ACT for Missions

In 2003, Ernest Jones Jr. bequeathed to the Altavista Presbyterian Church a significant portion of his personal estate. Following a season of discernment, the Session chose to disburse that gift in three ways:  10% of the gift was immediately given to mission offerings and programs, including the hiring of the congregation's first seminary pastoral intern.  25% of the gift was used for necessary renovations and improvements to the church facilities.  The remaining 65% of the gift was invested with the Presbyterian Foundation under terms summarized here, thus creating the Altavista Congregational Trust for Missions.

The ACT for Missions trust is intended to challenge the membership of Altavista Presbyterian Church to offer both its time and treasure in Christian outreach and mission, at home or abroad.  The trust makes this challenge by providing an annual source of funding for mission work, as well as opportunities for additional matching funds and emergency payments.  For complete information on our missions trust, see the ACT for Missions page.

Mission Trips

APC is committed to helping neighbors in need, both near and far.  Over the past 10 years, our congregation has sponsored numerous hands-on mission efforts both right here in Altavista and as far as way as the Texas-Mexican border.  These trips are planned and executed by members of our Ministry Beyond the Congregation committee, and participation by our members has always been great.  Local projects have included workdays for the DAWN ministry (see below), Habitat for Humanity builds, and work projects in and around the homes of older members and neighbors needing assistance.  Mission work beyond our Altavista community has included trips to southwest Virginia and southern West Virginia, as well as a three-church mission week on the Texas-Mexico border in 2004.  More recently, our church has been sending work crews down to the Gulf Coast to work with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance--the disaster relief arm of our national denomination. PDA has been working on the Gulf Coast since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck there in 2006.  Contact the chair of the Ministry Beyond the Congregation committee for more information on forthcoming mission projects and trips.

DAWN

Members of APC were a key part of the original effort some 25 years ago to create DAWN - Donation A Week Neighbor.  DAWN is our community Christian outreach ministry, helping neighbors in need with emergency food, electrical and rent assistance, and overnight lodging in cases of temporary or transient need.  Over the years, dozens of APC members have collected food, served as volunteers working with clients at the DAWN office, and participated in special food collections and offerings in our congregation.  APC is proud to be a longtime partner in DAWN, sharing in this common ministry of Christian compassion with many sister churches in our community.

Mission Worker Sunday

Beginning in 2007, our Session set aside the first or second Sunday in each September as Mission Worker Sunday--an annual worship service to highlight, promote, and support the work of Christian missionaries around the world.