Neighbors & Nations March 2025

Parkway has had a longstanding relationship with the Ibero-America Region of The Wesleyan Church (Central and South America). Over the years, we have joyfully supported some of their churches and leaders through pastor trainings, ministry trips, prayer, and encouragement. Their leadership has developed a growing burden for discipleship and global missions. The above photo shows a recent training on discipleship methods, which will give church leaders tools to multiply disciples who make disciples!
Beyond making disciples in their local communities, the churches in Columbia have developed a missionary training center where they train people from all over the region for global service. They currently have students from Columbia, Brazil, Ecuador and Chile. Many of these students will be deployed as missionaries to places like India and the Middle East, where there are billions of people who have little to no access to the gospel.  Parkway has played a special role over the past few years in encouraging the churches in Panama.  In particular, the churches of the Kuna tribe have a unique heart for missions, and actively participate in playing their role in the Great Commission!

PERSECUTION IN NIGERIA: PART 2
Last month, we shared a story about one of our ministry partners, Send56.  They have established a prayer base in Nigeria where they are training native missionaries to strategically share the gospel with unreached tribes.  Last year, in a nearby village, a wave of violent persecution targeted churches and pastors.  Buildings and homes were burned and many people were killed.  The Send56 team has been reaching out to this devastated community by helping them rebuild.  In an effort to also build bridges to the tribe that initiated the violence, a team from the prayer base visited the area and provided care packages for the families with household items and Bibles in their language.  The community was grateful for the support, and shared that they had never received love and care like this from Christians before.  

This month, a group of 23 youth and adults served at World Help in Forest, VA.  World Help is an international organization with a mission to bring HELP and HOPE to communities in crisis devastated by war, famine, natural disasters and poverty. This was our third year making the trip to World Help, where volunteers sort and pack donated items to be shipped out to World Help's ministry partners around the world. Our team worked on a shipment of clothing and hats donated by Walmart. The shipment is headed to Iraq to be distributed by the local workers in a community affected by years of conflict and war.  The clothing will meet a physical need, opening doors for them to hear about the Jesus who loves them. We love working with our friends at World Help, and plan to serve with them regularly throughout the year!

Christy Hale - Making Life Disciples
The Blue Ridge Women's Center has been a trusted Parkway partner for many years.  We are always looking for ways we can serve our partners and deepen the relationship we share. One way we are going deeper with BRWC is to come alongside them in helping to disciple the women in their program who have chosen LIFE, and are interested in growing spiritually.  Our team of female volunteers will be completing "Making Life Disciples" training and will then be paired as a mentor with a BRWC client.  The training will also enable our team to minister to women in our congregation, their families and communities.  
Christy Hale is one of our Making Life Disciples volunteers! Christy has served faithfully at Parkway on the church board, as a children's ministry volunteer, in community outreach, and is a nurse by profession.  WE LOVE Christy's heart for the church and the community!