The following ministries for local outreach and national/international ministries are supported by Mafair through prayer, personal involvement, and financial aid:
Local Outreach
KCMC – Kingsport Community Ministry Center
KCMC provides assistance to individuals needing financial help to pay rent, utilities, and prescription costs.
Family Promise of Greater Kingsport
The goal of Family Promise is to provide temporary shelter and nurture for homeless families with children. Social workers assist the families in looking for employment, housing, transportation and all other needs so that the families may become self-sufficient.
Lincoln Elementary School
Mafair partners with Lincoln Elementary school in various ways: support for the teachers, meeting the various needs of the children, and providing a needed place for activities.
Young Life
Young Life is a mission devoted to introducing adolescents to Jesus Christ and helping them grow in their faith by: praying for young people; going where kids are and building personal relationships with them; earning the right to share the Good News of Jesus Christ; providing fun, adventurous, life-changing and skill-building experiences; inviting kids to personally respond to the Good News; walking in friendship with them regardless of their response; and working in the community alongside like-minded adults (volunteer leaders, committee members, donors and staff).
Morning Hope Breakfast Ministry
Morning Hope is a project of a Mafair church group that provides breakfast on Tuesdays for anyone, at no cost and regardless of income.
Kingsport Homeless Ministry
The Kingsport Homeless Ministry considers that to minister to the homeless the two primary needs are a low-barrier “housing first” shelter, and a comprehensive day center. This ministry is fulfilling those needs by developing a low-barrier shelter as a rehabilitation center which will also serve as a dual-purpose daycare center and night shelter. The center is located on Sullivan Street.
Appalachian Miles for Smiles
This ministry is a mobile clinic offering free dental, vision, and other healthcare services for the uninsured and underinsured. Mafair provides a place for the mobile and support units to park; opens the Prospect Center for registration, screening, and other indoor needs; provides volunteers to assist; and serves meals to the various health personnel and volunteers.
Hope Haven
Hope Haven Ministries, Inc. is a Christian, interdenominational, non-profit ministry that reaches out to homeless men, women and children who may be impoverished economically, educationally, emotionally and/or spiritually. They offer emergency shelter – safe, clean, temporary housing for those in distress; crisis counseling; and compassionate and structured programs that stress rehabilitation, restoration and a responsible attitude toward God, self, family and society.
Camp in the Community
Camp in the Community (CITC) is a ministry of Holston Conference Camp and Retreat Ministries. It is a week-long day camp program for children in poverty. The camp operates in partnership with a host church located in an impoverished community, alongside a sponsor church in the Holston Conference. A high-quality summer camp experience is provided to those who could not otherwise afford to attend summer camp. This camp is for the purpose of sharing the gospel in a tangible way and developing lasting relationships between the community and the church. In addition to reaching children in poverty, the program works with area youth to develop them as leaders in the church. Youth are provided leadership and childcare training and serve as assistant counselors. Mafair has hosted this camp several years.
Outreach Projects for Elementary school age children
Each year Mafair holds events for school age children of the community. Various events have been Trunk or Treat, Easter Egg Hunt, Splash Day, and Festivals. These events are designed to encourage community participation and a positive view of our church and its beliefs.
Camp Bays Mountain
Camp Bays Mountain is a Holston Conference United Methodist Camp and Retreat Ministry whose mission is to connect campers with God through a grade level program progression in the great outdoors. Mafair proudly supports Camp Bays Mountain with our youth attendance, pastor and counselor help, camp scholarships, and financial assistance.
National / International Missions
Dearing Missionaries in South Sudan and Uganda
Holston Conference has supported work in South Sudan and Uganda, East Africa. In 2016, war and violence forced many of the pastors and members of about 20 United Methodist churches in South Sudan to flee to Uganda, where they remain in exile today. In addition, the 36 orphans supported by Holston and living in “Grace Home for Children” (built by Holston churches) left South Sudan for Uganda. Rev. Dearing said the mission now exists in two countries with 20 active pastors. Five United Methodist churches and some pastors remained in South Sudan, while United Methodist pastors in Ugandan refugee camps have started 19 new churches. Holston Conference still supports the education and care of the Grace Home children, now located in Uganda, including their college and vocational training.
