TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Introduction
• Jerusalem (Here)
• Judea (Near)
• Samaria (Hard)
• Ends of the Earth (Far)

Introduction

Jerusalem (Here)

When we talk about Jerusalem in an Acts 1:8 Vision, we’re focusing on your local community—the immediate area surrounding your church where you have direct influence. These initiatives are about meeting local needs, building relationships with people far from God, and sharing the love of Jesus right where you are.  

Examples of "Jerusalem" Initiatives:

• Community Outreach & Service: 

  • Food Pantry & Meal Programs: Providing meals to those in need or operating a food distribution center. 
  • Clothing & Resource Drives: Collecting and distributing clothing, school supplies, or hygiene kits. 
  • Acts of Kindness Initiatives: Hosting events like free car washes, neighborhood clean-ups, or offering help with home repairs. 
  • Pregnancy Care Center: Providing resources for expecting or single mothers.  

• Supporting Families & Individuals: 
  • Parenting & Marriage Workshops: Offering practical help and biblical guidance to strengthen families. 
  • Financial Literacy Classes: Teaching budgeting, debt reduction, and stewardship principles. 
  • Support Groups: Hosting groups for addiction recovery, grief support, or mental health encouragement. 

• Engaging with Schools & Kids: 
  • After-School Programs: Providing tutoring, mentoring, or safe spaces for kids. 
  • Back-to-School Events: Offering free backpacks, supplies, and prayer for students and teachers. 
  • Partnerships with Local Schools: Adopting a school to serve their specific needs, from teacher appreciation to facilities support. 
  • Adoptive/Fostering Family Support: Promoting the adoption or fostering of children/teens.  
  • Hephzibah 62:4: Resourcing vulnerable children in your community.  
  • Special Needs Ministry: Starting a ministry specific to helping special needs children and parents.  

• Reaching Neighborhoods & Community Hubs: 
  • Prayer Walks: Walking through neighborhoods to pray and listen for how God might lead your church to serve. 
  • Block Parties & Festivals: Creating spaces for fun, connection, and sharing the gospel in natural ways. 
  • Seasonal Outreach: Hosting events for holidays like Christmas, Easter, or Thanksgiving to bless the community. 

• Engaging Through Ministries & Programs: 
  • Sports & Recreation Ministries: Using sports leagues or fitness classes to build relationships and share faith. 
  • Arts & Music Initiatives: Hosting concerts, art shows, or creative workshops as outreach opportunities. 
  • Community Classes: Offering practical skills classes, like cooking, language learning, or technology training. 
  • Marketplace Multipliers/GodWORX Chapter: Starting an initiative to empower marketplace leaders to make disciples and share the gospel in their workplace.  
  • Immigrant Connection Site: Connecting immigrants to legal services and other life resources.  
  • Nursing Home/Elderly Ministry: Starting regular ministry opportunities or church plants in a nursing home facility.  
  • Ministry Café: Starting a café or coffee shop to build relational bridges.  
  • Church Planting: Starting a new church or campus in your community to reach a new population or people group.  

Judea (Near)

When we talk about Judea in an Acts 1:8 Vision, we're focusing on nearby communities with similar cultures—essentially, expanding your church’s influence to neighboring towns, cities, or regions. These initiatives often involve replicating successful local ministries or supporting regional partnerships to reach more people with the gospel. 

Examples of Judea Initiatives:

• Regional Outreach & Service: 

  • Multi-Site Ministry: Launching a new campus or a satellite service in a neighboring community. 
  • Church Revitalization: Partnering with struggling churches to provide leadership, resources, or a fresh vision. 
  • Community Service Projects: Organizing regional clean-ups, food drives, or support for local nonprofits. 
  • Seasonal Initiatives: Hosting events like VBS, sports camps, or holiday outreaches in nearby areas. 
  • School & Community Partnerships: Adopting schools, supporting teachers, and meeting practical needs in surrounding districts. 

• Expanding Existing Ministries: 
  • Reproducing Small Groups: Training leaders to start new small groups, Bible studies, or ministry outposts in nearby towns. 
  • Starting Micro-Churches: Raising up and sending out groups of leaders and people to reach a new area or people group that wouldn’t naturally connect to your local church.  
  • Hosting Regional Conferences or Events: Providing discipleship, leadership training, or worship experiences for a broader audience. 
  • Prison Ministry: Reaching out to a prison and starting a church in a prison or offering regular disciple-making resources in the prison. 
  • Recovery Church Plant: Starting a recovery church focused on helping people overcome addiction.  
  • Church Planting: Starting a new church or campus in your community to reach a new population or people group.  

