GLOBAL MINISTRIES
Greg and Christine Callison are both ordained Presbyterian ministers who worked in Berlin with refugees for many years. They are now doing similar work in a quiet way in a sensitive country which they prefer we would not mention.
Operation Christmas Child (OCC) has been dear to the hearts of El Montecito members for many years, as we have joyfully joined with thousands of local churches to deliver tangible expressions of God’s love to children through the simple gift of a shoebox filled with small toys, school supplies and hygiene items. According to Samaritan’s Purse, the global pandemic has created even greater opportunities to share the Gospel with hundreds of thousands of children living in more than 160 countries (some hearing the name of Jesus for the very first time) through gift-filled shoeboxes for Christmas. Each year, our church plans, promotes and facilitates the collection of shoeboxes for OCC. This program is open to all our covenant partners. Learn more about OCC at: https://www.samaritanspurse.org/occ
James and Renata Bultema, who attended and were married in our church, received a call from God to long-term ministry overseas. With their first child, they moved to Turkey in September 1990 to fulfill their vision and mission. The couple served in Istanbul from 1990-1996 before relocating to Antalya on the southern Mediterranean coast. They had two more children, and all three grew up in Turkey. The warm Turkish people and beautiful landscapes captivated their hearts. They delight in working for the good of Antalya and the glory of God.
The Bultemas founded St. Paul Cultural Center (SPCC) in the heart of the old city of Antalya. The center hosts church gatherings, small conferences, seminars, daily fellowship and events for all ages and features a café. The couple run Olive Grove, an international, Christ-centered and multicultural summer adventure camp for children ages 8-18. Several El Montecito members have served both short-term and long-term ministries at SPCC and the camp. The Bultemas plan to establish a second cultural center in the western part of Antalya, near the university. Learn more about the Bultemas at: spccturkey.com
MEXICO MINISTRIES
El Montecito Presbyterian Church has a long history of ministry work in Baja California, Mexico. The first trips were to orphanages in the Ensenada area, starting in 1971.
We currently provide support to Pastor Noe Perez Gomez at Iglesia Presbiteriana, Cristo es el Camino, in the village of Canon Buena Vista. Impoverished migrant farmers, who have immigrated from Oaxaca, are the primary residents of this village, south of Ensenada. Jesus cared for those living at the margins and our support enables Pastor Noe to do just that. He is bringing the gospel to people fighting hunger, poverty, and racism, to give them the hope and freedom found in Christ Jesus. In addition to being an ordained pastor to his small congregation, Pastor Noe is a tradesman and uses his electrical and plumbing skills to help the people living in the village, showing them the
love of Jesus in a very tangible way.
The church was little more than a shack, so an architect from El Montecito drew up plans for a new church on the site and several men from El Montecito went down, and with help from the local men, built a new church building, which was dedicated in 1999.
We also provide support to Rancho Sordo Mudo, a free boarding school for deaf children established in 1969 by the Everett family in the beautiful Guadalupe Valley northeast of Ensenada. Their mission has been to provide a language and education to deaf children and introduce them to the love of Jesus Christ. They have expanded upon that mission by building a training center on the ranch, to be used to equip others to start deaf ministries throughout Mexico and Latin America. https://www.ranchosordomundo.com/
LOCAL MINISTRIES
Alex Smith and his family began attending ELMO when they moved to the Santa Barbara area in 2010. During his four years at USC (2013-17), Alex learned how to follow Jesus in a practical way by becoming a part of the Navigators ministry on campus. Towards the end of senior year, a mentor showed him something he didn’t know he wanted: a simple way of helping others get started in sharing the Gospel. In a school of more than 40,000 students, one in seven coming from parts of the world that have never heard of Jesus, evangelism became a regular part of Alex’s rhythm as a Trojan. By graduation, Alex had gained valuable tools to help people start a conversation about the Gospel –not initially by answering every question and concern; but assisting others with finding answers for the big ones, why do we do this, who do we talk to, what do we say, when do we start.
Alex serves as Associate Staff with e3 Partners. e3 provides training and infrastructure for those staff ministry to work with other disciple-making or church-planting organizations in their area. Since moving back to Santa Barbara because of COVID, Alex began serving at the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission, working on the Homeless Guest Services team. This means helping people with two broad categories of things: first, physical needs (food, beds, showers, etc) and second, spiritual (discipleship and church planting). To learn more, check out e3partners.org or sbrm.org.
The Santa Barbara Rescue Mission has been a jewel in our community since 1965, serving as the sole organization in our area offering hot meals (140,000 annually) and providing overnight shelter serving 52,000 homeless guests every year. In addition, the Mission operates a state-certified 12-month residential treatment program for people battling substance abuse. The program offers career training, education, relapse prevention, family counseling and more. The Mission depends solely on community donations for financial support. Many of our covenant partners have served on the Board, Women’s Auxiliary and as volunteers. Volunteer opportunities include mentoring, tutoring, serving meals and helping with special events and fundraising.
(Note: COVID has currently restricted some, but not all, volunteer opportunities.) Learn
more about the Mission and their current Wish List at: https://sbrm.org.
Founded in 1984, Transition House seeks to solve family homelessness in the Santa Barbara community. Capable and motivated families with children can develop tools for living and receive respectful, residential services designed to alleviate poverty and restore self-sufficiency and dignity. Transition House offers emergency shelter, transitional and permanent housing and a full array of social services, education and employment opportunities. The program enjoys wide community support through a consortium of more than 40 faith-based and service organizations. More than 900 volunteers donate their time and talents each year. El Montecito Presbyterian Church provides dinner every fourth Thursday of the month.
Learn more about Transition House at https://www.transitionhouse.com/. You can also learn about volunteer opportunities by contacting Claire Frandsen at (805) 966-9668 or [email protected]
A Veteran’s Breakfast, hosted by church volunteers, is offered periodically to recognize those who have served in the military. It is open to all veterans interested in fellowship with the purpose of encouraging each other based upon their common experiences in addition to those times in their military service when God met them. We pledge allegiance to the flag and sing the national anthem. We ask God’s blessing on the food and fellowship, and we invite everyone not already attending a church to worship with us on Sundays.
El Montecito volunteers occasionally organize a Widows Luncheon in the Parish Hall and invite widows to a share a meal and enjoy some fellowship. All widows are welcome to join in laughter and lively conversation at an event where love and kindness abound.
Taking part in the M-4 Friends of Cleve
land School is a way to assist neighbors with big needs. Our congregation has an opportunity to join with other local churches (and at least one secular community group) to come alongside children from families in our community who live near our backyard. 89% of Cleveland’s students qualify as low income giving Cleveland the distinction of having the lowest socio-economic index of any SBUSD school.
The outreach committee enthusiastically jumped on board in very practical ways during the COVID 19 school season. By the end of December 2020, ELMO’s outreach committee purchased eight voice amplifiers that teachers will use in their classrooms to make their voices heard above the noise of the always-on overhead fans and from the open outside doors – as they speak through their ever-present masks. ELMO’s outreach committee also purchased 60 headsets for students to use with their district-provided iPads when they are learning from home. We also helped fund the purchase of portable camping chairs that students can easily carry outside now that social distancing requires students to spread out. We will continue to pursue creative ways to encourage families, staff, and teachers at Cleveland Elementary because we are called as God’s people to serve as protectors and helpers to those around us, especially to the vulnerable and those who have fewer resources.