global missions

As a church, we at RiverLakes are committed to participating in the fulfillment of the "Great Commission" (Matt. 28:18-20). We understand this to mean the discipling of people in every culture through persuading them to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and gathering them into congregations where they can learn to obey all that Jesus has commanded. This we do while not neglecting to show Christian love through the meeting of other human needs.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Acts 1:8

Prayer for the Nations

Current Emphasis: The Persecuted Church

According to Open Doors, in the last year there were over 365 million Christians around the world suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith. That’s 1 in 7 Christians, worldwide.
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Global Missions Partners

Email James
Email Mary

James and Mary Kamau

Supported Missionary
International Christian Ministries
James and Mary are missionaries on their own continent, having left their home in Kenya to minister with ICM. James joined the organization in 1991 and serves as ICM Director in Tanzania.  He and Mary both serve by discipling and training pastors and lay leaders in the Church.
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Dave Champness

Supported Missionary
International Christian Ministries
As President of ICM, Dave Champness oversees the training and equipping of leaders in 25 countries throughout Africa and the Middle East. Dave’s responsibility is the oversight of ICM/USA as a resource base for the ministry. He mentors leaders in Africa & teaches graduate courses to emerging leaders in Africa & the Middle East.
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David Urquhart

Supported Missionary
Cru
CRU is a worldwide, inter-denominational Christian ministry committed to helping take the gospel of Jesus Christ to all nations.  David is currently spreading the gospel in the Los Angeles area. 
Email Dan

Dan and Devri Wickwire

Supported Missionary
Frontier Alliance
After serving in Turkey for 28 years, they now live in  Baspinar, Lapta, North Cypress ministering with  Frontier Alliance International. their work includes training people to live and work in difficult places, working in the local orphanage, and with the local men and women of the community.
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Sandi Ray

Supported Missionary
The Broom Tree Refuge
The Broom Tree Refuge (TBTR) provides rest and recovery for Christian workers on forty serenely wooded acres in the Ozark Mountains.  Following a needed respite in a secluded cabin in 1989, Sandi and her late husband Mike sensed God’s leading to provide a place of recovery for others in ministry – particularly pastors and missionaries and their families.  With a background in missions and counseling, Sandi is equipped to care for others in need of renewal.  The Rays served as career missionaries with Wycliffe Bible Translators for 27 years. TBTR operates as a non-profit ministry and depends upon private funding.
Email Dave

Dave Washburn

Supported Missionary
Fellowship of Christian Athletes
Dave and his wife Suzanne draw young people to Christ through the influence of athletes and coaches across Kern County.  A former collegiate football player himself, Dave leads Bible studies for local coaches and oversees more than twenty small groups of students both on and around local campuses.  Through Hume Lake Christian Camp he coordinates seven camps each year for students on football, soccer, volleyball and basketball teams.  Over 30,000 Bibles have been distributed to local campuses in Dave’s nine year ministry and hundreds of coaches, athletes and other young people have come to a saving knowledge of Christ.
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Don and Bev Urquhart

Supported Missionary
Cru
The Urquharts reach out to students from around the world through the international arm of Cru called Bridges International. They lead staff in their region while working locally with international students at CSUB.  Both have ministered with Cru since 1975 and Don served in Japan for two years before marrying Bev in 1980.  Married life began for the Urquharts in the heart of L.A. as they trained Cru missionaries, continuing in that work after moving to Bakersfield in 1988.  Don and Bev joined Bridges International in 2004.
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Trent and Vivian Hyatt

Supported Missionary
Cru
Trent and Vivian have impacted Eastern Europe and Russia for the gospel since 1973 when they joined Campus Crusade for Christ.  In 1994, Trent founded IBTS in Budapest, Hungary and directed the ministry for eighteen years.  In 2012 he handed over directorship to his successor and the Hyatts relocated to Dayton, OH.  Trent continues to carry a full teaching load as he “commutes” regularly to Budapest and Eastern Europe and fulfills his duties as Teaching and Research Fellow with IBTS.  He and Vivian both engage in research and writing projects.
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Richard Garcia

Supported Missionary
Cru
Richard Garcia has served Cru since 2018 and currently works to mobilize the Church to live out God's heart for the poor. Richard currently serves as the Cru Inner City Bakersfield City Director. Richard leads the Bakersfield team to help train believers to share their faith, make disciples and mentor others. Operating within a network of 40 area churches, Richard oversees a S.A.Y Yes! Center for children, discipleship programs, Easter Bag programs, Homeless Care Kits and adult development programs to help individuals overcome barriers and find jobs that lead to careers. 
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Michele Moresi

Supported Missionary
Cru
Michele began her career with Cru over thirty years ago in the Hispanic Ministry of Los Angeles.  Today she fulfills an administrative role as an applicant liaison at Cru headquarters in Orlando, FL – a post she has maintained for nearly ten years.  Prior to this she served for sixteen years here in Bakersfield with the cross cultural training ministry of Cru known as Agape International Training (AIT).
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Melanie Elden

Supported Missionary
Wycliffe Bible Translators
Melanie is excited to be involved with Wycliffe's work on two levels. Part of the time she promotes Scripture Use in the mother tongue languages among the indigenous churches in South Sudan. She also serves on teams that equip Africans to be efficient translators of God's Word and effective teachers so that God's Word impacts lives in a powerful way.
Email Jared and Mary Beth

Jared and Mary Beth Dragoun

Endorsed Missionary
Local Church of Lenoir City
Jared and Mary Beth are missionary church-planters in Lenoir City, TN, where they currently lead a small, home-based church. They are passionate about disciple-making in their community and equipping others to do the same. After being sent out from Cornerstone Church (Simi Valley, CA) in 2014 to plant a church in North Hollywood, they developed a love for home-based church ministry. They are currently forming a network of home-based churches who share resources and accountability in order to be fortified, efficient, and easily multiplied (localchurchfellowship.org). They love doing ministry around the dinner table and reaching those who may never enter the doors of a church building.
Supported
Monthly stipend and portion of our end-of-year Christmas Missionary Offering.

Endorsed
Portion of our end-of-year Christmas Missionary Offering.