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Some overseas mission charities enlist your help by showing you a sickly child, or the plate of food that a dollar or so can send to a poor village in the likes of remote Africa.

Want to give more? Maybe much more? Consider the Rafiki Foundation, which offers you a chance to fund, among other things, a medical clinic for $33,000, a cottage for a mom and 10 children for $41,000, or even an entire high school for $195,000.

"We want local people to be as informed as possible about what we do and what they can help us do," said Vivian Mink, the Roanoke-area volunteer representative of Rafiki, a Christian nonprofit based in Florida.

The group is holding an information-sharing conference at Faith Alliance Church at 7505 Barrens Road from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. July 11, and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 12.

Mink said the public is invited to the conference to meet Rafiki missionaries from several countries who will provide firsthand accounts of specific activities that have been funded of late, or need to be.

"We are in these countries because we have been invited there," Mink said.

Rafiki has or plans missions in such countries as Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda and Zambia.

One cause that Rafiki doesn't embrace is the adoption by Westerners of needy children who are taken out of their native countries.

Instead, according to the organization's Web site, "we will raise and educate them in their home countries so that they provide the much needed leadership and help in their own culture."

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The church library, if there is one, usually takes a back seat to such facilities as the gymnasium and kitchen, among other things, when it comes to the attention of congregational leadership.

Look around your church's library and you'll probably find well-worn books that were donated by families whose children outgrew them.

But First Presbyterian Church in Roanoke is taking a deeper look at what its library can and should be.

The church's Web site is currently asking members to participate in a detailed survey that takes little for granted. For example, it asks: Is the library "important to the mission of the church?"

Other questions ask opinions on who the library is more important to, adults or children?

And there's a detailed checklist that offers members a chance to prioritize the library's contents. Selections include Christian fiction, Christian humor and even travel guides.

This column will ask First Presbyterian for the results of this survey when they're compiled and examine the implications.

If you have opinions about the relevancy of your church's library, please let us know.

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If you bought a $5 ticket to the pancake breakfast that Green Ridge Presbyterian Church is serving this morning at the Applebee's restaurant at 4942 Valley View Blvd., you can maximize the church's fundraising effort by not going.

The Rev. Pattie Sewell explained that Applebee's provides a pancake chef and its facility in return for $2 out of every ticket purchased by people who actually attend.

If you bought a ticket and decide to go back to bed, or eat in, Green Ridge Presbyterian gets to keep the entire $5.

Pancakes are served from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.; so just this once you needn't feel guilty about skipping a church event -- if you paid in advance.

You're encouraged to comment about religion-related issues on Roanoke.com's blog version of this column, "Focus on Faith."