OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD
Collection Week: November 18 - 25
The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God's love to children in need around the world. The main way we do this is by providing a shoebox full of Christmas gifts for kids who may not otherwise receive one. Beyond these gifts, these children also hear the good news of Jesus and are taken through the "Greatest Journey" discipleship course . Along with donating a shoebox of gifts, we could also use help processing and packing the boxes since Ridgepoint is a regional collection center.
GIVING TREE
Starting Sunday, November 24, we will have a special Christmas tree setup in our Commons with ornaments ready for you to take home. Each ornament has an item for you to purchase to help us support one of our community impact partners.
NOTE: The gifts have a specific deadline, so please check the dates as you choose your ornaments.
Here are the organizations we're supporting this year:
NOTE: The gifts have a specific deadline, so please check the dates as you choose your ornaments.
Here are the organizations we're supporting this year:
- Lighthouse Community Church: purchasing toys for their annual toy sale (deadline December 8)
- After-School Bible Clubs: providing games for each child who attends the Bible Club at Cessna Elementary (deadline December 8)
- Downtown Breakfast: donating money to purchase practical gifts for our under-resourced breakfast guests (available December 8 - 15)
THE BIG OFFERING
Every year around Thanksgiving, we give away 100% of a weekly offering outside of our budget to make an impact on our city and around the world. This year's Big Offering will be on Sunday, November 24.
This year we're excited to partner with these great projects:
This year we're excited to partner with these great projects:
- Jesus Loves Wichita. Last year our church purchased a few billboards around our city with a simple message: Jesus Loves Wichita. In last year's Big Offering, we invited you to apply for funds so you could go out into the city to bless your neighbors and strengthen our community through acts of service and generosity. Last year we funded 69 unique projects, and we think Wichita is better off because of it. We loved the project so much that we decided to do it again this year! Fill out an application and join us as we aim to show Wichita the love of Jesus in real and tangible ways.
- HopeNet. Wichita continues to see a growing number of people suffering from homelessness, incarceration, and addiction. While each case is unique, most of these individuals have common denominators of mental illness and poverty. HopeNet provides counseling services and training through their BridgesICT and Getting Ahead classes to help break the cycles of poverty by addressing the root causes. Our funds will help launch a new Getting Ahead class to serve the most impoverished areas of Wichita.
- Lifeline Global Ministries. This faith-based ministry focuses on transforming the lives of incarcerated parents by equipping them to become godly fathers and mothers. Their mission is to build a legacy of faith within families that breaks the cycle of incarceration through Malachi Dads (program for dads) and Hannah's Gift (program for moms). Our gift will specifically sponsor a Spanish video curriculum that will be utilized in 40 states in country, state, and federal prisons.
Smaller amounts will also go toward:
- ICOMB. Ridgepoint is proudly part of a global family of Mennonite Brethren churches in 22 countries. Our faith is lived out with a global perspective as we build global community and understanding from church leaders around the world. A portion of this year's offering will support costs of bringing biblical training to MB leaders and pastors in Uganda, Thailand, Kyrgyzstan, Costa Rica, and Mozambique.
- Foundation For His Ministry. FFHM is a children's home and mission in Mexico that our church has supported and sent teams to for many years. They recently added to their facility by building a much-needed daycare center. In order to safely serve even more children, they need to build and remodel more bathrooms, so our offering will fund that need so they can continue to serve vulnerable, single-parent families with quality, Christian childcare.
Give toward these projects online between November 18 - 30, (select ‘Big Offering’ from the drop-down menu), or by designating a check to the Big Offering and mailing it in or dropping it in an offering box at the back of the Worship Center.