Our Missions - What We Do

• Evangelism - Our Primary Focus

In Acts 1:8, when Jesus was getting ready to return to heaven after His crucifixion and resurrection, He told His disciples that they should take the Gospel message to the entire world starting at Jerusalem and then going to the uttermost parts of the earth. This command is also in each of the four Gospels. It has been called the Great Commission. This Great Commission was not given only to the early disciples, but to every born again child of God.

Therefore, we believe it is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. The new birth of man’s spirit by God’s Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others. Missionary efforts on the part of all rests thus upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life, and is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ. It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by personal effort and by all other methods in harmony with the Gospel of Christ.

In order to keep doors open for this ministry of evangelism and to help meet the unending needs of thousands of hurting people, GIMI is constantly ministering in many other ways. Bibles, New Testaments, Bible Booklets and Gospel tracts by the thousands are being distributed on a regular basis to share the Gospel. Also, our mission teams and African staff members are distributing thousands of dollars worth of humanitarian items such as salt, sugar, soap, toilet tissue, cooking oil, rice, beans, fruits, meat, bread, used textbooks, school supplies, clothing, and many other items in the prisons, jails, and schools on a regular basis.

Our three main areas of ministry include prisons, schools and churches.

• Prisons & Schools

Since the beginning of the ministry of Gateway International Missions, our primary focus has been evangelism and training in the prisons, jails, and schools of Africa. In addition to the many regular mission teams which we take to Africa, GIMI has African staff members that are daily carrying on this great ministry of evangelism. Our African staff has been trained to focus their attention on the main thing, and that is, to constantly preach and teach Jesus Christ so that lost people can come to Him.

In order to keep doors open for this ministry of evangelism and to help meet the unending needs of thousands of hurting people, GIMI is constantly ministering in many other ways. Bibles, New Testaments, Bible Booklets and Gospel tracts by the thousands are being distributed on a regular basis to share the Gospel. Also, our mission teams and African staff members are distributing thousands of dollars worth of humanitarian items such as salt, sugar, soap, toilet tissue, cooking oil, rice, beans, fruits, meat, bread, used textbooks, school supplies, clothing, and many other items in the prisons, jails, and schools on a regular basis.

In order to keep doors open for this ministry of evangelism and to help meet the unending needs of thousands of hurting people, GIMI is constantly ministering in many other ways. Bibles, New Testaments, Bible Booklets and Gospel tracts by the thousands are being distributed on a regular basis to share the Gospel. Also, our mission teams and African staff members are distributing thousands of dollars worth of humanitarian items such as salt, sugar, soap, toilet tissue, cooking oil, rice, beans, fruits, meat, bread, used textbooks, school supplies, clothing, and many other items in the prisons, jails, and schools on a regular basis.

• Churches - Discipleship & Training

Each year it seems that GIMI is faced with more and more demands for discipleship and special training to help equip the army of the Lord to do a better job for Jesus.

In addition to training pastors, we are regularly training prison officers and staff, and prison chaplains or catechists to better prepare them for their positions of service.

Also, we have a training center at our headquarters in Uganda which provides classrooms and guest quarters to help us facilitate our on-going training seminars, and provide living quarters for mission teams composed of pastors, teachers, and lay people who will travel to Uganda to help train the African people.

Our other important areas of ministry include medical and eye clinics and mission trips.

• Medical & Eye Clinics

Every year, GIMI provides thousands of dollars worth of food and medicine, as we conduct periodical medical and eye clinics in the prisons and schools.

We especially pay attention to the orphan children in many of these schools, who have absolutely no family members to help them, and no funds to provide for their medical or other needs.

If you are a medical professional or providing organization, willing to contribute or participate in any of our medical outreach efforts, please contact us for more information.

• Mission Trips

We are happy to offer the opportunity for self-supporting mission work and short term mission trips.

. Long Term:

A long term commitment is for someone who feels called to that particular vocation. It is a very serious commitment requiring your knowing several things without any doubt:

• 1. That you are saved.
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• 2. That God is calling you in to full time service.
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• 3. That you are willing to follow His leading.
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• 4. That you are willing to get the education and training to ....be a missionary.
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• 5. That you are willing to raise your own support for your ....missionary work, regardless of where God sends you.
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• 6. That you are in good health physically and mentally.
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• 7. That you are a member in good standing with a Bible ....based church family, and that the pastor and church ....family will attest your call to missions.
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• 8. That you will present a teachable spirit, and that you will ....follow and adhere to the instructions and training of ....GIMI.

If God has called you to the mission field for a long-term commitment, you may choose to consider an assignment through GIMI. We’d love to meet with you and discuss the myriad of possibilities.

. Short Term:

Short term missions are for a limited number of days, weeks, or months. Many times when Christians have read the Great Commission, they have become convinced that they should personally obey the Command and take part in a short term foreign mission project. Since our official organization in 2000, GIMI has accommodated many mission teams to work in our fields of ministry in Africa and in the Ukraine.

Our primary purpose in leading all of these short term mission projects is to win men, women, boys, and girls to our Lord Jesus Christ in faithful fulfillment of the Great Commission. Truly, thousands of people have come to Christ through these short term projects. Please understand that GIMI does not operate “tours” or encourage “sightseers” to travel to our fields of ministry. We do, however, warmly welcome those God has selected to introduce others to Jesus. No one should anticipate that a volunteer mission trip with GIMI is a vacation.

There are many spiritual gifts and talents required on the mission field. For example there are engineers, construction people, vehicle mechanics, accountants, public health people, well drillers, etc. All of these gifted and talented people are needed on the mission fields, but only on rare occasions are these types of people needed on our short term mission projects. Our mission needs are primarily for evangelists, pastors, Bible teachers, one-on-one soul winners, evangelistic musicians, puppet groups, literature distributors, etc.

Yet occasionally, we have medical people (who are really evangelists, too), bringing medicines to treat the sick (Matthew 25:35) as they witness to those who need to be saved. Then sometimes we do use construction people to help build needed school buildings, churches, and other buildings. All the construction effort is ALWAYS mixed with evangelism and soul winning while in one of our foreign countries.

Because of the physical, emotional, and spiritual demands of a volunteer trip to any of our countries, we insist that every participant be at least 15 years old and spiritually mature in their faith. Everyone who goes on one of our trips must be able to share his/her personal testimony of salvation clearly, present the plan of salvation from the New Testament or with Gospel tracts, and be able to follow stringent instructions with respect for those who are in charge of the team. As so often is the case in working for Jesus, you go to be a blessing and return greatly blessed yourself.

If you or a group would like to be a part of a mission team, we can make all necessary arrangements to facilitate your endeavor for Christ. These trips are usually at least ten to fourteen days in duration. We are in constant need of teams in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Cameroon, Liberia, and even in the Ukraine.

Teams who work with us follow an agenda that is put together by GIMI staff, and all travel and lodging expenses are required. If you have read this information and feel led by God to be a participant on one of our short term mission projects, please contact our office at 828-632-2344 for information on upcoming projects and how to apply.

Then, you can make an informed and prayerful decision. If the Lord leads you to participate, you can then move forward with your plans and preparation for one of the greatest spiritual experiences of your life! Once you have made a trip of this caliber, you will never be the same again! You will return to America with a new burden for lost souls, a new value system, and hopefully a renewed heart and prayers for missions!