Missions

 

Missionaries

It has been a wonderful and long-standing tradition to provide substantial financial support for missions’ outreach locally, nationally, and around the globe. We believe, and have seen, that God truly blesses this tenderhearted generosity towards sharing the good news of Jesus Christ!

To illustrate, just a couple of examples: As the war in Ukraine heated up, our church family raised funds to help several churches there to purchase food supplies, many of whom have become followers of Christ.

Scott & Ruthie Clark, serving with Wycliffe Bible Translators in Africa, were instrumental in providing God's word in regional languages of the Sahel Zone.

Recently, Life Plan engaged in Pro Life and family counseling in SW Michigan.

Our board activities include communicating with our missionaries and setting up visits, informing our congregation of needs, and prepare the annual budget for missions. We may plan short-term missions’ trips in the near future.

Oakridge has been sending and supporting domestic and overseas missionaries since our inception. We are always seeking to provide new ways for the Oakridge family to get involved with missions.

We currently support:

 
 

Operation Christmas Child

Operation Christmas Child is a sub-ministry of Franklin Graham’s Samaritans Purse. It started out in our children’s ministry to involve them in serving other children in other parts of the world. It soon grew to the whole congregation!

This ministry is about presenting the gospel through a shoebox packed with treasures for children. They each receive a gift of a shoebox and then the gospel can be explained as they realize what it means to receive a gift. How can they understand that Jesus is God’s gift to us if they’ve never received one?

Each fall we have a “packing party”. They in turn are shipped all over the world to orphanages and schools in countries that need the gospel.

Throughout the year we collect items for packing. School supplies, hygiene supplies, toys, beanie babies, soccer balls, etc… and every 5th Sunday we do a service project by preparing items for packing or actually making items.

Anyone and everyone can be involved in OCC because many hands are needed. Whether your gift is shopping, sewing, crafting, organizing, or just helping to pack the boxes, we need you!

White Cross

White Cross has partnered with Cameroon Baptist Convention. Churches from the United States and Canada take part in this effort.

At Oakridge, we concentrate our efforts in making bandages for missionaries in Cameroon. We take sheets and cut square bandages or roll long bandages to be used in the hospital there. In each long-rolled bandage a Bible verse is included as a way for the doctor or nurse to talk to the patient about Jesus.

In our shipments, we sometimes include sets of sheets, Bibles, eye glasses etc. We want to make sure what we send is in good condition and worth the costs of shipping.

While speaking with the missionaries they always stress how grateful they are for the items that are sent to them.

White Cross is open to anyone who wants to come! It is a time of doing work for the Lord and fellowship for those who attend.

This is an important ministry and outreach to those less fortunate.