Hillside Missions

Training, Internship, Membership, and Staff Application

Jessica — Thu, 09 May 2013 19:09:00 +0000

Protected: Hillside Internship Orientation

Jessica — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 20:36:37 +0000

Edit Art Gallery Kickstarter

Jessica — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 19:29:54 +0000

Hillside Missions has recently partnered with World Horizons International to launch a Kickstarter campaign to fund Edit Art Gallery!

In many nations of the world, it’s common that people are not able to freely express their beliefs in public. Edit Art Gallery serves as a framework for the idea of using art to build safe and welcoming Christian community in unreached nations.

We are located in the downtown arts district of Richmond, Virginia and are recognized as an official venue of Richmond’s popular “First Fridays Art Walk.” In the past 10 months, we’ve learned a lot and have seen great success. There are, however, a few things that need to be repaired and replaced if we’re going to maintain a professional environment and get artists excited about choosing our gallery to show their work! Because we are a non-profit organization, we have avery small budget for maintaining the art gallery.

Will you please check out our Kickstarter page and consider making a pledge toward this project? Our $3,000 goal will cover the cost of wood floors and installation, track lighting, dividers, new desks, and chairs. Additionally, we have a lot of cool rewards planned for our backers! Thank you for considering us!

Click here to view our Kickstarter page!

Cambodia Day 5!

Jessica — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 13:16:04 +0000

And here’s an update from Kris’ Blog!

Blog Post: Cambodia Day 3!

Jessica — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 17:14:28 +0000

Last night, while you were sleeping, our team was hard at work in the future. They’re 12 hours ahead of us in Cambodia! Yesterday they taught classes at a youth outreach program in Phnom Penh. The ministry is called MorningStar. They run daily programs for kids from 5 to 21 years old. The team taught an English lesson and a class called “Why are foreigners so strange?” as an introduction to cross-cultural communication and mission. Kris notes in his most recent blog post that, “We are the foreigners and we are strange.” They also worked with about 15 of the older students making flatbread in a class titled, ”How to make bread and enjoy God.” The students will sell this bread to help fund the youth outreach ministry.

Since arriving in Cambodia, they’ve also been able to spend some time supporting the World Horizons team that lives there. There are about 18 people on the team from England, Ireland, France, Indonesia, Canada and the U.S. They spend their time leading ministries for orphan care, church planting, art as mission, business as mission, ministry and discipleship training and after school youth outreach.

Will you continue to pray for the team as they work to make disciples and encourage long term workers in Cambodia?

Oh, P.S. … If you didn’t know this already, there are a LOT of ants in Cambodia. Kris has announced that he has waged war against them. More details about that to follow…

Community Outreach in Mexico

Jessica — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 18:54:08 +0000

We’ve had an amazing year at the School of Missions Mobilization! Andy and Lora Stouder joined the team in 2011 as the new directors of the school in Matachi. Maykon, Gustavo, and Heber joined shortly after as the school’s newest students. And Aleesa Schlup (former Hillside intern) moved to Matachi to fill a permanent teaching position! Together they make up the great team that has brought growth to the school and blessings to the community. Last summer, we added a second location to the school in a much bigger Mexican city called “Chihuahua.” (Yeah, we hear a lot of dog jokes.) Being around more people, more churches, and ultimately more needs has allowed us to get really creative with how we connect to our community. Here’s what we’ve been up to!

1. This month, we will be developing an eight week English program that is to be open to the community. The plan is to first open the course to neighbors who live in the surrounding area, and then, later on, it will become open to churches. We are looking forward to meeting and teaching new people!

2. A few weeks ago, during his trip to the school, Kris had a conversation with the team about what it means to be Christlike and neighborly. He emphasized the idea of not just feeding a person in need, but actually taking the time to sit and eat with them. Being Christlike means taking on our neighbors’ pain and showing them that we’re with them. We want to be like the good samaritan when he takes on the stigma of the broken man he is reaching out to. After their talk, five members of the team cooked a meal of burritos and cookies and went out to the red light district of Chihuahua to spend time with the women there.

3. Last week, our team (along with some friends) collected and distributed blankets at a local hospital where it’s common for people to camp outside overnight as they wait for visiting hours the next day. We gave out burritos and drinks to the people inside the emergency room and offered prayer to those in need.

4. Last year, after Lora and JenJe noticed that many people were not well equipped for the cold mountain winter, they started a project called “M1 for Mexico,” which means (in knitting terms), “make one for Mexico.” The idea was to get people to knit, crochet, and donate handmade hats, scarves, and gloves all during the summer and then our team would hand them out to their neighbors during the winter. We ended up with 71 hats, 45 pairs of gloves, 35 scarves, and 2 sweaters! Everyone was so happy to receive their beautiful gifts! Thank you to all who knitted with us!

