Make a difference and have an impact! Check out the many opportunities to serve those in the United States and around the World.
Disaster Relief Missions
Bethany Disaster Response
Local & Regional
Bethany is part of the Austin Disaster Relief Network (ADRN) which is comprised of church, ministry and business leaders within the Christian community of Greater Austin.
United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)
U.S. & International
UMCOR is consistently among the first teams on the ground providing aide when disasters occur around the world. 100% of designated relief donations go directly to the specific relief effort. Administrative costs are covered through UMCOR Sunday, an annual special offering taken in United Methodist Churches around the world.
Helping Children
Child Sponsorship through World Vision - Matete, Kenya
Transforming the lives of children and giving them a hopeful future full of opportunity. The transformation from a life of poverty to a life of self-sufficiency is fueled by child sponsorship, which is $39/month. The transformation occurs in three primary ways:
- Meeting the immediate needs of the sponsored child
- Strengthening the community which supports him or her.
- Opportunity for personal relationship
AIDS Orphans - Maua, Kenya
The program supports children under the care of the extended family members in the community who have been orphaned by AIDS; this involves offering them necessary skills, information, education, training on how to cope with psychological effects and the social effects of losing their parents and counseling them to reduce the risk of HIV infection.
United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR): AIDS Orphan Project Information & Donation Link
Shalom Home, El Salvador
Bethany has a long standing relationship with the Shalom Home near San Salvador, El Salvador. It is an orphanage and school, with a recently completed a health clinic. Mission team members have an opportunity for construction, office work, a feeding program for the very poor, and lots of fun with the children at the home.
Libraries of Love
Libraries of Love promotes literacy in Africa by partnering with Africans to create libraries in individual schools, provide financial support to assist in the educational development of individuals, and address humanitarian needs in. Through reading, students will develop a love of literature, as well as strengthen their knowledge in each curriculum subject area. Lifelong readers become lifelong learners.
World Vision’s Women of Vision Austin Chapter
Women of Vision supports these child & family focused World Vision-US projects: the ongoing Syrian Refugee Crisis, a Child Protection project in Kenya, and a trio of projects in Honduras (Child Protection, Economic Empowerment, and Clean Water).
Congo Projects for Relief
The ministry is in rural Democratic Republic of Congo. The ministry focus is on Food Insecurity, Health (especially with mothers and infant children), education (high school, a UMC seminary, women’s college). Projects are Nutrition Center, Agriculture (tractor & grain grinder) & Medical Clinic.
Bethany Contact: Tom Stanton
Mobility & Transportation
Mobility Worldwide, TX-Austin
A (PET®)Mobility Cart is a three-wheeled, off-road wheelchair, operated by hand power. Built by a faith-based, non-profit, volunteer organization, Mobility Carts are delivered at no cost to people in developing countries who have lost the use of their legs due to birth defects, polio, diabetes, spinal cord injuries, landmines or war.
Bethany Contacts: John Rudd, Jim White, Bill Crane
Health Ministries
AIDS Orphans - Maua, Kenya
The program supports children under the care of the extended family members in the community who have been orphaned by AIDS; this involves offering them necessary skills, information, education, training on how to cope with psychological effects and the social effects of losing their parents and counseling them to reduce the risk of HIV infection. United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR): AIDS Orphan Project Information & Donation Link
Maua Methodist Hospital - Maua, Kenya
Maua Methodist Hospital is an agency of the Methodist Church of Kenya and serves as a regional medical center in the Maua area of Meru Province. Serving a population of over 450,000 persons - including 110,000 children - the hospital provides general medical services including maternity, surgery, dental and optical.
Bethany Contact: TBD, 512-258-6017
Shalom Home, El Salvador
Bethany has a long standing relationship with the Shalom Home near San Salvador, El Salvador. It is an orphanage and school, with a recently completed a health clinic. Mission team members have an opportunity for construction, office work, a feeding program for the very poor, and lots of fun with the children at the home.
Clinica Betania - Reynosa, Mexico
Located in Reynosa, Mexico, Clinica Betania, or Bethany Clinic, provides medical and dental services for low cost or no charge to patients in the Reynosa area who cannot afford these services. It is a ministry of the Methodist Church of Mexico. Clinica Betania is represented in Reynosa by Bethany UMC’s covenant mission partner Willie Berman.
Bethany Contact: TBD, 512-258-6017
Nothing But Nets -Imagine No Malaria
Coordinated program between the NBA, the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), and the Episcopal Church’s NetsforLife program, to provide bed nets to families in sub-Saharan Africa, where malaria claims a life every 60 seconds. One $10 donation to NBN provides a net which protects a family of 4 for up to five years.
Bethany Contact: Cathy Bourn, 512-773-0319
Congo Projects for Relief
The ministry is in rural Democratic Republic of Congo. The ministry focus is on Food Insecurity, Health (especially with mothers and infant children), education (high school, a UMC seminary, women’s college). Projects are Nutrition Center, Agriculture (tractor & grain grinder) & Medical Clinic.
Bethany Contact: Tom Stanton
Christmas, Easter, Seasonal
Christmas Cards for Troops
Toward the end of summer, we make Christmas Cards available for members and other groups to write a note and sign which are then sent to our troops. This is a project of the Christians on the Go Sunday school class, which meets at 11:00 each Sunday.
Contact: Christians on the Go Sunday School Class
