Santa Rosa Christian Church's Missions

Emmanuel Ministries–Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

Emmanuel Ministries provides a refuge for families needing a safe shelter, meals, medical and dental care, and education for each child. Our church has supported Emmanuel Children’s Home (formerly known as Hogar de Ninos) 40 of the 50 years it has been in operation.

The home provides hope, love, safety, food, and care for over 100 children annually in one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Every Christmas our church family provides Christmas gifts for each child in the home. In addition, families provide monthly sponsorship for children. JR Young serves on the Board of Directors for this ministry. Learn more about Emmanuel Ministries.

Voz Que Clama Mission–Costa Rica

While the name of the mission may not be familiar to people, the missionaries Hector Rojas and Daniel Salas are known and loved by many. This mission's purpose is to be a bridge of help in their local community. The bridge will connect those who have to those who have little by visiting, hosting visitors who work alongside them, holding special events, and doing works of service.

In the summer of 2008, a number of SRCC teenagers and leaders visited the mission to assist with painting and construction projects. During the 2009-10 school year, Karlita Madrigal came to Santa Rosa from Costa Rica for her senior year of high school at Santa Rosa Christian School. She lived with the Steve Marshall family during the school year.

JR Young and Steve Marshall serve on the Board of Directors for this ministry. We join other churches in Sonoma County in supporting this ministry. Learn more about Voz Que Clama Mission.

Free to Be

Free to Be offers schools and community groups a range of educational peer-taught components for 10-to-18 year old youth. Through workshops, curricula and teen panels offered throughout Northern California, they empower teens with knowledge, tools, motivation and support to make positive life choices, including abstinence until marriage. Their interactive educational components and support activities promote building healthy relationships, making well thought-out decisions, and setting goals for the future.

FTS began in 1992 with a handful of volunteers and a vision to reach the youth of Sonoma County. Hanna Skandera was co-director of F2B at its inception, helping develop the program, writing the curriculum, and securing the original grant funding. Numerous SRCC youth have participated in F2B through the years. Lauretta Lewis is currently serving as Community Outreach Coordinator at Free to Be. Learn more about Free to Be.

Redwood Gospel Mission

The Redwood Gospel Mission ministers to those in need in our community so lives can be transformed. The Mission staff offers a variety of programs including feeding and providing shelter for the homeless. Both men and women are served in separate locations. There is a 12-step residential New Life Recovery Program at the Mission for the men and at both the Rose and the Manna Homes for women. In addition, there are many events throughout the year serving our community.

We have many in our church family who volunteer to work in these various ministry opportunities. Some of the men from the New Life Program attend church with us. The women attend Alexander Valley Christian Fellowship, a sister church. Learn more about Redwood Gospel Mission.

Sonoma County Law Enforcement Chaplaincy Service

The Sonoma County Law Enforcement Chaplaincy Service was founded in 1998. Our own JR Young was in the first class of the Law Enforcement Academy and has been the catalyst for the growth and acceptance of this ministry since its inception. The mission of the Chaplaincy Service is to respond to requests from law enforcement and other first responders throughout Sonoma County and provide immediate emotional support and follow-up care to them and to the members of our community who have suffered tragedy and loss.

The chaplaincy is an interfaith community of compassionate volunteers without religious, political, or legal agendas. Currently, seven members of our church family are actively serving as chaplains monthly. Chaplains Janet Cabezud, Jean Jobs, Cassidy Neumann, James Santana, Sharon Stockham, Laura Wiemeyer, and JR Young are all members of the SRCC family. Learn more about Sonoma County Law Enforcement Chaplaincy Service.

Pregnancy Counseling Center

Pregnancy Counseling Center has been serving Sonoma County since the mid 1980s. It grew from the ache in our own Sandy Cavaliere’s heart when she realized there was no safe place women could turn to when facing an unplanned pregnancy. Thus, PCC grew from being a second telephone line in the Cavaliere home to a group of caring women answering incoming calls 24/7.

Formally organized in 1985, Pregnancy Counseling Center of Sonoma County is now a non-profit corporation with a staff of three and over 50 trained volunteers. Growing from its simple beginning, the Center now includes pregnancy testing, counseling, prenatal medical care, and resource centers to meet the physical and emotional needs of more than 3,000 clients each year. Learn more about Pregnancy Counseling Center.

