The mission of the Apostolic Faith organization is to bring the message of the Gospel to those who do not know Christ, so outreach endeavors have played an important role in the Portland headquarters church since its founding.

Literature Outreach

The distribution of Gospel literature is an outreach method in which many participate on an ongoing basis. Free tracts, magazines, and invitational flyers are available in the church narthex, and congregation members are encouraged to take a supply with them to give out whenever they have an opportunity. Old and young alike avail themselves of this opportunity for personal evangelism--over 80 percent of our congregation indicated on a recent survey that they have personally given out some type of Gospel literature. On occasion, teams of young people from the church do neighborhood canvassing. Literature is also regularly distributed in conjunction with other types of outreach ministries, such as at meetings in correctional institutions and hospitals.

Prison work

For more than ninety years, workers have taken the Gospel to men and women incarcerated behind the walls of correctional institutions. In 1907, when the founder of the Apostolic Faith work, Florence Crawford, came to Portland, she visited the sheriff at the Multnomah County jail and asked permission to hold services there. He told her, “You do not know what you are asking. We have at least twelve murderers behind bars here.” She answered, “I do know what I am talking about. I have conducted meetings in the Los Angeles County jail where there were twenty-five or thirty murderers at a time behind the bars. You can call the sheriff in Los Angeles if you wish.” He said, “You go upstairs and make arrangements with the jailer for some meetings.” Since that time, church members have regularly held services in correctional institutions throughout the area.

Selected groups who visit these institutions include a minister, musicians, singers, and other Christian workers. Each service is a musical program interspersed with personal testimonies telling of the deliverance these people found when they surrendered their lives to God. The service ends with a brief message from the Word of God, and then inmates have an opportunity to give prayer requests. These are brought for prayer to the church members who gather in a prayer room, which is located behind the sanctuary, before every church service.

These efforts have been rewarding. Men and women have been saved, and truly delivered from evil habits and behaviors that had bound them for years. Converted prisoners live clean and honest lives, and are witnesses before their fellow prisoners of the change that has taken place within their hearts.

Juvenile Detention Homes

Workers from the Portland congregation also hold services at juvenile correctional institutions in the local area. Twice each month, groups of four to six adults hold informal group discussions with youths ranging in age from ten to seventeen, who are residents at the Donald E. Long Home in Portland. Currently, about five small group sessions are held at each visit. Topics ranging from God’s love to how to receive salvation are discussed. Often one or two of the youths want some one-on-one talk time, or indicate their desire to pray. The session is closed with prayer, but before workers leave, tracts and Light of Hope magazines are distributed to those who are interested. Most of these troubled young people ask to be remembered in prayer.

Seamen Work

Bringing the Gospel to those who “go down to the sea in ships” (Psalm 107:23) has been an outreach of the Portland Apostolic Faith Church for decades. It started back in 1913 when a lone man made his way on foot along the waterfront, visiting the old windjammers tied up there, and inviting the men on board to the services. Since then, workers have brought thousands of merchant seamen representing over seventy nationalities into the church services.

Some of these visitors return each time their ship docks in Portland. The effect of their visits extends far beyond the contacts made on board the ship. Many of these men take Gospel literature to their families. They are also encouraged to leave names of family and friends, and letters are written to them. As a result, thousands are presented with the message of salvation.

The seamen work was the starting point for the Apostolic Faith work in Korea, which now includes seven established congregations. Members of seamen’s families are still active members in all of these churches. One seaman who was saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Spirit in his visits to Apostolic Faith churches along the West Coast is now a pastor of an Apostolic Faith branch church in the Philippines. One of the men in Portland who regularly visits the ships and invites men to church, was himself a seaman who came to the Lord as a result of this ministry.

Benevolent Outreach

Members of the Portland church family participate in an ongoing benevolent outreach by collecting and distributing food and household supplies to needy families. A list of suggested supplies is posted on bulletin boards around the church, and people make donations as they feel led, leaving them at the church at a designated drop-off point. During the Christmas holiday season, a Giving Tree provides an opportunity for church members to anonymously provide Christmas gifts for children in need. Hundreds of children have benefited through this program since its inception.

Hospital and Retirement Home Meetings

Motivated by the love of God, teams of volunteer workers, including musicians and singers, have been carrying the Gospel of comfort and cheer to the sick and afflicted for many years. They make dozens of visitations to hospitals, convalescent homes, and retirement centers in Portland and the surrounding area each month. The programs are graciously received and genuinely appreciated by attendants and superintendents, as well as by the guests.