We believe we have a God given Mission to impact the world locally and globally with Christ’s love. We have developed and maintained these relationships as long term commitments. Each of these present a unique scenario that allows us to empower the Riverside Family to use their gifts to serve and to see the beauty in all of God’s work.
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:16 – 18
Local Engagement
We have been partnering with Sugarland Elementary for the last 15 years. We want to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our communities and strive to do it in a way that meets the needs of the community. We try to walk along side students and their families as well as the staff of Sugarland Elementary. Our response focuses on the needs of this community through teacher appreciation activities, food drives, work days at the school, Christmas support, summer camp activities and community gatherings.
“BackPacks” is a weekly ministry at Sugarland Elementary packing food for 300 students who face food insecurity. The weekly bags help provide students with food over a weekend. Generally this requires one and half hour of time and you don’t need to attend Riverside to get involved. Adults, high school students and local service organizations are welcome. We coordinate the schedule via sign up genius. If you would like to participate EMAIL us for more information.
Feed a Student is a larger food effort to help students during long holiday breaks in the Winter and Spring. We strive to provide two meals per day for a family to have over these longer breaks. There are various ways to help: Ordering and coordinating food delivery, sorting the food, organizing delivery of the food to the school and financial donations. If you would like more information about Feed a Student EMAIL us for more information.
Adopt a Family allows us to help families during the Christmas season with their Christmas wish lists; grocery and gas cards, a new coat, are just a few possibilities. Sugarland Elementary identifies families that would be best served with this support. This is an anonymous process and we strive to respect those recipients and only reflect generosity. If you would like to help make Christmas a joyous time for someone else, we start in November. We are able to pair family size within your budget and interest. Email us and we will place you in contact with our Riverside Coordinator.
Sonrise Camp is an opportunity for the Riverside family to take Jesus into the local community through our version of vacation bible school. We host this free camp in the Sugarland Community during the summer and enjoy a week of worship, games, skits, bible stories and making new friends. We generally host about 300 kids and 150 volunteers. The week is exciting and full of energy.
Riverside is invested in participating with God in the creation of a new worshiping community in Lucketts Virginia. Lucketts is a rural area with residents spread out over long distances or set apart in small subdivisions. Faith Chapel was a church that was established in 1885 but closed a few years ago. The community continued to show interest in the Faith Chapel property and when we organized a May 2022 workday to clean up and make repairs, some 40+ volunteers showed up to assist. Encouraged to turn Faith Chapel into a Community Center, we hired Amanda Vela, a Lucketts resident and food pantry volunteer, to manage and promote the building for community use. We see a longing for meaningful community and for ways people can get connected. We believe the Lucketts area is ripe for a different approach to gathering community and also a desire to form church in a new way. We pray and trust that it will be the beginning of a Spirit-led, transformational change in this community.
Global Engagement
Lunch for the Soul: While immigration is a hot topic in our current culture, we believe God loves the world including the alien who resides with us. We are honored to share worship, fellowship and a hot meal with all of our neighbors. It is a way for us to Be the Church in these uncertain times and walk alongside others who are struggling. We are meeting at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Herndon on Wednesdays at 11am. If you are interested in cooking, serving food and eating with us once a month, let us know! Questions? Email us.
Kenya Starlight Partnership (KSP) is a relationship between Riverside, Good Shepherd Church in Nairobi, and the Starlight Farmers Cooperative Society in the Mau Summit region of Kenya. While the partnership initially focused on conflict resolution in the wake of Kenya’s post-election violence in 2008-09, today KSP supports potato and dairy farmers in their efforts to improve farming techniques, create cost-effective cooperative marketing, and develop jobs. As a result, standards of living have improved: more children have been able to attend school and more families can afford basic necessities.
The partnership is working to address new areas of impact such as climate resilient agriculture and next generation leadership. Starlight has been recognized for its governance and effectiveness by the Kenyan government and international development organizations. Recently, SNV, a Dutch non-profit, offered Starlight a matching grant for the successful purchase of a tractor that helps farmers adapt to the changing climate they are experiencing. The mechanization effort has encouraged other farmers, women and a younger generation to participate in the Starlight Cooperative.
We support this project through the employment of a Kenyan Project Manager who works to coordinate resources, training, funding and conflict resolution. We also partnership with Good Shepherd to continue to encourage local pastors in the region. We also host a prayer team that pray for these efforts on a regular basis. If you would like to be apart of this team email us.