Together in Christ

Together in Christ is a pastors' and ministry alliance focused on promoting love and unity within the Body of Christ in Sonoma County. Its purpose is to unite the churches in Sonoma County in prayer for the revival of believers and conversion of the lost to the message of hope and salvation in Jesus Christ. Its vision is to answer the prayer of Jesus in John 17 by mobilizing the Body of Christ across Sonoma County in praying, caring and sharing the gospel of God’s kingdom for community transformation.

Santa Rosa Christian Church has participated in TIC since its early beginnings when JR Young and others founded the group. Both Steve Marshall and Harry Skandera help serve on the existing TIC leadership team. Annual community-wide projects include volunteers and food for Redwood Gospel Missions’s Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts, City Kids Festival, Spring Clean, citywide worship services, City Reach Prayer and other larger ministry events. The weekly prayer time for pastors and ministry leaders is hosted by SRCC each Wednesday morning in the Family Room. Learn more about Together in Christ.

Next Step Ministries

NextStep Ministries is a ministry of SRCC that focuses on helping men who are recovering from drug and alcohol addiction to transition back into society. Its first transition home is called The Bridge. The Bridge is a Christ-Centered discipleship house that provides a clean, safe, and sober environment in which men receive the structure, support, and accountability that are so desperately needed in order to achieve a new life in Christ. A unique feature of The Bridge is that it also focuses on family reconciliation, which provides the opportunity for men to have their children for significant periods, including overnight stays. NextStep is currently praying into the possibility of a women and children's home, as well as a house for single men. Please pray for protection and provision for the men, women, and families that are being served by NextStep currently and in the future. www.nextstepbridge.com/

Jeremy Berlin

Jeremy is serving in Bangkok, Thailand with Youth with a Mission (YWAM). The focus of his ministry is the elderly and displaced in the slums of this major Southeast Asian city. In addition to providing humanitarian aid, he assists the elderly by rebuilding their shacks, and often providing safe walkways over the filthy "blackwater" that permeates most of the slum areas.

Jeremy and some fellow workers have started a non-profit called ThaiSong in 2009 which teaches the women in the slum to produce craft items out of discarded plastic bags. He is learning the Thai language so he can be more effective in building relationships and communicating Jesus' love and hope to those he serves. Jeremy's family attended Santa Rosa Christian Church many years ago, but he returned when he was 17 to live with the Rod Wallace family.

Jeremy continues to raise all his own monthly support to minister with Youth with A Mission in Thailand. Learn more about Jeremy Berlin.

Jeana Wiemeyer

Jeana just completed a one-year internship with YWAM in Townsville, Australia. The first half of the year, Jeana served as kitchen administrator for the
very busy base, serving both the permanent staff and all the various students and groups coming through. During one of the particularly busy seasons (over 200 people on base), she was responsible for keeping everyone fed during one of Australia's worst-ever cyclones (i.e. hurricane) that cut power and grounded normal deliveries.

The second half of her internship, Jeana served as Purser on the YWAM Medical Ship in Papua New Guinea. Less than a two-hour plane ride away, Papua New Guinea is Australia's nearest international neighbor, but is still in a very real fight against things like malaria, HIV/AIDS, women dying in childbirth and other health struggles. The ship, which sleeps 50 people, spent six months in Papua New Guinea this year, visiting remote villages and bringing hope through free medical services. As the Purser, Jeana oversaw many of the operational aspects on board like finances, the galley (kitchen), housekeeping, and visas/immigration.
Beginning November 17th, Jeana will be home for six weeks to spend the holidays with her family and friends. As she came to the end of her one- year internship in October, she knew without a doubt that her time in Townsville wasn't over. She has since acquired another visa, this one for two years, and will be serving in Australia and PNG into 2013 and 2014. We can look forward to hearing from Jeana during her visit home.

Jeana continues to need financial support for her room and board and the many extra needs that arise. Jeana is the daughter of Glen & Dawna Wiemeyer. Learn more about Jeana Wiemeyer.