New Tribes Mission – now – Ethos360
Ethnos360 works among people groups who have had little or no access to the Bible, mostly in remote locations in Africa, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific Region. While providing practical help such as medical care, community development and literacy education, missionaries share Bible lessons that allow the people to choose for themselves whether to believe on Jesus Christ and follow Him. We support a Missionary in Papua, New Guinea.
Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference
The mission of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference is to reach Native persons with the Good News of Jesus Christ through the United Methodist witness. Since 1844, OIMC has provided its communities with the rich history, traditions, and culture of Oklahoma’s Native populations while inviting Indigenous peoples into a relationship with Jesus Christ. Today, 87 OIMC churches and fellowships serve 46 tribes in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas. David Warden is the Holston Conference Missionary in Oklahoma.
Willow Alaska United Methodist Church
The primary goal of this project is to be a mission outpost of the United Methodist Church in Willow, AK, and its surrounding communities, and as Christ’s disciples responding to God’s love by our witness, stewardship and outreach with and for all persons and creation. The average medium household income in Willow is $37,000, with the cost of living 13% above the national average. The cost of living for groceries is 31% above the national average. The average income of those the ministry currently serves is well below this amount, probably $25,000 annually. Over 22% of the residents of Willow live below the US poverty level. Unemployment in Willow is about 7%, which is above the US average. Churches in the community are small and under-staffed. Only one other clergy lives in the community, and there is no other full-time clergy. Having a clergy present offers the relational opportunities with members of the community who tend to be suspicious of outsiders. Holston Conference supports Rev. Christina DowlingSoka and her husband Joe-d and provides a large part of the financial assistance for the UM ministry in Willow, Alaska.
Project Crossroads
In the heart of the Appalachians, Project Crossroads is a mission in Southwest Virginia serving the needs of God’s children through home repair, new home construction, firewood delivery, emergency assistance, medical care and an opportunity for faithful witness of Christ’s presence through love in action. This mission, led by Harry Howe, is active in Smyth, Washington, and Wythe counties. We provide financial support for this ministry and have also participated in missionary trips to aid in the mission objectives.
UMCOR International Disaster Response
When a natural or human-caused disaster strikes outside of the United States, the United Methodist Committee of Relief International Disaster Response program (UMCOR IDR) serves as the primary channel for United Methodist assistance. Response includes support for displaced people as well as refugees fleeing disasters in the form of food, water, hygiene and other essential nonfood supplies and temporary shelter. Long-term, UMCOR cooperates with church leaders and local organizations to develop response mechanisms and to support local relief and recovery efforts. This year UMCOR has assisted with relief in Libya, Morroco, Haiti, Sudan, Turkey, Syria and more.
UMCOR United States Disaster Response
UMCOR responds to natural or civil disasters of such magnitude that they overwhelm a community’s ability to recover on its own. Through UMCOR, United Methodists extend loving care to people within the United States. When disaster strikes, it is local churches that provide the first response to their communities. This basic understanding—that disaster response is local—forms the foundation for UMCOR’s US disaster training and response. When responding to a disaster in the United States, UMCOR provides training, financial assistance, expertise, community collaboration to churches and partners making them more resilient to disasters. This year UMCOR has responded to hurricanes in Florida, Wildfires in Hawaii, Tornadoes in Oklahoma, and severe weather in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, and California.
Global Migration and Refugees
Every day, thousands of people leave their homes in search of a better life for their families. The United Methodist Committee on Relief’s (UMCOR) Global Migration program helps refugees and migrants as well as the churches and ecumenical networks that assist them. The general term “migrants” includes asylum seekers, refugees, economic migrants, environmental refugees, internally displaced persons, trafficked and stateless individuals. While most of these labels describe people who are forcibly displaced, all migrants suffer loss along or prior to their journeys, and most are unable to access the assistance they need to rebuild their lives in safe places. UMCOR recognizes that migrants are children of God and have a right to receive care regardless of their reasons for migrating. UMCOR promotes the global adoption of practices that make migration safe and respect the dignity of all migrants.
