"Beyond the Walls" is the name of our local and global ministry. It exists to declare and demonstrate the good news about Jesus Christ through engaging the Hershey Free Church community in the mission of Christ locally and globally. We want to help foster in people a passion for Jesus Christ that moves them to declare and demonstrate the gospel to their neighbors, the region, and the nations, as reflected in Acts 1:8 (NIV): “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” We participate in the Great Commission by sending out global, cross-cultural servants (missionaries) that they may represent Christ, share the good news, and make disciples in their contexts.
A new frontier!
In 2022 and 2023 we will be prayerfully pursuing a partnership among an unreached people group (UPG). An UPG is a people group where less than 2% are followers of Christ. There are over 6000 UPGs worldwide. Our prayer is that God would use us to see a group reached. We are talking with local contacts in various places and taking next steps to discover where we might partner this year!
Haiti
Hershey Free has been involved in ministry in Haiti since 2012. Our primary partnership relationship has been with STEP Seminary in Port-au-Prince, whose vision is to prepare leaders who will transform Haitian society. Additionally, we’ve continued to work with ReachGlobal through GlobalFingerprints Child Sponsorship in Haiti. We’ve also continued our involvement in the Haiti Consortium to help equip and mobilize leaders in the Haitian church. Like Burkina Faso, political instability has made direct ministry in Haiti difficult. But we continue to see God work through local partners! As of 2022 we’ve partnered with the Haitian church to send 4 families from Haiti to serve as church planters in French speaking West Africa!
burkina faso
As our work in Haiti continues, a natural overflow of that ministry became apparent to church leadership as doors were opened in Burkina Faso, a french-speaking nation in West Africa. Burkina Faso is a country of close to 20 million, with the majority of the population being Muslim (53%). It is also one of the most financially impoverished countries in the world.
Over the past several years we have partnered in Burkina Faso, a French speaking nation in West Africa. Burkina Faso is a country of close to 20 million and one of the most financially impoverished countries in the world. We have worked together with Global Hope International (GHNI) through teams and financial resources to see the transformation of the village of ‘KB’ near the capital city. The long-term goal was to see gospel transformation as we build a partnership with this village based on mutual trust and shared respect. We will work with KB in five key areas: water, food, wellness, education, and income. While these physical improvements are happening, we are also working with a local pastor and church planter who is sharing Christ with the villagers. Unfortunately political instability, Islamic insurgency and COVID have significantly hampered our ability to visit. Yet there has been some great progress in the village over the past 4 years!
Global Impact Fund for Transformation (GIFT)
The Hershey Free Global Impact Fund for Transformation (GIFT) was established to help fund specific and strategic ministry initiatives in cross-cultural contexts around the world. We specifically seek to use these funds to help the global workers with whom we partner. The funds are intended to help with one-time capital projects for our cross-cultural worker families, theological education for nationals, and responding rapidly to opportunities that arise. In 2020, $68,000 was distributed to our missionary partners around the world to share the gospel! Our gifts were shared with individuals and organizations which serve across the globe. Most directly the gifts impacted countries across South America, Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe.
How Can I Get Involved?
PRAY
Consider being a prayer partner for a Haiti or Burkina Faso team. Receive regular prayer updates and commit to praying for teams that go to these countries.
