Mountville Presbyterian Church supports the following ministries that give help to others in need and share the knowledge of Christ both in Western Pennsylvania and internationally.
Seneca Hills Bible Camp & Retreat Center
Founded in 1936, Seneca Hills exists to introduce people to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to help believers grow in their faith. They host year round retreats and conferences, but the main ministry of Seneca Hills - and their true passion - is summer camp. When campers (kids AND adults) get away from screens and distractions and into the beauty of God's creation on their 250 acres, they have new experiences, create meaningful friendships, and develop a deeper understanding of God's love.
Child Evangelism Fellowship
Child Evangelism Fellowship is a Bible-centered organization composed of born–again believers whose purpose is to evangelize boys and girls with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and to establish (disciple) them in the Word of God and in the local church for Christian Living.
CEF has many different ministries for children, but the primary ones are the Good News Club and the 5-Day Club. The Good News Club and the 5-Day Club ministries take place in neighborhood settings such as homes, backyards, schools, and community centers all over the world. These fast-paced, one-hour programs are designed to bring the Gospel of Christ to children on their level in their environment. Along with these clubs, CEF also has fair, camping, open-air, and internet ministries for children. Last year through these combined ministries over 25.4 million children worldwide heard the Good News.
CEF also has an exciting program for teenagers called Christian Youth in Action. In June all across the USA thousands of young people are trained to conduct 5–Day Clubs. Throughout the summer they have many opportunities to present the Gospel to boys and girls, experiencing the joy of leading others to the Lord.
An additional summer opportunity is Summer Missions. College–age adults are trained and teach 5–Day Clubs in large urban centers and in foreign countries. This program offers challenging, life–changing experiences that God has used to spiritually enrich many lives.
City Rescue Mission
The City Rescue Mission was founded in 1911 and has a rich evangelical history. Today, the Mission exists to meet the physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual needs of hurting people in western Pennsylvania. As a Christian ministry, they stand uniquely apart from other social service agencies. Their services are provided based on need, rather than ability to pay. All services are gifted to their neighbors in need that seek help for their physical and spiritual needs. Through faith-based programming, their guests and clients often experience an inward change resulting in many experiencing a renewed, changed life.
Changed lives are the goal of the Men's Ministry. Since 1911, tens of thousands of men have come through the doors of the City Rescue Mission. Through several different approaches, the Men's Ministry cares for hungry, homeless, and hurting people.
Many different circumstances bring homeless women to Hope Place, the City Rescue Mission's emergency shelter for women and children. They come looking for a safe place to stay for themselves and their children where they can regroup their lives.
The Family Care Ministry provides assistance to families in need such as food, personal care items, household products, clothing, prayer, and wise counsel. Many families served are in crisis due to underemployment, unemployment, medical crisis, fire, or poverty. The elderly and children are a large percentage of the individuals served.
The City Rescue Mission's Youth Ministry sponsors special events, sports, and spiritual programs for youth at its Sankey Center located on Grant Street in New Castle.
Portersville Food Pantry
The Portersville Food Pantry is a non-profit organization which provides food and other items to low income individuals and families in the Portersville, Prospect, and Harmony areas. The Pantry is open for distribution on the first Wednesday (after the first Monday) of every month, and they currently serve between 75 and 80 families each month.
They are a 501c organization and receive food from Federal, State, and County sources. These resources have been cut drastically over the last 3 years, so they also reach out to local churches, schools, and individuals to help with their needs. The Food Pantry relies on the community for many donations of non-food items that are not covered by other means. God never ceases to amaze as He provides each month in unexpected ways.
Arise
(formerly named Crisis Shelter of Lawrence County)
Their Mission: Arise empowers and advocates for those affected by domestic violence, sexual assault, and other violent crimes. They inspire and educate citizens to create safer communities and break the cycle of violence.
Since 1981 the Arise has been the community's response to violence and abuse, serving victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and other serious crimes, and older victims of any crime, as well as services to human trafficking victims, while also working to prevent violence and abuse through prevention education, intervention training, and public awareness. Therapy services have been added for trauma victims. As a member of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the local shelter is active in the oldest and most respected coalition in the country. Statewide, the shelter's services are recognized for innovative program excellence.