• Collaborating with Other Churches: 
  • Joint Worship Services: Coming together with regional churches for prayer and worship nights with a bent toward evangelism. 
  • Shared Outreach Projects: Working together to meet needs or share the gospel across a wider area. 

• Meeting Practical Needs: 
  • Mobile Ministries: Utilizing vans or buses for mobile food pantries, clothing distributions, or medical clinics. 
  • Disaster Response Teams: Preparing your church to serve in regional crises like natural disasters. 
  • Homeless or Woman Shelters: Starting a homeless shelter or woman shelter which helps individuals get back on their feet and meet their basic needs.  

Samaria (Hard)

In the context of an Acts 1:8 Vision, Samaria represents mission opportunities in cross-cultural or challenging contexts, often within your broader region but outside your immediate community. These are places where cultural, socioeconomic, or historical barriers may exist—requiring intentional bridge-building and compassion. 

Examples of Samaria Initiatives:

• Serving Vulnerable Populations: 

  • Refugee & Immigrant Outreach: Providing ESL (English as Second Language) classes, job readiness programs, or cultural mentorship. 
  • Homeless Ministry: Partnering with shelters, offering meals, and creating pathways to housing and employment. 
  • Prison Ministry: Supporting reentry programs and building relationships with incarcerated individuals and their families. 

• Engaging Different Cultural/Ethnic Communities: 
  • Multiethnic Church Partnerships: Collaborating with churches from different cultural backgrounds for joint worship services or community projects. 
  • Community Festivals & Events: Hosting multicultural celebrations that promote unity and understanding. 
  • Church Planting: Starting a new church or campus in your community to reach a new population or people group.  

• Addressing Societal Challenges: 
  • Substance Abuse Recovery Programs: Offering support groups, counseling, and holistic recovery services. 
  • Trafficking & Exploitation Prevention: Partnering with organizations that fight human trafficking or support survivors. 

• Investing in Under-Resourced Areas: 
  • School Partnerships: Tutoring, mentoring, and supporting schools in economically distressed neighborhoods. 
  • Community Development Projects: Initiatives that provide job training, financial literacy, or affordable housing. 

• Advocacy & Justice Initiatives: 
  • Promoting Racial Reconciliation: Facilitating dialogues and actions that bridge divides and promote healing. 
  • Supporting Foster Care & Adoption: Mobilizing your church to support foster families or become involved in adoption advocacy. 

Ends of the Earth (Far)

When we talk about the Ends of the Earth in an Acts 1:8 Vision, we're focusing on global missions—sharing the gospel, making disciples, and serving in places beyond our national borders. These initiatives often involve cross-cultural ministry, partnerships with missionaries, and supporting global needs through both short-term and long-term engagement. 

Examples of "Ends of the Earth" Initiatives:

• Global Missionary Support: 

  • Adopting a Missionary: Providing financial, prayer, and practical support for missionaries serving overseas. 
  • Missionary Care Packages: Sending encouragement, supplies, and resources to those on the field. 
  • Virtual Prayer & Support Calls: Building relationships with missionaries through regular communication. 

• Short-Term Mission Trips: 
  • Medical Missions: Organizing healthcare teams to serve in under-resourced areas. 
  • Construction & Relief Trips: Helping with building projects, clean water initiatives, or disaster recovery. 
  • Evangelism & Discipleship: Partnering with local churches for outreach events and leadership training. 

• Church Planting & Discipleship: 
  • Supporting Church Planters: Partnering with ministries planting new churches in unreached or under-churched areas. 
  • Training Leaders Internationally: Offering teaching, discipleship, and leadership development in partnership with local leaders. 

• Meeting Practical & Spiritual Needs: 
  • Compassion Initiatives: Supporting clean water projects, agricultural development, or humanitarian aid. 
  • Educational Programs: Providing resources for schools, orphanages, or vocational training centers. 
  • Bible Translation & Distribution: Partnering with organizations like Wycliffe Bible Translators to bring God’s Word to unreached people groups. 

• Strategic Global Partnerships: 
  • Joining a Network: Connecting with global missions organizations like Global Partners, World Hope International, or Operation Mobilization. 
  • Supporting Unreached People Groups: Focusing on areas with little to no gospel presence through initiatives like the Joshua Project. 
  • Sending Missionaries: Raising up and sending out long-term leaders and Global Partner missionaries to establish new churches and disciple-making movements.