At Riverside Baptist Church, we are very active in the mission field. We follow the JJSU model (Judea, Jerusalem, Samaria, Uttermost parts of the Earth – Acts 1:8). In other words, we do missions at every level: local, regional, national, and global (LRNG). Several of our members have done short-term mission work outside the US, in places like the Philippines, Indonesia, China, and Africa. We also support long-term missionaries financially through the International Mission Board, and send our own mission teams to places like West Virginia and New York City.
Below you can find out more about some of the missions areas that RBC is involved in.
West Virginia
Riverside first got involved with McDowell County, West Virginia in the early 2000’s, taking supplies to the area and helping the people there recover from a major flood. However, our West Virginia mission efforts really started to kick into high gear in late 2012. McDowell County is one of the most poverty-stricken areas in the state, and has all of the problems that come along with extreme poverty. RBC mission teams make several trips to the area each year, delivering food boxes, hygiene items, school supplies, and donated furniture and clothing. Since 2013, we have held a Vacation Bible School each year during the summer. This VBS is for all ages, from infants through adulthood. Through VBS and our other missions, we have formed long-lasting relationships with the people in the area, and we love to go there to spread the love and message of Jesus Christ in a place that badly needs to hear it.
New York City
Our New York ministry started in December of 2013 when a team traveled 700 miles to Brooklyn to do mission work with Park Slope Community Church. We returned to Park Slope again in the summer of 2014 and 2015. In 2015, we also did mission work with Mosaic Baptist Church, located in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. We continued to work with Mosaic in 2016 through 2019. We also began working with The First Church of the Brethren in Sunset Park during those trips. As part of our mission work in NYC, we have delivered lunches to the homeless, shared the Gospel with people at prayer stations, handed out free drinks and literature to help promote our host churches, and washed windows for businesses in Brooklyn as an act of kindness to the community. We’ve also ministered to children through a balloon ministry, and in 2017 we started a special outreach ministry to the NYPD. We hope to return to New York and expand our ministries there soon.
Men’s Ministry – Ramp Building
The RBC Men’s Ministry, along with other Baptist Men of Haywood County, regularly goes out into the community to build entrance ramps for those who need them. RBC has many skilled carpenters who contribute to this ministry, some on an almost weekly basis. The Men’s Ministry has literally built hundreds of ramps all over the county, and they have been recognized for their service multiple times by various organizations.
