Southern Hills has been passionate about the world-wide mission of God since its earliest days as a church. With direction from our International Missions Team and our Local Missions Team, we participate in God's mission through the following ways:
LOCAL MISSIONS
Our church looks for ways to meet needs in our local community, specifically our “one mile radius” - the area within one mile of our church campus. Here are some ways we are making an impact:
We actively support our local schools, Alcorta Elementary and Madison Middle School, with school supply and book drives, gifts for teachers, plus programs like “Alcorta Readers” and “Madison Fist Bump Crew.”
We host neighborhood events such as block parties, Easter Eggstravaganza, and Trunk or Treat.
We host service days where we provide yard work for our neighbors, and block parties to help people connect.
We launched and actively support Bar Church, our sister congregation.
We encourage members to serve through local ministries and non-profits, such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, Love & Care Ministries, Habitat for Humanity, Meals on Wheels, CASA, Christian Service Center, Christian Homes & Family Services, and others.
International Missions
Southern Hills has a strong history of supporting the work of God around the world. Our church’s international missions program includes:
Supporting seven full-time missionaries in the US, Central and South America, and Africa.
Partnering with mission partners who share the compassion and message of Jesus.
Sending members on mission trips we call “Let’s Go” trips.
Our Missionaries
We use the term “missionaries” to describe those in whom we are heavily invested, who receive their primary financial support from Southern Hills.
Erick Armando Gamez Ayala | El Salvador
Erick, a native of El Slavador serves as an evangelist, counselor, and youth worker at the Iglesia De Christo San Bartolo in San Salvador, El Salvador. He preaches and teaches regularly, and invests in the young people of his congregation in countless ways. He has developed trust in his community, and has been given the honor to speak and teach in schools about religious topics, opening doors for people to think and talk about faith. He also helps lead a ministry called “Project Nehemiah” which provides homes for people who otherwise could not afford them. Southern Hills began sponsoring Erick in 2017.
Serge & Esperance Gasore | Rwanda
Serge and Esperance have three children: Serge Jr., Joel, and Joella. Serge and Esperance Gasore are missionaries in Ntarama, Rwanda, where Serge was raised and where he witnessed the Rwandan genocide in 1994. The Gasores founded a ministry called Rwanda Children, which provides daily shelter, food, medical care, education, and hope to at-risk Rwandan children in the name of Jesus. In just a few years, Rwanda Children has grown from a single house where one staff member provided care for several children in 2014, to a beautiful, spacious campus that now includes a Christian school, medical clinic, job training center, garden, and a fellowship and worship center that seats 1,300 people. Rwanda Children has over 500 students enrolled in their school, 400 children in their sponsorship program, and 75 staff members. The Gasores have been supported by Southern Hills since 2016. rwandachildren.org
Alejandro & Nohely Gumesindo | Peru
Alejandro and Nohely Gumesindo live and work in Ventanilla, Peru, a city near the Pacific coast where over 300,000 people live. Alejandro is a Bible teacher and youth worker at Sagrada Familia, a school for children who live in extreme poverty where Southern Hills members have traveled each summer for the past 16 years. Nohely works as a translator and English teacher. They both serve at a small church near the school, where Alejandro preaches. The church has a growing number of young men and women who have graduated from Sagrada Familia, as well as a flourishing children’s ministry. Southern Hills began sponsoring the Gumesindos in 2018.
Casper & Ashley Steenkamp, South Africa
Casper and Ashley Steenkamp are part of a disciple-making team based in Stellenbosch, South Africa called Kingdom DNA that encourages, educates, and equips followers of Christ. They are passionate about mentoring and discipling believers who are then able to go out and make disciples themselves. They’ve planted churches at numerous locations in and around Stellenbosch, and in recent years their work has expanded into Mozambique, Botswana, and Egypt. In addition to evangelism and discipleship, they also seek to help unify believers of all backgrounds, regularly creating opportunities for Christians to come together for worship and shared encouragement. The Steenkamps have been supported by Southern Hills since 2014. kingdomdna.org
Carladean Thompson, Kenya
Carladean Thompson is a missionary serving the Koma Rock Church of Christ in Nairobi, Kenya. In addition to teaching and leading Bible studies and classes for women and children, she equips and trains others to lead and teach. Her focus is on drawing others into the Lord’s work, and she excels in helping them discover and use the gifts God has given them. The vast majority of people who live and worship near Carladean live in extreme poverty. She works hard, in partnership with the elders of the Koma Rock church, to help provide assistance for those brothers and sisters who are in need. Southern Hills began sponsoring Carladean in 2018.
Matt & Nikki Wallace, Denver
Matt and Nikki Wallace help provide houseless young people in Denver, Colorado with safe, caring relationships and a safe environment to experience the love of God. The ministry they helped create and shape, called Dry Bones, has provided a community of support and transformation for teens and young adults for over 20 years, helping meet emotional, spiritual, and physical needs, as well as providing job training, resource navigation, legal aid, and more. Matt and Nikki, along with the Dry Bones staff, practice the way of Jesus through building ongoing relationships that remind people who often feel invisible that they possess immeasurable worth. The Wallaces have been supported by Southern Hills since 2001. drybonesdenver.org
Our Mission Partners
We use the term “mission partners” to describe those whom we help support, whose primary financial support comes from other places.
Change A Life Ministry
Under the direction of Southern Hills member Tony Mauldin, Change A Life Ministry impacts children who are the poorest of the poor, who live in a slum called Mathare in Nairobi, Kenya. The goal of the ministry is to change one life at a time by providing education, meeting basic needs, and helping children and their families grow in their relationships with Jesus. This dynamic ministry has expanded to include a primary school in Mathare, and a boarding school in Kiserian for older students. calkenya.org
Nathan & Mahsa Elyaar
Nathan and Mahsa Elyaar have planted over 80 house churches in their home country of Iran. After being interrogated and imprisoned in Iran because of their faith, the couple came to the United States as refugees in 2017, yet continue their mission work remotely from Dallas with the support of the Prestoncrest Church of Christ. Today, they mentor and disciple Christians in Iran as their work continues to grow and thrive. kelisanet.com
Christopher & KaSarah Morgan
Christopher, who grew up at Southern Hills, serves as the donor relations manager at The Freedom Story, an organization based in Chiang Rai, Thailand that seeks to prevent and protect vulnerable children from exploitation through providing education, advocating for human rights, and alleviating poverty. KaSarah serves as the children’s minister at the Freedom Church and teaches English at The Adventure English School. thefreedomstory.org
Val & Tatyana Sviontek
Val and Tatyana Sviontek lead a church in Odesa, Ukraine, but their work extends to Messianic Jews in places in Asia, Europe, Africa, and Israel. In addition to leading a church and sharing the gospel, they continue to work tirelessly to assist people in their church and community who have been impacted by the Russian invasion, providing humanitarian assistance to thousands of Ukranians. jewishpartnerinitiative.org
12 local preachers in Ghana
Southern Hills partners with 12 Ghanaian preachers who are strategically placed to preach and evangelize in locations where churches were planted by Southern Hills on previous Let’s Go trips.
Bar Church Abilene
Southern Hills launched Bar Church in March of 2023. Today, it continues to be a sacred space for people who feel out of place at a traditional church. Bar Church, which meets in “His Prayer Room” at Love & Care Ministries, nurtures faith and provides acceptance for people in our community through weekly recovery meetings and worship services.
