LOCAL OUTREACH

We desire for all First Pres members to feel prepared to make a defense for the hope that we have, and beyond that, to be eager to share our faith with others. We strive to provide opportunities for all members to be actively engaged in outreach together to our neighborhoods, community, and the world.

In addition to our major outreach initiatives (Hope for Augusta, International Link, Campus Outreach, and Medical Campus Outreach) we offer the following local ministry programs and partnerships with like-minded organizations. 

First Pres Local Outreach Ministries

Hope Ballet

Hope Ballet’s vision is to provide an opportunity for children in the area to experience the beauty of dance at an affordable price. Hope Ballet offers classes every Monday for children ages 5 to 8. The cost is $15/month, and you can enroll at any time. We welcome First Pres, Hope for Augusta, Heritage Academy and other families in the community to participate.

Hope Ballet is taught by artists from Renovate Ballet, a Christ-centered ballet company whose mission is to equip artists for a professional career in dance and to prepare them in ministry to share the gospel through their lives and work. If you’d like to learn more, please email us. 

Enroll your child for the Fall 2023 Hope Ballet semester here

Minus 1 Orphan & Foster Care Ministry

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” James 1:27 (ESV)

Minus 1 provides support, encouragement, and community for foster and adoptive families. We help families raise support for adoption, provide guidance in the process of becoming a foster family, and meet as a group quarterly for fellowship and to provide pastoral care. This group is not exclusively for foster and adoptive families, but is for all who have a heart to serve these children and the families who care for them. If you’d like to learn more, contact Luke Niday.

Shalom Project

The Shalom Project was created in an effort to answer the question: how do we bring “shalom,” or peace, to the city of Augusta? Shalom Project is bringing the hope of the gospel to Augusta through efforts to address homelessness, lack of diversity, poorly ranked schools, and more. Our programs include:

All-Pro Dad exists to teach dads how to engage, encourage, and carry on conversation with their kids. APD dads and kids meet once a month before school at Lake Forest Hills Elementary. If you’re a dad interested in volunteering with this initiative by modeling loving, Christ-like parenting, please contact Luke Niday.

CityServe Augusta is an initiative to help organize local churches, nonprofits, and community leaders to address community needs by partnering together. Projects focus on addressing our homelessness crisis through city beautification, litter pickup, brush removal, care packages, and partnerships with local non-profits who are aiding those in need. 

First Pres Partnerships

First Pres partners with following organizations to support their efforts to bring the hope of the gospel to the CSRA.

Oaks Ministries
Oaks Ministries’ mission is to empower the students of downtown Augusta to become Christ-centered leaders who transform their communities with the hope of the Gospel. They focus on spiritual growth, quality mentorship, and after school programs.

LILY Moms
LILY Moms is a faith-based ministry that supports and builds community among mothers of children from conception through kindergarten. They meet twice a month at First Pres. Learn more.

Christ Community Health Services
Christ Community is a community health center committed to providing quality and affordable primary care. “By caring for anyone who comes to us, we share His love through healing the body, mind and soul. In all we do, our hope is that every encounter with Christ Community is guided by love, bound in prayer, and done to the glory of God.”

Heritage Academy
Heritage Academy is an independent school offering a quality Christ-centered education to children of diverse economic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds, empowering them to become a positive influence for Christ in this community and around the world.

Westminster Schools of Augusta
Westminster Schools seeks to glorify God by providing an excellent education that equips students to live extraordinary lives for Jesus Christ.

City Hope Alliance
City Hope Alliance’s mission is to restore people and rebuild communities by promoting growth in neglected Downtown Augusta neighborhoods.

Released Time Bible Education
Released Time is a program in which—with parental approval—public schools release students for a part of the school day to attend off-site religious instruction offered by a private sponsoring group. It recognizes and reinforces the constitutionally protected right of parents to direct the religious education of their children.

Augusta Rescue Mission
Augusta Rescue Mission exists to continue the legacy of helping break the cycle of homelessness in our community by offering the opportunity for life transformation through Christian discipleship and life skills.

 

Staff Contacts

Luke Niday, Assistant Pastor of Local Outreach & Mercy
Jackie Borland, Outreach Assistant