5. In a first step of exploring business as mission, we taught our students how to make really good pizza. They practiced a lot, learned the cost of ingredients, and finally created a perfect recipe. There were occasional orders from churches and youth groups interested consuming large quantities of pizza. The pizza making is on hold for now, but there are plans for empanada making in the future. Empanadas are kind of like hot pockets for those of you who are very unfamiliar with Mexican food.

6. Lastly, but probably most excitingly, we’re planning an Easter retreat to Matachi! We’re inviting everyone we know (you too!) to join us as we travel to the mountains to reach out to the communities in Matachi, Tejolocachi, Cocomorachi, Santo Tomas, San Isidro, and Rancho Blanco! We’ll have the opportunity to share the love of Christ through: gospel storytelling, praise and worship, service projects, prayer, youth events, and more! The event is from April 1-5 and costs 250 pesos per person which covers food, lodging, and transportation. If you are interested, send an email to Aleesa@Matachi.org!

7. We’d like to invite you to get involved with what we’re doing in the city of Chihuahua. Even if you can’t speak Spanish, we’re always looking for teachers, and have had people give classes on things from ESL to missions to pastoral care to hyrdopology to mechanics to midwifery! If you don’t feel comfortable teaching or traveling, there are, of course, always financial needs that can be met! Please consider partnering with us!

The Super Simple “Spruce-Up-The-SMM” Starter Kit

Jessica — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 20:36:39 +0000

CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE SCHOOL OF MISSIONS MOBILIZATION!!

8 Reasons To Give In 2013

Jessica — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 01:10:07 +0000

Ok, so you missed your last chance to be the most cheerful giver of 2012. No worries because, as Oprah would say, “CLEAN SLATES FOR EVERYONEEEEEE!” It’s a New Year and here are some really good reasons why you should consider making a donation this year!

1. We survived the apocalypse. You must be feeling very happy to be alive. And if you didn’t spend every last penny of your bank account during the month of November, I bet you are feeling a lot like Ebenezer Scrooge at the end (not the beginning) of “A Christmas Carol.” You know, the part where he gives all of his money and earthly possessions away?

2. We may make jokes and we may be young, fun, and good looking… but we also have 13 years of success and mistakes under our belt. We’re not afraid to try new things.

3. Over the next three years, we have made it our mission to send 50 people to nations that have no access to the gospel. Glorifying God through this is what really matters to us.

4. We provide training for future missionaries in Richmond, Virginia and Chihuahua, Mexico. This how our community grows and how missionaries are made. It requires creativity, a humble attitude, hard work, fun… and a lot of money.

5. Hillside is pioneering the way that non profits and missions organizations use social media. You can find us on facebook, twitter, instagram, youtube, and even G+ (whatever that is). We’ll be the crazy ones posting videos of food dares and downloadable paper dolls. Talk to us! We’ll talk back.

6. We wholeheartedly believe that God’s plan for the nations is a right now undertaking. And we have the enormous privilege of getting to be a part of this adventure. By giving, you also become a part of God’s plan for the nations.

7. Everything we receive goes directly to the cause of establishing Christian community in unreached parts of the world. Your gift could mean that someone gets to hear the name of Jesus for the very first time. Help us send more missionaries!

8. We’re a registered 501c3 non-profit organization. This means that we’ll give you a tax deductible receipt for every contribution you make. Give AND receive! Everyone wins!

If this article has convinced you that we’ll put your money to good use… click here to make a donation!

Now Accepting Summer/ Fall 2013 Interns!

Kristopher — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 12:01:49 +0000

Missions Training Internship

Click Here to Apply Online!

So you’re looking for an internship and through a Google search, a friend, your church or something other avenue, you’ve discovered Hillside. We think we’re pretty cool. You probably will too.

As a Hillside Intern you’ll join a group of passionate, fun, and diverse people working to make the gospel accessible to unreached peoples. The nine months you’ll spend in Richmond, Virginia as an intern will prepare you for cross-cultural ministry. Don’t worry if you’re not completely settled on being a missionary, the training is valuable for any ministry focus. The program also includes an additional 3 month “externship” option which you would spend in an unreached people group area. Some of the past externship destinations have included China, Afghanistan, Turkey, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, India, and Mexico. You’ll spend time in our downtown, store-front office Monday through Friday working on projects aimed at establishing Christian community in specific areas. You’ll attend a number of fast-paced, exciting classes that will challenge your worldview and give you a new appreciation for working dry-erase markers. You may even start drinking black coffee!

