Annual Christmas event

For several years, we have collected shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child.  These shoe boxes are sent to Samaritan's Purse which in turn ships them overseas to many needy children.  Some items included in each shoe box are school supplies, small toys, and items for personal hygiene.

People interested in helping meet in November to pack each shoe box. They are then taken to a delivery point for shipping. Financial donations are also needed for the project as it costs $10 to ship each shoebox to its final destination.

Because of our West Coast location, our shoeboxes tend to be shipped to the Philippines, although our 100 shoeboxes from 2020 went to an undisclosed region of an unreached people group (less than 3% of population is Christian). If you pay your $10 shipping costs online through Samaritan's Purse, you will receive a scannable code which should be attached to your shoebox. It will be connected to your email. Operation Christmas Child will then send you an email later to let you know where your shoebox was sent.

Our 2023 shoeboxes were sent to the Philippines and Madagascar.

Throughout the year the church sends special offerings to help missions.  We participate in sending offerings for:

Lottie Moon Christmas Offering in December (helps mission work overseas--international missions)

Annie Armstrong Easter Offering starting a few weeks before Easter (helps mission work within North America)

CMO in September (California Mission Offering...helping mission work here in our own State)

Mission: Dignity Sunday the last week of June (to assist retired pastors and missionaries and their spouses/widows)

World Hunger Sunday the second Sunday of October (sponsored by the North American Mission Board for feeding the hungry in North America)

Coachella Valley Rescue Mission in Indio throughout the year as needs are constantly changing. Donated items can be left in the church lobby or dropped off at the mission at 47-470 Van Buren.

Although each of these has a designated time period when we collect, any offerings given during the year and designated towards a specific mission project are sent entirely towards that purpose.  It is through these special offerings that the Southern Baptist mission programs operate, funding and supplying the needs of our missionaries wherever they might be.

We also support a missionary in Central America. "Alex" (Vernick Pleitez)​ is an evangelist and community service leader there. He currently is working in Guatemala and El Salvador.

There is also a container in the lobby marked "Pennies for Mission Projects" where you can drop off loose change. The container will be emptied each time we are collecting for a major mission project and the money added to what has been collected through the tithing and offerings box.