Missions
Loving the World with the Gospel
Having a living faith means that we are committed to loving the world through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Missions is the heartbeat of Riverland Hills. From our home community to the ends of the earth, we desire for all people groups to know and follow Jesus. This is the heart of Jesus’ command to “make disciples of all nations.”
Featured Mission Opportunity
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.
Matthew 28:19-20
A Note From Our Missions Pastor
People often ask me, “What exactly does a missions pastor do?” My answer is this: If a pastor’s job is to get people in the door — worshiping God and studying the Word together — my job is to get them out the door — serving and sharing the gospel of Jesus from their home community to all people groups on earth.
We believe that there are five essential practices in reaching the world for Jesus: Pray, Go, Send, Welcome, and Mobilize. All of our mission efforts touch one or more of these categories and I encourage you to find a place where you fit well. Feel free to contact us with any questions and thank you for your interest in serving with RHMissions.
— Jonathan
Pray
Nothing of eternal value happens apart from prayer! We want to faithfully lift up the needs of ministries and workers that we support through our prayers.
Local
Pray Cola
Pray Cola is dedicated to covering our community in prayer 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The 23rd day of each month is our day to pray, and you can take part by selecting a 30 minute time slot dedicated to praying for the local community.
Bless Every Home
We believe God planted Riverland Hills with the primary purpose of helping transform our neighbors into vibrant, reproducing disciples of Jesus Christ. Would you consider ministering to your neighbors through a long-term, pray-care-share lifestyle?
National
Our local body of believers is connected to the following national initiatives and church planters:
Everlasting Church – Bronx NYC
Graffiti Church – Manhattan NYC
Global Gates – Queens NYC
Steel City Church – Pittsburgh, PA
Grace Works – Anchorage, AK
Freedom Center – Lynch, KY
River Church – Loveland, CO
Arborway Community Church – Boston, MA
Iglesia Bautista Camino de Gracia – Villalba, PR
Mosaic Church – Provo, UT
Midtown Two Notch – Columbia, SC
City of Refuge – Columbia, SC
Contact us for more information.
International
Our local body of believers is connected to the following international missionaries and missions organizations:
UPG = Unreached People Groups
IMB = International Mission Board
Other initials represent missionaries on the field whose names cannot be used.
Sudanese UPGs
(Fertit, Jule, Keiga, Midobi, Tumtum, Zaghawa)
Empower One
South Asian UPGs
L-KW, TH, IMB Journeymen
North African UPGs
AG, IMB Journeyman
Arab UPGs
(Tunisian, Algerian, Libyan, Amazigh)
A & A C, Pioneers
Amazon Basin UPGs
M & N V, World Team
Huallaga Quechua, Peru
Arturo & Jordan, and Felix & Humbelina
Contact us for more information.
Send/Go!
GOing is an essential element of the Great Commission to make disciples of all peoples! We want to be personally involved in gospel outreach by serving locally, nationally, and internationally. At the same time, we understand that not everyone can go everywhere, and so we must also be involved in SENDing gospel messengers to all nations. We want to support those whom God has called to cross-cultural ministry through our finances and other practical resources they might need.
Listed below are some local, national, and international opportunities for you to SEND or GO!
Local Missions Opportunities
WMU has a unique role in the Great Commission by keeping the missions mandate before churches and engaging people of all ages in praying, learning, and doing missions. WMU fulfills this Great Commission responsibility through churchwide emphases and projects, and age-level organizations.
Want to get involved? Fill out our WMU Interest Form
WMU activities include:
- Hosting an annual Ladies’ Night Out event each February.
- Coordinating special offerings to support missions:
- Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions (December)
- Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions (March/April)
- Janie Chapman Offering for SC Missions (September)
- Promoting several churchwide local and state mission projects:
- Health Kits (April)
- Sharing God’s Love Food Drive (July)
- Back to School Bash to help children in need (August)
- Prisoner Packets (November)
WMU Groups:
- Irene Wright Mission Group
- Meets monthly to discuss missions both locally and around the world, and assists with churchwide missions projects. Meetings feature informative mission-related speakers, mission studies, and designated prayer time for missionaries and mission needs.
- Contact Vivian Watson by email watsvm@gmail.com or phone (803) 422.7739
- Sew and Sow
- Conducts projects to make duffle bags for children at Connie Maxwell Children’s Home, quilts for Appalachia, and clothing and other items for children in need in Kenya– working through a Kenyan Baptist Church pastor and directors of a children’s orphanage and school.