The internship hours are divided up so that 80% of your time is spent working in our office. During this time interns gain valuable experience through hands-on activities and projects in the office. The remaining 20% of time is spent in a formal classroom setting studying classes that fall in the following categories:

The categories of classes include:

1. World Religions

-Islam

-Buddhism

-Hunduism

-Animism

-Judaism

2. Community Building and Mobilization

-Weaving a Community

-Self-awareness and relatibility

-Mission Mobilization: statistics, trends, and communicating vision

-Calling

3. Study of Christian Theology

4. Missiology

-Cross-cultural communication

-Mission History

-Strategies of Mission

-Biblical Foundations

-Missions and the Church

-Living in a New Culture: money & budgeting, diet, housing

-Writing a Mission Statement for Life

5. Teaching English as a Second Language (Certification)

-How do People Learn?

-Cognitive Processing and Multiple Intelligences

-Teaching Foreign Languages

-Total Physical Response

-Organizing a Classroom

-Creating a Lesson Plan

-English Grammar and Structure

Intern Life

You’ll live with other internship participants and learn that community sometimes means keeping both 2% AND skim milk in the fridge so that everyone is happy.

As an intern, you will also make life-long friends that become like family. Be ready to immerse yourself in an adventure that will change you and the world around you.
p.s. The interns eat a lot of spaghetti.

Hillside Missions Interns:

* Learn and actively participate in missions team training
* Travel on short-term trips to minister to unreached peoples
* Complete a cross-cultural ministry course program
* Study community building and mobilization, the role of the church in missions, Islam, and ESL
* Work to administer a School of Missions in Matachi, Chihuahua, Mexico
* Help with gospel distribution and church planting activities
* Participate in missions activities among the world’s least reached peoples
* Gain access to a network of strategic contacts in ministry and missions
* Are provided the opportunity to seek God’s will for their life
Who can apply?

To be eligible you should be between 18 and 30 years old with a desire to serve God.

What are the dates?

The full program runs for 9 months. After the 9 month program there is an optional 3 month international externship working with one of our longterm projects. Typically, the program follows a traditional university semester calendar, although the dates of the internship can be flexible. We also offer a summer program which lasts for three months. The optional three month externship generally begins immediately following the 9 month program.

Where will you sleep and eat?

Do you live within driving distance of our offices at 8 East Broad Street, Richmond, VA? Then you can opt to be a commuting intern in our program. Live outside the area? Then internship participants share apartments near our offices. At times we eat together, and other times we go out to eat.
What does the program cost?

The residential internship program is $375 per month and this includes: housing, meals, curriculum materials and supplies. The commuting internship program is $100 per month and includes: some meals, curriculum materials and supplies. We also ask that interns raise support to fund their short-term trips and externships.

Can I visit the office to check it out first?
Yes! We encourage all internship applicants and acceptant participants to visit before a commitment is made to the program. This also helps to ease some of the normal anxiety that accompanies involvement in new activities and communities. It is best to call ahead to arrange a visit.

tel. (804) 381-6750

Our office is located at: 8 East Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23219
Okay, I’m interested. How do I apply?
Fill out the Online Internship Application and check your email! We’ll contact you soon!

Have a Question? Ask an Intern at:

Hillside@ReachTheNations.org

3 Things You Need to Run A School. Cowboys not included.

Susannah — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 21:25:15 +0000

My name is Susannah Boyed. I’m a young person, just 24 years old. Through a series of life changing events, I became the Home Desk Coordinator for a program called the School of Missions Mobilization about 5 years ago. The school runs a year long residential program for people called to mission. We give future missionaries the training they need to start their ministry on the field. It’s a lot of work keeping a school up and running but oh so satisfying. The team responsible for running the school includes an important network of people here in the states at our Virginia headquarters along with on-site staff at the school in Chihuahua, Mexico.

The Instituto de Movilizacion Misionera (School of Missions Mobilization).

What does it take to run a school?

1. Faith and Prayer. Sometimes when the bills pile up and we’re not sure what the next semester will look like for us, it’s tested! Again and again though since we first opened our doors in 2007, we have had stories to tell of God’s provision for us and our school.

2. An International Community
There are no lone cowboys in missions. We can’t operate a missions school without the support and involvement of The Church and we wouldn’t want to!

3. Money. Yep, the cold green stuff. Right now it costs about $650 a month to pay the rent and keep the internet and utilities turn on. Some of the other costs we encounter include groceries, scholarships, and fuel for travel.

As we head into the last month of the year, we are looking to reach our fundraising goal of $6,000. This will fund the entire year’s rent in 2013 for the school.

Can you help us to reach part or all of this $6,000 goal?