Being the Hands and Feet of Christ in North Raleigh and Around the World
SERVE
Serving is core to who we are as Christians and how we're called to build God's Kingdom here on Earth.
Ways Asbury Serves
Hands-On, Local Service
We support a lot of missions locally including our Community Garden on campus, Lynn Road Elementary, Family Promise of Wake County, Habitat for Humanity, and more!
Global Service
We engage in Rise Against Hunger locally to be sent and have impact globally as well as our ongoing partnership with Hearts and Hands for Haiti. We also offer regional, national, and international mission trips.
Missionary Support
Asbury Church can't be in all the places that God is moving around the world, but we do our part to support various missionaries who are doing God's work in far-off places. The bottom of this page details who we support and what they're doing on mission for Christ.
Asbury Community Garden
In Our Backyard:
Gardeners enjoy a long growing season in full sun plots, experience community with fellow enthusiasts, and, more importantly, donate at least 50% of their harvest to Inter-Faith Food Shuttle and individuals/families in need.
The garden began in 2011 and has continued to thrive. More than fifty people are involved with the garden and have donated in excess of 7,500 pounds of vegetables to charities every year. The garden is harvested twice weekly by people leasing garden plots. Gardeners take joy in knowing that hungry families are enjoying fresh vegetables.
On Campus To Around the World
RAH is an international hunger relief organization that distributes food and life-changing aid to the world’s most vulnerable, mobilizing the necessary resources to end hunger by 2030. We host large meal-packing events regularly at Asbury Church - a great way to come together and have a global impact. We as a church have packaged over 1.2 Million Meals (and counting!!)
“And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.” ISAIAH 58:10
All these meals were purchased through your generous donations during Christmas is Not Your Birthday. This is the reason we do what we do. The reason we dig deeper into our pockets at Christmas to give a gift to Jesus. The reason we were created – to love our neighbor.
Rise Against Hunger Meal Packaging
Lynn Road Elementary and Backpack Buddies
Supporting a Local School in Need:
Lion Pals: Serve in the school as tutors, test proctors, media center helpers, and more!
School Supply Drive: Donations help to keep our buddies at LRES equipped for learning!
Coats at Christmas: Donate coats to help keep the kids warm in the winter
Teacher Appreciation Luncheon: We look forward to giving the staff the best at this yearly event!
Campus Cleanup Day: We have volunteers come to make the campus look amazing!
Backpack Buddies: Asbury Church provides over 30 backpacks per week for food-insecure students at Lynn Road Elementary, ensuring that they will have good nutrition over the weekend. We are able to provide these through the generosity of "Christmas Is Not Your Birthday" and we regularly gather to package the bags.
Providing Housing and Food to Local Families in Transition
Since almost it’s beginning, Asbury Church has supported Family Promise of Wake County. Family Promise's mission is to transform the lives of children and families experiencing temporary homelessness by helping them find support services and safe, affordable, permanent housing in our community. Pre-COVID, Asbury would host families for a week on-site at the church. Since COVID, the families are staying in temporary housing while receiving service. Our church supports Family Promise by providing meals for two to three families during the week that we are assigned as hosts. We get the family details Thursday the week prior, and then prepare meals that are delivered to Family Promises Day Center. Kathleen and Scott Smothers are leading this ministry at this time.
Family Promise of Wake County
Habitat for Humanity
Providing Homes in Our Community
Habitat for Humanity of Wake County builds safe, affordable houses for qualified home buyers regardless of race, religion or background. Each Habitat home is built in partnership with homeowner families, sponsors, and volunteers.
A coalition of 12 churches that join together to provide the financial support and labor to build a home for a deserving family each year. Asbury regularly provides monetary support as well as volunteer hours through Wake County Habitat for Humanity.
Asbury serves on 1st Saturdays and you can sign up online to join in.
Missionaries We Support
Asbury partners with various missionaries in diverse ministries in around the world. Help us by praying for them and the work they are doing to build God's kingdom.
Katie Rawson
Curt and Marcia Rhodes
Stan and Patty Wiebe
David and Debbie Hawk
John and Janie Farwell
Charlie and Kathy Lehardy
Paul and Marty Law
Andy and Cheryl White
Husband and Wife Team
Katie Rawson
Katie Rawson
Serves international college students in the U.S.
As Senior Resource Developer for the International Student Ministry Department of InterVarsity, Katie partners with ISM staff and others to develop evangelistic and discipling resources for international students and for staff and students working with internationals. The vision is to evangelize and disciple international students and develop them as leaders so that they become world-changers. Katie also serves as Regional ISM Coordinator for the Blue Ridge Region and directs the area Evangelistic Discovery Weekend. Katie has been part of Asbury’s family since its infancy.