It's About the Warrior Foundation
The mission of It's About The Warrior Foundation is to assist and empower ALL post 9/11 veterans and their families from the Tri-State Area, regardless if they have been wounded or have been deployed, with our various programs thus, leading them to a successful and enriched life.
It's About the Warrior Foundation was founded in 2012 by seven year United States Air Force veteran Steve Monteleone. IATWF started with very humble beginnings at a fundraising event at Olde Stonewall Golf Club for the Semper Fi Fund. The outpouring of support at that event, not to mention the need for a stable support system for local veterans in Western PA, Eastern Ohio and the Panhandle of West Virginia, developed into something special for our local veterans and their families!
Promise of Life Network
(formerly named Alpha Omega Center)
Promise of Life Network is committed to building a community where life is cherished from conception to natural death. Each leaf in their logo represents one of six initiatives that are built on valuing life, caring for others, and sharing the love of Christ.
Alpha Omega Center honors Christ by empowering mothers to choose life, educating individuals and families about healthy relationships, and providing medical services, material assistance, and spiritual support in Butler, Crawford, Lawrence, Mercer, and Venango Counties. New Beginnings' mission is to provide parenting education and material assistance to young families. Healthy Relationships Today's mission is to educate local youth in a variety of group settings about healthy relationships and sexual integrity. The mission of At Home Abortion Facts is to educate women and their families worldwide about the risks and dangers of at-home abortions and encourage them to choose life by providing referrals to life-affirming help in their local communities. Step Into Hope is designed to guide individuals suffering from grief due to pregnancy loss into healing through Christ. Sarah M. Bowens' mission is to provide information, education, and encouragement to the pregnancy help movement and pro-life believers.
All of their services are performed at no charge to the community. They do not provide or refer for abortions.
The Carpenter's Project
The Carpenter's Project is a local organization focusing on helping area residents with minor maintenance and repairs in an ecumenical Christian tradition of service to others. Volunteers work on projects in the Ellwood City and Riverside areas. The Carpenter's Project hosts a work week each July and numerous other weekdays/weekends throughout the year. Projects include: painting, small cement repair jobs, power washing, shrub trimming, wheelchair ramp building, small exterior maintenance/repair/carpentry jobs, and some window repair.
The EPC Student & College Ministries
The EPC Next Generation Ministries Council champions cradle-to-college (and beyond) ministries in EPC churches. The Council's mission, vision, strategy, and structures aligned with the four General Assembly strategic priorities of multiplication, transformation, global movement, and effective biblical leadership.
The Next Generation Ministries Council's vision is that children and families in our churches are transformed by the gospel and marked by vibrant faith. We do this by equipping EPC churches to: teach, support, love, and encourage each child who walks through our church doors and to teach, support, love, and encourage their parents in their vital role of passing on the faith to their children.
EPC Student Ministries exists to serve those who are called by God to reach and disciple junior and senior high students through the local church and beyond. Our desire is to have an ongoing dialogue with those we serve in order to effectively support and provide for actual needs.
Barna Research shows that 60% of students raised in the church will leave it during their college years. Pew Research says the fastest-growing religious group in the U.S. is the atheist, agnostic, or "none" (nothing in particular). The church has a strategic opportunity to reach college students and young adults with the gospel, and disciple students to follow Jesus in and through these formative years. The Next Generation Ministries Council is working to equip and resources our churches to reach the next generation of church and ministry leaders.
Emergency Relief Fund
Emergency Relief Funds are designated to help people in crisis due to natural disasters, war, humanitarian crises, or other needs.
The EPC's National Leadership Team authorizes emergency relief offerings as needs arise. Any donations to a specific emergency relief fund that exceed local recovery requests from an affected EPC church may be held in a general EPC Emergency Relief Fund to be used for future emergency relief needs.
