assist. Volunteers are helping residents sift through ashes to recover mementos and other personal belongings. Over the weekend, heavy rain sparked flash floods that further impacted the community. Samaritan’s Purse has 2 stars and an “A” transparency grade in the MinistryWatch database—but a donor confidence score of 57.

Watoto Church Ministries celebrated 40 years of ministry in Uganda last month. The celebration included the release of a new music album, an agribusiness institute, and a book launch by the ministry’s founder, Gary Skinner. The church ministry includes initiatives that address community needs, especially for women and children, including Watoto Childcare Ministries, which has 5 stars and an “A” transparency grade in the MinistryWatch database, and a donor confidence score of 87.

Another ministry celebrating a milestone is the Christian and Missionary Alliance (CAMA) with 2024 marking 50 years of meeting holistic needs of people throughout the world by responding to disasters, transforming communities, and sharing the Gospel. CAMA started in Vietnam, and grew through helping refugees in Vietnam, Cambodia, and other nearby areas, eventually helping refugees resettle in the U.S. Today, CAMA plants and runs churches, schools, clinics, community centers, and more. They say they are “becoming one of the most diverse evangelical churches in America.”

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