- Contact Suzanne Umberger by email jwumberger@sc.rr.com or phone (803) 730.1345
- Lunch Around the World (LAW)
- Participates in ministry projects at local apartment complexes, such as ministry to the elderly and disabled. Organizes the “Back to School Bash” with VBS and school supplies, and a “Birthday Party for Jesus” for children in need around our community.
- Contact Janet Foard by email djfoard@msn.com or phone (803) 476.8564
- Women of His Heart
- Coordinates mission projects for local women in need and organizes the “Adopt a Family” collection for Sistercare.
- Contact Missy Carnaggio by email missycarnaggio@yahoo.com or phone (803) 315.9779
If you’re interested in getting involved with WMU, please fill out our WMU Interest Form or contact WMU Director, Vivian Watson via email watsvm@gmail.com, or Assistant Director, Dianne Dennis at ddennis0918@gmail.com
Heart4Schools is an effort of the South Carolina Baptist Convention to support students and teachers across the state by connecting every local school to a church who will love them and serve them well.
If you are interested in being involved with any of our generosity initiatives with local schools, please connect with Chris Lockwood at chris@riverlandhills.org.
We have teams of volunteers serving weekly and monthly in local jails and prisons, teaching God’s Word, facilitating worship gatherings, and mentoring incarcerated men and women.
If you are interested in serving one of these teams, contact Denny Gibbons at rdennygibbons@bellsouth.net, Henry Martin at henrymartin77@gmail.com, or Kathy Perrich at kathyperrich@bellsouth.net to get involved.
Lighthouse for Life exists to educate and empower individuals and churches to recognize the signs of human trafficking and how best to respond.
Contact Beth White at whiteel@mailbox.sc.edu if you would like to get connected or visit lighthouseforlife.org.
Daybreak works with women, men and families in the Midlands to make healthy, life-giving choices for themselves and their children. If you would like to know more please visit their website:
The Oliver Gospel Mission has been serving Columbia since 1888, providing emergency services, rehabilitation, and transitional programs for people experiencing homelessness and addiction. We partner with OG through regular financial contributions and volunteer ministry opportunities.
For more information, contact Jonathan St.Clair at jonathan@riverlandhills.org.
Providence serves to stabilize the living conditions of dislocated men and encourage them to realize their potential in Jesus Christ.
For more information contact Brenda Sanders at brendas@sc.rr.com.
HomeWorks is a Christ-centered nonprofit providing home repair services to low-income homeowners.
To get connected contact Tom Syfert at tomsyfert@gmail.com.
Family Promise of the Midlands serves families facing homelessness through community-based services of prevention, shelter, and stabilization. We partner with Family Promise through regular financial contributions and occasional volunteer opportunities.
For more information, contact Laura Mohr at mohreduc@gmail.com.
We believe that loving our city is a year-round commitment to advocate for, and serve our neighbors, as we model Christ in our actions and relationships. Our hope is that Love Cola is a gateway for every member of Riverland Hills to live on mission all year long in their communities.
Love Cola Week
Love Cola is the community outreach branch of the Cola Network churches. We typically participate in two to four of these large service events each year. We partner with Love Cola through regular financial contributions and volunteer opportunities to join in with all Love Cola projects. Love Cola Week is the first week of October every year. Registration to join in on a service project will open closer to Love Cola Week, so be looking out for more info about various opportunities!
Sharing God’s Love provides families in our area with food, clothing, financial, and spiritual support.
Contact Shair Selke at sharingodslove1@aol.com to get involved.
The Connie Maxwell House provides a safe, secure, and loving environment for at-risk children.
Contact Allison Johnson at allisonjohnson725@gmail.com to get connected.
The mission of Game Changers is to change lives, regardless of one’s financial or social status, through inspiring hope, and reflecting the love of God. Game Changers provides life changing experiences to underserved youth in the Midlands.
For more information or to get involved, visit their website at gamechangerssc.org or contact Steve Ware at columbiasretreat@gmail.com.
Riverland Hills is creating a ministry to support foster and adoptive families. We want to serve, support, and connect foster and adoptive families to our church and other resources.
If you’d like to get involved please contact Connie Gilliam at conniegilliam@gmail.com or fill out our interest form.
National
We believe that one church can’t reach a city or a region by itself. That is why, at Riverland Hills, we are passionate about multiplying the church! Our desire is to see DNA for church multiplication infused in church planters across the United States. We have the privilege of supporting several church planting partnerships every year.
