Ten people from four area churches returned from a missions trip to Honduras last week

The Assembly of Praise Church and Sandy Acres Freewill Baptist Church in Tyrrell County, and Refuge International Assembly of God (Nags Head). Bethel Assembly of God in (Askewville) were represented on the trip.

The group worked with Children’s Gift Ministry, a program administered through Harrell Family Missions, an organization founded in March 2007 by pastor Ken and Gricelda Harrell, former evangelist and pastor of Airport Assembly of God in Columbia, S.C.

Joe Pierce, lead pastor at the Assembly of Praise Church, discussed more details of the  trip.

“We did multiple children’s outreaches where we gave the children gift bags full of humanitarian aid. We also facilitated a training conference in which we trained 100 leaders in how to minister to children,” said Pierce.

Local churches provide a great portion of the Children’s Gift ministry budget. Through asking people in their congregation to make a monthly Missions Pledge, churches can then pledge to support a Missionary.

“The Children’s Gift Ministry works hard to connect generous, compassionate people with children through Evangelism Events and the distribution of items that our donors send. In 2014 we are also launching Children’s Pastors Training Conferences and Kids Crusades. Our desire is to have one of these events in 10 regions of Honduras over the next 24 months. Each conference and crusade for 200 Children’s Pastors and 400 children at the crusade costs $3,500,” says Harrell on childrensgiftministry.com

Harrell mentioned a budget of $35,000 for the planned events in all 10 regions.

Harrell also provided more details about his mission work.

“Since 2009 Harrell Family Missions & Children’s Gift Ministry exists to reach, educate and rescue the children of Honduras before the gangs recruit them to kill, steal, sell and transport drugs and firearms. It is estimated that over 40 percent of Honduras’ population is between the age of 4 and 14.One of the ways we are doing this is to train and equip 3,000 Children’s Pastors over the next 10 years who will reach 300,000 children,” said Harrell.

Harrell said at the start of 2014 there were literally no children’s pastors in Honduras.

“This is a whole new concept we as missionaries are doing here,” said Harrell.

Harrell said that the purpose of Joe Pierce and his team’s trip was to partner in a Conference aimed at training 100 potential Children’s Pastors.

“This “EQUIP” Conference for Children’s Pastors was held in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, – presently the most violent and dangerous city in the world for two years running. So far we have raised sufficient funds to host two EQUIP Conferences training 200 potential Children’s Pastors and equipped them with the materials they need to reach the children in their communities,” said Harrell.

Pierce mentioned that the trip to Honduras was a different experience for him.

“Most of the other mission’s trips I have either led or participated in were centered around construction projects. This trip was focused on leadership training and evangelism. While building a church building or living quarters leaves a permanent presence in a community, building people and winning the lost to Christ has eternal value that cannot be measured against anything else,” said Pierce.