To Carry God's Word
And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations.
Mark 13:10 (ESV)
Hughes sponsors a variety of missionary work in the United States and abroad.
General Board of Global Ministries
Hughes is a Global Missions partner church supporting General Board of Global Ministries missionaries in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America.
AFRICA
Dr. J. Jeffrey Hoover and Dr. Ellen Titus Hoover are a missionaries with the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church assigned to the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire.
Ellen is a part-time professor at the United Methodist university in Mulungwishi where she teaches courses in church history and Islam to theology students. Jeff is a professor at Katanga Methodist University, both in the theological college as professor of church history and in the School of Information Technology.
Jeff shares that he is deeply committed to the development of a viable United Methodist-related university at Mulungwishi which can help address the critical needs of the Congo that are emerging after three decades of the Mobutu regime and five years of war. In a country where French rather than English is the principal international language, a Congolese university can better and more cost effectively serve the needs of its country. Dr. Hoover has been involved in international accreditation isssues, development of Congolese faculty, and the development of both concepts and curricula for the new colleges of the university.
Jeff and Ellen have a daughter, Jane, and two sons, Jeremy and Mark.
ASIA
Suzanne Porter worked in a medical facility and with a community development program in Central Asia from 2001-2006. The focus of that program is the delivery of medical care, training assistant nurses and improving the health of the people living in remote and underserved mountain villages.
Beginning in January 2007 Suzanne’s assignment will be to Liberia, Africa at the Ganta Medical Complex to work mostly in the school of nursing. About her new assignment she says, “It is hard to leave the people I have worked with over the past five years but I see God’s plan for my time here both for the contributions I made to the project and in the growth my personal relationship with Him. The verse that speaks to me about this is from Ester 4:14 where Mordicai says to her ‘perhaps you have come…for just a time as this’. So, while I am sad I also leave with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction and take with me to Liberia the valuable experience I gained while serving in Central Asia.”
A member of Reisterstown United Methodist Church in Reisterstown, Maryland, Suzanne has one adult daughter, Becky.
EUROPE
Kathleen Karaffa Masters began her career with the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church in 1987. She served with her family for six years in the Solomon Islands at the church’s lay training center; three years at the Mission Resource Center in Atlanta, GA. developing a preparation program for the children of mission candidates; four years in Africa, completing community assessments with the women of congregations in Uganda, and five years as Training Officer for all new GBGM Commissioned Missionaries.
“This past year was a pivotal year for me in many ways.” Kathleen shares. “Mark’s [her husband and UBGM missionary] sudden death in Nepal; Matthew’s graduation from high school and his subsequent freshmen move to Oxford College in Atlanta have challenged me to contemplate how I can best serve God, and how best God can use me. I have attempted to be true to that goal and to my relationship with Mark as I re-invented myself in West Virginia. I have learned that, once again, when I listen to God, and open myself to God’s will throughout my life, wonderful doors will open, even in the midst of great loss and pain.”
Kathleen currently serves as a Church and Community Worker in Bluefield, West Virginia with a maternal and child resource center based at Trinity United Methodist Church. This cooperative endeavor serves women and children in Appalachia with clothing and educational resources. She is an ordained Deacon, in full connection with the Memphis Annual Conference, in Tennessee.
Kathleen is the mother of two adult sons. Christian has graduated from Rhodes College and is integrating his Liberal Arts education in the service arena. Matthew is attending Oxford College in Oxford, Georgia.
SOUTH AMERICA
Nan McCurdy has been serving the people of Nicaragua since 1985. She and her husband, Miguel Mairena, who is also a GBGM missionary, work with the Women and Community Association of San Francisco Libre, a county in northwestern Nicaragua.
Their clinic focuses on the prevention and treatment of cervical cancer and sexually transmitted diseases, while their legal aid office assists abused women and youth. W&C also provides study scholarships for impoverished village youth and teachers.
"We are called to follow Christ's example: To accompany, touch and include the poor, the women, the outcasts, the old, the sick, the challenged, the children all those not included fully in society," Nan says of her call to mission. "As God's children we are also called to be about the making of a just society here on earth, one that fulfills the Jubilee (the liberation of slaves, restitution of the earth, forgiveness of debt and the distribution of riches)."
Nan and Miguel reside in Managua with their children Daniel, 18, and Nora, 15. Nan is a member of the Baltimore-Washington Conference.
Ambassadors for Christ
Hughes supports Paul Hanak work with Ambassadors for Christ.
According to its web site, Ambassadors for Christ has been endeavoring for over a half-century, in obedience to God, to reach Chinese Intellectuals for Christ in this generation. Through literature, conventions, and campus ministers AFC uses every available resource to mobilize Chinese believers to be a vital force for God's kingdom. God has placed His people in strategic times as the ears of this vast people group opens to the gospel.
"AFC is called by God, in cooperation with local churches, to evangelize and disciple Chinese students and professionals in the United States and other parts of the world, to motivate and equip them to impact the culture for the Lord, and to mobilize and channel them into the service of Christ as a vital force for God's Kingdom."
Operation Mobilization
Operation Mobilization is an international Christian mission agency with over 4000 workers in more than 100 countries and onboard three ocean-going ships. OM seeks to demonstrate and proclaim the love of God through evangelism, church planting, discipleship, and literature distribution and also by providing relief and development in many areas of the world. Wherever possible, Operation Mobilization works in partnership with the local church, encouraging and supporting local believers.
Hughes sponsors the ministry of Bill Frisby at OM. Bill’s ministry reflects many years in the corporate world followed by a diverse international missions experience. He served as a Bible College Principal in the Fiji Islands, the USA Coordinator for Ambassadors for Christ International, V P of Public Ministries for OM USA, and Internal Ministries Coordinator of OM’s ship Logos II. Most recently, he served as a Pastor/Elder of a church in Italy while leading an OM ministry team. Bill is currently part of OM's International Coordinating Team focused on Leadership Development.
China Outreach Ministries
China Outreach Ministries is a Christian mission organization which offers Christ to China's future leaders, primarily those studying outside of China, by:
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Showing them the love of Christ in practical ways.
Leading them to faith in Christ.
Discipling, training and mentoring them in Christian faith.
Equipping them to minister creatively to other Chinese people.
Hughes supports three missionaries working through Chinese Outreach Mission: Rev. Earnest Hummer, Ken Wagoner (Pittsburgh. PA area), and Bill Horlacher (University of Maryland, College Park).