For more information on how you can participate in serving one of our church planting partners, please email Chris Lockwood at chris@riverlandhills.org.
Domestic Mission Trips
New York, NY
March 12-18, 2024
Adults 18+ (14+ with parent)
Lynch, KY
May 4-11, 2024
New York, NY
June 20-25, 2024
High School Juniors and Seniors
Anchorage, AK
July 21-27, 2024
Adults 18+ (14+ with parent)
Clarkston, GA
SEND Relief Center
SEND Relief Volunteer Opportunities
Salt Lake City, UT
May, 2024 TBD
College and Young Adults
International
God is making his name great among the nations and he has called all Christians to take part in his plan. If you sense God calling you to GO to a specific place or people group nationally or internationally, let’s talk! We want to help you on your journey to the nations and have partnered with several mission organizations to help SEND you wherever God leads. We work closely with the North American Mission Board and the International Mission Board through the Southern Baptist Convention, as well as other faith-based mission agencies, to arrange short-term trips, internships or gap years, and even long-term missionary careers.
GO
Possible Teams Being Formed:
Azerbaijan
South Asia
Northeast Africa
Feel free to contact us if you’re interested!
SEND
Operation Christmas Child
Annually, before Thanksgiving, we collect Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts—filled with fun toys, school supplies, and hygiene items—and send them around the world to tangibly demonstrate God’s love and bring joy to a child in need! Boxes can be picked up from the church and packed in person from mid-October through mid-November. This collection is now closed; thank you to everyone who participated in person or online!
Empower One
Empower One exists to train and support local church leaders to plant churches in the hard places of Africa.
https://empower-one.org/
Compassion International
Compassion supports vulnerable children all around the world by partnering with churches in their area. When you sponsor a child, you care for and encourage them through prayer, letter writing and financial support. Become a sponsor by visiting their website:
https://www.compassion.com/
Pioneers
A & A C
World Team
M & N V
Empower One
Empower One exists to train and support local church leaders to plant churches in the hard places of Africa.
https://empower-one.org/
Compassion International
Compassion supports vulnerable children all around the world by partnering with churches in their area. When you sponsor a child, you care for and encourage them through prayer, letter writing and financial support. Become a sponsor by visiting their website:
https://www.compassion.com/
Pioneers
A & A C
World Team
M & N V
Operation Christmas Child
Annually, before Thanksgiving, we collect Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts—filled with fun toys, school supplies, and hygiene items—and send them around the world to tangibly demonstrate God’s love and bring joy to a child in need! Boxes can be picked up from the church and packed in person from mid-October through mid-November. You can also build a box virtually until December 11 through the donation link below!
Build a Shoebox Online
Welcome
God is bringing the nations to us! Thousands of internationals from unreached people groups now reside in our own cities and neighborhoods. We want to welcome them into our lives and show them a living example of Jesus’ love and concern for all people.
English as a Second Language (ESL) Ministry serves internationals and refugees through conversation groups. Foreign language ability is not required.
If you would like to partner in welcoming people through conversation, contact Andrea Wegener at andrea@wegenermedia.com.
Every Thursday at 12:00 PM, the USC BCM hosts a luncheon for international college students in the Columbia area. This free meal provides them a chance to connect with fellow international students, American students, and other local adults. The meal is hosted in the BCM building which is located at 819 Main St. Columbia, SC (Next to Domino’s Pizza).
Contact Adam Venters at adamventers@scbaptist.org to get connected.
Mobilize (Learn)
The harvest needs more workers! We want to continually awaken people to God’s heart for the nations and our role in His global redemptive plan through mission education and training.
Contact us below for more information on how you can be involved. We can connect you with local workshops and opportunities to learn more about what God is doing around the world.
Perspectives
Perspectives is a 15-week experience that will change the way you view the world around you. In it, you will have your eyes opened to the heart and purpose of God, and how you can take part in His work all over the world – from the urban streets of America to the rain forest and deserts of distant lands. A fantastic array of pastors, theologians, international missiologists and mobilizers will challenge and inspire you to see just how big God is, and how much He desires that all might come to know Him. Whether you are single, married, a student, a homemaker, a professional, or retired, Perspectives will bless and challenge your life and direction.
Course Offerings
Irmo Class – East Lake Community Church | Thursdays, January 11 – April 25 | 6:00-9:00 PM | Learn More
*All Riverland Hills members qualify for a 50% scholarship
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