World Outreach
World Outreach is the mission sending agency of the EPC. Their principal calling is to glorify God by starting disciple–making movements among least–reached people groups, especially among Muslims. In these hard places, they generally work in one of three ways ... Engage 2025, International Theological Education Network, and Cooperative Agreements. World Outreach currently has about 75 family units living primarily in a belt stretching from North Africa to Southeast Asia.
EduNations / Children of Sierra Leone
Motivated by compassion for "the least of these," EduNations gives forgotten children tangible reasons to hope. More than teaching the ABCs, EduNations creates schools in Sierra Leone, Western Africa, that become self–supporting beacons of growth and learning. Rescuing one child enriches a community, which strengthens a nation. By helping to educate forgotten children today, they help create a brighter future for this nation tomorrow.
EduNations builds and operates 15 schools in the rural, Northeastern districts of Sierra Leone, West Africa. For the past 16 years, they have provided free education from nursery age all the way through grade 9, with the hope to expand education through the end of high school. This year, with the completion of their brand new Senior Secondary Boarding School, they will start educating students all the way through the end of high school! Each of their schools offers the opportunity for both individual and community development by providing not only a free education, but also working with their partners to provide clean water, sanitary facilities, solar power, churches, and sustainable community development projects. They are on a mission to empower people and communities by igniting hope through education.
EduNations operate schools in 6 remote villages in Sierra Leone, bringing in students from surrounding villages to be educated as well. The schools are located in the villages of Rokassa, Gbenekoro, Fintonia, Mayatta, Mapainda, and Makump. These schools and villages are located throughout 4 districts in the Northeastern provinces of Sierra Leone. Mountville partners with EduNations and The Presbytery of the Alleghenies to sponsor four students in the village of Fintonia.
Pastor Sesay / Sierra Leone
Engage 2025 is the World Outreach initiative encouraging each EPC church to help establish a church and strong Christian influence in an unreached Muslim area by the year 2025. The POA has begun this mission by focusing on adopting two villages in northern Sierra Leone – Fintonia and Rokassa.
Samuel Sesay is a Missionary Evangelist in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Sierra Leone and is also currently serving as the President of EduNations Inc. Having worked previously in full time Christian Ministry, in a business organization and recently with other Not for profit organizations, Samuel holds a Bachelor's degree with Honours in French, English and Linguistics, a Postgraduate Diploma in Education and a Master's degree in Peace and Development Studies. Samuel's training in both secular and ecclesiastical matters in Sierra Leone and abroad has given him a feel for a passion in life in which he wants to see God's creation come to an understanding of his love and to help them respond in faith. His commitment to helping 'the least of these' experience the love of God is what drives him on and on daily as he sees life after life and community after community come to experience this love. Samuel is married to Catherine and the Lord has blessed their marriage with two lovely daughters, Samuella and Samrine.
Idora Park / Church Planting
Pastor Gary Koerth is the Executive Director of Hope for Renewal, an organization working to make Christ know in the Idora Park neighborhood of Youngstown, OH. Hope For Renewal seeks to serve, build relationships, and to share the love of Christ for those living in the Glenwood Corridor in Youngstown, Ohio. They are working to renovate a building into a ministry center. In the meantime, they currently have a playground ministry that provides a free meal as well as activities to the community. They end this fair weather ministry with a Fall Fun Fest for Halloween. They also conduct neighborhood prayer walks, mens and womens bible studies, and a Bike Repair Day. They are finding creative ways to make their presence and Christ's love known in the neighborhood.
The (POA) wants to be intentional about planting churches. Not every church in the presbytery will be able to plant a church, but every church in the presbytery can play a part in planting a church.
The (POA) wants all of its congregations to be involved in church planting in at least one of these three ways: PATRON - offering prayer and financial support. PARTNER - joining with a few other churches to jointly plant a church, perhaps through the developing ministry networks. PLANTER - a church would develop a mother/daughter relationship to plant a church.
In all three cases, the (POA), through their Church Planting Team (as part of the Church Development Team) will provide its support in fostering good church planting practices.
