Missions
The Church doesn’t have a mission. The Mission has a Church.
At Sun Valley Church, we aim to be mission-minded. In an age where “missions” can mean just about anything, we understand that we’ve been saved into the Church for God’s mission.
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To glorify God by making disciples of all the peoples of the world by baptizing and teaching them to live as worshiping, obedient Christ-followers. (Matt 28:18-20; Mark 16:15)
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Everywhere in the world, including where we are right now. (Acts 1:8)
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Everyone who has received God’s mercy through Christ. (1 Peter 2:9)
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Out of appreciation for the unconditional love we’ve received from God (John 3:16; 2 Cor 5:14), the desire to be obedient to Jesus’s command to go (John 20:21), out of sincere concern for those who are lost without Christ (2 Cor 5:20), and for the immeasurable joy that comes from seeing someone turn to Christ for salvation (Luke 15:8-10).
Local Missions
The opportunity to share Christ with those who don’t know Him is all around us – in our city, our neighborhoods, even our own homes! Like every city, Yakima suffers from the hopelessness that comes from not knowing Christ. The mission of each believer at Sun Valley is to share the hope of Christ through evangelizing and making disciples in Yakima.
As Christians, we have been saved and sovereignly gifted and placed in strategic areas to share the Gospel with those around us. Armed with the truth of God’s Word and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we are sent to make disciples of Christ as we go through our day (Matt 28:18-20). Whether on the job, at school, in the home, or through one of our many local affiliate ministries (listed below), we know that while we are on earth, we are called to make Christ known in our city!
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Sacred Road
Sacred Road Ministries was established on the Yakama Reservation by the Pacific Northwest Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America to establish a dynamic, healthy church in the remote town of White Swan. The Sacred Road team reaches out to the community through children’s ministries, student ministries, acts of service and mercy, adult Bible studies, recruiting, hosting and organizing one-week service teams, and meeting weekly as a church: Hope Fellowship.
Opportunities: Weekly mentorships, child sponsorships, donate Wal-Mart gift cards, summer ministry trips.
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Life Choices
Life Choices of Yakima is a non-profit organization of Christians dedicated to loving abortion-vulnerable mothers and their babies, and promoting healthy life decisions. Most of their work is done with helping provide free medical and counseling services to young women with crisis pregnancies in order to provide a safe environment in which to share the hope of Christ in the midst of hardship. Life Choices also does STD testing and shares God’s plan for a healthy sexual relationship in marriage through its Think Twice program in Yakima-area schools.
Opportunities: Mentoring, office help, Think Twice presentations, and more!
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Yakima Union Gospel Mission
The mission statement for the Union Gospel Mission is simple: "YUGM exists to provide Christ-centered rescue, recovery, and restoration to men, women, and children in need."
Sun Valley Church leads worship service monthly, and some of the men from SVC serve full time in ministry there. Small groups have opportunities to serve in the Family Shelter, and we are excited to be able to support and be a part of what God is doing among the homeless of Yakima.
If you are interested in more regular or different kinds of service with the UGM, please contact us and we will get you connected.
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Child Evangelism Fellowship
Child Evangelism Fellowship is a Bible-saturated ministry that has been faithfully devoted to evangelizing boys and girls with the Gospel. As children come to Christ, they are connected with faithful local churches, where they are discipled in their walk with the Lord. This provides an avenue for Gospel ministry to whole families.
CEF has a number of ministries, though the main ones are Good News Club and the 5-Day Club. Good News Clubs happen throughout the year in homes and schools, and members of Sun Valley participate in one of the East Valley Good News Clubs each week. SVC students are also trained to do evangelism through Christian Youth In Action (CYIA) and are active in ministering the Gospel to children.
Opportunities: Good News Club, 5-Day Club, CYIA.
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Love, INC (In the Name of Christ)
Love, INC of Yakima is a Gospel-centered ministry that helps families break out of poverty by ministering the Word of God at the root level of what keeps people mired in brokenness. Through the TEAM mentor program, pantry and clothing ministry, and in other ways, Love INC seeks to spread the glory of Christ where people feel hopeless and desperate, equipping them to walk with the Lord in new patterns of living under His lordship.
Opportunities: Mentorship, pantry, call center, and more!
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Barry Reifel/Fellowship of Christian Athletes
Barry Reifel is a long-time member of Sun Valley Church and is the Director of Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) for Central Washington. As Director, Barry ministers by meeting with coaches, athletes, and sports directors, sharing the Gospel and encouraging faithfulness to Christ "on and off the field!”
Global Missions
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is described as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s messianic hope: “... and in His Name the Gentiles will hope” (Matt 12:21). Hope literally means to expect and wish for something. Thanks be to God, Jesus is not just something hoped for, but the Someone hoped for! The Gospel of God's saving grace in Jesus Christ (Messiah) provides the certainty, security, and redemption that nothing and no one else can - a certainty, security, and salvation that the world and its efforts can never provide. It is a life-changing hope for the world that will only be realized when people hear and accept the Gospel through faith in Christ alone and repentance from sin.
The Church's mission is to share this hope (Matthew 28:18-20). That’s why Sun Valley Church’s global missions ministries focus on sending Gospel partners to plant and support biblical churches among the people groups that are still unreached with the hope of Christ. That doesn’t mean we don’t share Christ’s love by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, housing the homeless, or protecting the weak. It does mean that while we are engaged in those activities, we boldly share the good news of saving grace - because without the Gospel there is no true hope.
Sun Valley Church is grateful that God has set apart a number of faithful families and individuals who "have gone out for the sake of the Name" (3 John 7) from our congregation. We are honored to send and support them in the Gospel work that God is doing, and we seek to be as intentional as possible in doing so with vigor and biblical grounding. For an in-depth view of Sun Valley's theology and approach to missions, download the Philosophy of Missions below.