Kids Hope Participants

There’s something about September that feels more like the start of a new year than January. It might be the ferocity with which the school year is drilled into us, or the school supplies that seem to pop up earlier every year, or the sense that summer is finally coming to San Francisco. Whatever the reason, as we transition back into a schedule of rhythm and routine, this is a great time of year to learn more about how God is working in San Francisco and how you might be involved.

There are a few areas where we are especially in need of volunteers for this ministry year, and if you have time and capacity, we would love to talk to you about getting involved. The first is our County Jail Fellowship. This community of volunteers visits weekly with people in our city’s county jail, worshiping together with men and women who aren’t able to make it to a traditional church service. Our time with those experiencing incarceration - a forgotten, ignored and misunderstood part of our community - extends our church life into the jails through a worship service, personal support and prayer, and the relationships that are formed there often continue once a person is out of jail. For more information, you can contact Melisa Blankenship.

Kids Hope is another part of our church’s involvement in San Francisco that could use your help. It is a mentoring program at El Dorado Elementary School in Visitacion Valley, and volunteering with Kids Hope consists in spending an hour a week with a child who could use a friend and someone who will help them work on their homework, playing games, and building a learning spirit. This is our eighth year partnering with Kids Hope, and it is consistently described as one of the most rewarding and fun volunteer opportunities that City Churchers take part in. Please contact Judy Lim for more information, and the deadline is September 30th for the 2016-17 school year.

Finally, City Church’s children’s ministry is always in need of more teachers and volunteers. There are so many ways you can be involved in children’s ministry, and you can learn more about all of them here. As we combine campuses and move into the fall season, we have more kids in our services than we have in a while, and we need help to make sure that no children fall through the cracks or miss out on having the best possible experience in their ministry year. For more information, contact Barbara Lyon.

We are excited to see you this fall, and hopeful that these will give you some solid ways to get plugged in and serve the city and the church.