18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[b] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
– Matthew 28:18-20, English Standard Version
At Sharon Heights, we believe that the Great Commission given by Jesus to His followers when he appeared following His resurrection still applies to us today. God gave us Good News – the Gospel of Jesus Christ – so why wouldn’t we want to tell everyone about it? Wether it’s across the street, in our own homes, or the farthest corners of the earth, we want to let everyone know about the saving grace of Jesus!
 
We meet every first Wednesday night of the month for Mission Night. Our men gather for Brotherhood and our women gather for Women-on-Mission. We regularly send mission teams to help those called to vocational missions abroad. We give financially and make a commitment to pray for both domestic and foreign missionaries. Our preschoolers and children’s ministries meet every Wednesday for Mission Friends and Children-in-Action respectively to learn about a specific missionary each month. We encourage you to join us!
There are several times each year that we set aside with fellow cooperating churches in the Southern Baptist Convention to pray for and financially contribute to missionaries who are sharing the Gospel in many different ways.
 
Just before Easter, we focus on North American missions as part of the Annie Armstrong Offering. For more information about our 2024 Annie Armstrong Offering, check out the following resources:
– 2024 Annie Armstrong Week Prayer Guide The prayer guide is also summarized in the section at the bottom of this page (March 3-10, 2024)
 
In the fall, we join other Alabama congregations in praying for, contributing to, and highlighting the missions of our State Board of Missions as part of the Myers-Mallory Offering. As details about our 2024 Myers-Mallory Offering are made available, we will post them here.
 
At Christmas time, we turn our attention to foreign missions as part of the Lottie Moon Offering. We support international missions through prayer and offerings. More information about our 2024 Lottie Moon offering will be made available here as they are known. We also take time in November just before Lottie Moon to help our Children-in-Action collect for Christmas shoebox ministry of Samaritan’s Purse. You can check out more about that here.

Day One: Lost

281 million is a big number. How big? When someone says the word “missionary”, it’s perfectly natural for most people to think of someone in a faraway place. That makes sense. There’s a vast mission field “out there.” But for some people, putting a name and face on just one or two of the estimated 281 million lost people living “right here” in the U.S. and Canada changes everything.
PRAY

God to call out more laborers who will make Jesus known everywhere in North America.

Churches to develop a passion for missions in the hearts of their people to pray, give and go. 

Every believer in North America to see their neighborhood as a mission field.

Day Two: Jefferson & Carol Hernandez

Sterling, Virginia

Many years ago, Jefferson and Carol Hernandez had an American dream. They came to the U.S. looking for wealth and prosperity. But when they found something much better than that, they started a church called, appropriately enough, Campo Blanco (White Field). Now, in a place where Latin American immigrants are arriving seemingly every day, Jefferson and Carol are making Jesus known to their Hispanic neighbors.
PRAY

Opportunities to build witnessing relationships with Hispanic immigrants.

Leaders who’ll one day leave Campo Blanco to start more new churches.

Families in the church to grow in their devotion to Christ.

Day Three: Joseph & Kristen Gibbons

Las Vegas, Nevada

It’s 1,914 miles from Joseph and Kristen Gibbons’ old home in Alabama to their new home in Las Vegas. It might as well be a million miles. Several years ago, the Gibbons left their comfortable, Bible Belt community and moved to “Sin City” to start Favor City Church. Now, Joseph and Kristen know all about culture shock. But they also know all about the power of the gospel.
PRAY

Wisdom to effectively disciple new believers.

The people and resources Favor City needs to start more new churches.

Opportunities to share the gospel with leaders at the school where Favor City Church meets.

Day Four: Faith Garland

Boston, Massachusetts

Sometimes it takes a prodigal to know a prodigal. Maybe that’s why Faith Garland, a missionary at the Send Relief Boston Ministry Center, has so many opportunities to make Jesus known. Faith’s troubled past helps her connect with strippers, prostitutes and other women in Boston who’re in danger of being trafficked. She leads volunteers out onto the streets where they share the hope of Christ with the prodigals they find there.
PRAY

Faith and her volunteers to build witnessing relationships with people who are trafficked or abused.

More churches to learn about and join the fight against human trafficking.

Endurance, encouragement and safety for Faith and her volunteer teams.

Day Five: Missions in Denver

Denver, Colorado

There are many missionaries in Denver including those that are serving various church plants.
PRAY

Encounters that will turn into witnessing opportunities.

Missions within the city, including with many diverse communities that come from different socio-economic, cultural, and religious backgrounds.
*Note the missionary previously featured has requested additional privacy and the details of their mission have been removed from this page. Please continue to pray for their work and the city as a whole.

Day Six: Josh & Beth Glymph

Jacksonville, Florida

The Glymphs are an eclectic looking family and that’s just the way they like it. In addition to their two biological children, Josh and Beth Glymph have three adopted children. God used their experience with adoption and foster care to start and grow Refuge Church, a very unusual church in a very unchurched neighborhood of Jacksonville, Florida.
PRAY

Foster and adoptive families like the Glymphs to grow in their love for Jesus and each other.

New witnessing relationships to form out of Refuge’s foster and adoptive care ministry.

Families who’ll be willing to help plant more churches in Jacksonville’s other unreached communities.

Day Seven: Noelson & Edna Chery

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Their worship leader is 16 years old. They meet in a karate studio. The sermon is in English, or Haitian Creole, or sometimes both. But the most unusual thing about Philadelphia’s First Haitian Metanoia Baptist Church might be this: Noelson Chery and his wife Edna never had any intention of starting this church. And yet here they are, baptizing new believers and watching God grow a very unexpected church plant.
PRAY

Noelson to have time and energy to devote to First Haitian Metanoia Baptist Church.

A dedicated space where their new church can meet and do ministry.

Growth of mentoring relationships between young and older believers in the church.

Day Eight: Found

When God sends missionaries like the ones featured here into places where the gospel has not yet reached, amazing things happen. Today there are more than 3,000 Southern Baptist missionaries making Jesus known in communities all over the U.S. and Canada. They’re starting new churches, meeting physical needs and baptizing new believers. This is what happens when you pray: the gospel spreads.
PRAY

North American missionaries to reach more like Rony, Elizabeth and Maki who need the hope and love of Christ. 

North American missionaries to have all the resources they need to plant churches and meet needs.

God to call and equip more missionaries to make Jesus known in North America.