Curt and Marcia Rhodes
Curt and Marcia Rhodes
Questscope in Amman, Jordan
Dr. Curt Rhodes is the founder and international director of Questscope, with 20+ years of experience in the Middle East. Every Questscope project focuses on putting the last, first–creating a second chance and better life for dropouts, street kids, vulnerable women, refugees, and others.
Curt writes that an unprecedented youth boom is dramatically altering the face of the Middle East. With 60% of the population now under the age of 25, this demographic surge will likely be the greatest factor shaping the future of the region. “Questscope is increasingly being asked to help shape the future for the most vulnerable of these young citizens, creating an opportunity for those who have little–helping them grow socially, emotionally and spiritually–and giving them the tools they need to become positive contributors to society.”
Questscope currently has at least one of its programs in eleven Middle Eastern countries. If you would like to read more about the work Questscope is doing in the Middle East, visit www.questscope.org. Questscope is also piloting a youth mentoring program in Minneapolis, MN.
Stan and Patty Wiebe
Stan and Patty Wiebe
Hearts and Hands for Haiti
“In obedience to the words of Christ to love our neighbors as ourselves, we partner with Haitians in the area of Gonaives, Haiti, giving care to children and families in need. Together we offer opportunities to develop physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually into mature Christian adults who can provide for themselves and their impoverished nation.”
Stan first visited Haiti in 1982 on a mission trip. He lived in Haiti for five years in the 80s. Even after moving to Raleigh in 1989, Stan continued visiting his Haitian friends most years. Stan and Patty met while she was in Haiti on a mission trip. Stan and Patty work together in the HHH office in Raleigh, serving as a liaison between their Haitian and North American neighbors. If you would like to know more about the Wiebe’s varied ministries in Haiti, visit their website www.heartsandhandsforhaiti.org.
David and Debbie Hawk
David and Debbie Hawk
World Gospel Mission, Honduras
David and Debbie serve as Field Director for Honduras. They provide leadership to WGM missionaries and ministries throughout Honduras.
They previously served in El Salvador where they helped establish a church in Jucuapa and built a medical clinic.
John and Janie Farwell
John and Janie Farwell
Atheletes in Action
Athletes in Action is a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ, International, an organization that promotes evangelism and discipleship in more than 190 countries around the world. The mission of AIA is to help sports-minded people think and live biblically at the intersection of sports and Christianity. John, Janie, and their children live in Jerusalem, where John coaches an AIA team. He is also attending Jerusalem University College and is involved with Walk the Story. When asked by team members why he would come there to coach instead of in the U.S., he replied that he desires to support the AIA staff there and he wants people there to know who Jesus is and to experience him in them.
Charlie and Kathy Lehardy
Charlie and Kathy Lehardy
Wycliffe Bible Translators
Wycliffe’s vision is to “…see the Bible accessible to all people in the language of their heart.” To make this vision a reality, they also focus on literacy development, community development, and church partnerships. Currently, there are over 200 million people worldwide who do not have the Bible in their language.
Charlie and Kathy serve with the Mexico Branch of SIL. Kathy is a Language Program Manager, overseeing the plans and activities of the Mexico Bible translation programs. Charlie provides computer support for Mexico Branch members, offering everything from troubleshooting and repair to training and migration services for teams moving to newer hardware and software programs.
The Lehardys are based in Catalina, AZ, where they live near their two children, Charlie and Hannah.
Paul and Marty Law
Paul and Marty Law
Missionaries in Central Congo
The Laws have a ministry of compassion, reconstruction, and development in Central Congo. A primary focus of their ministry is evangelism and teaching of God’s Word. In God’s providence, Paul grew up in this area and is a “mother tongue” speaker of the Otetela language, which he is able to use effectively, whether in a large facility, a collapsing village church, or under a shade tree in the open air. Marty teaches in two mission high schools in Lodja. The need and desire for learning English presents her the opportunity to use scripture as a teaching tool. To learn more about their ministries in reconstructing/building churches in remote villages, ministry to children, and the Jesus film outreach, visit www.appointmentcongo.org.
Andy and Cheryl White
Andy and Cheryl White
International Student Ministry, IVCF
Andy and Cheryl White lead the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship ministry to international students at NC State University. About 1000 new international students arrive each fall. The Whites and the team who works with them organize several events to welcome these new students and begin making contacts and building friendships. To read more about ISM’s inspiring ministry, visit www.intervarsity.org/ism.
Husband and Wife Team
A Husband and Wife Team
Unnamed Online for Security Reasons
Asbury supports a husband and wife team who are affiliated with an international, evangelical Christian missions organization. For security reasons, their name and people group they work with are anonymous. This couple was arrested in their country because they are Christians and held for a number of weeks in prison. They were released and allowed to leave the country but told not to return. Today they have a radio and TV ministry to those inside their country and in the U.S. reaching out to their fellow countrymen. They also meet with those who come outside their country for discipleship training.
I WANT TO SERVE!
Contact our Pastor of Students and Service, Andy Mannes, to learn more and get involved!