MISSION MINISTRY

For LABC, mission outreach has always been an accompaniment to faithful preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. At times the outreach focus has been in ministries of service and compassion, while at other times there has been significant engagement in efforts to build justice and peace, locally and in far off places. The story of many past mission emphases is included in the Church History pages of this web site. (See “About Us”)

Currently the primary focus of the church’s outreach is in response to God’s gift to Rochester of hundreds of refugees from Burma, most of whom are Baptist thanks to the witness of Baptist missionaries 150 years ago. LABC has extended a genuine welcome to these newcomers and has been blessed by their warm response. As the church is devising ways of including these largely non-English speakers in our corporate worship and congregational life, a Burmese speaking refugee outreach coordinator has been employed to help refugees secure basic services, and to coordinate the involvement of LABC members in providing one-on-one support.

LABC maintains a long-standing engagement with the Edgerton neighborhood in which the church’s building is situated. Our members often have worked closely with them on local needs. For example, the church advanced a major part of matching funds to develop  a public and private partnership for a housing redevelopment project on a street adjacent to our church building, and, LABC helped provide volunteers and funding to build a nearby house in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity.

In addition to the current mission emphases of the congregation, the church also provides regular support with dedicated offerings and contributions - and sometimes volunteers - for our partners in mission. These partners proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ and carry out collaborative service and justice advocacy programs from the Edgerton neighborhood to the far corners of the world. 

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