90 Years of Love
It all started on June 18, 1925, as a small group of people with great faith in God stepped forward and established our church. They did not know what God had in mind for the next 90 years but they knew He was calling them to establish a church and begin reaching out to the people of Riverside. They responded to the opportunity God gave them to love others.
Now, over 90 years later, we can see across the decades the incredible opportunities God has given us to love people. Our church’s name and location have changed multiple times, but the heart is the same. For 90 years He has challenged us to extend friendship to our neighbors, to put our arm around those who are struggling, and to bring hope to those who have great need. God has called us to invest in missionaries and organizations who are reaching people in the most remote parts of the world, and to be faithful in sharing the Gospel as God’s love story for all time and all people.
1925
2016
Below are just a few highlights of The Grove’s involvement in our community and worldwide.
We are better together.
Baptism
We believe baptism is a powerful symbol signifying the end of our old life without belief, and the beginning of a new way to live with our newfound belief and salvation in Jesus.
Baptism is also a powerful public declaration that we belong to Jesus.
In 2015 we baptized over 200 people and this year we are seeing many more come to follow Jesus and be baptized.
“having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.”
Colossians 2:12 (NIV)
Global Outreach
The Grove supports over 80 global partners (missionaries) in 27 countries around the world.
Many of these are dedicated partners working in distant and difficult places to bring Jesus to people who will never otherwise hear of His gift of eternal life. Some are located in restricted access countries and risk everything to bring the gospel message.
One example of a project includes Ugandan church planting through our partners at Gulu Bible Community Church. The Grove is providing the resources to plant new churches by purchasing land in strategic Northern Ugandan cities.
This is just one of many projects The Grove is directly involved with worldwide.
Mobile Medical Clinic
The Grove has purchased a medically outfitted RV and is partnering with Health to Hope to go to the people in our own backyard who can’t afford basic healthcare. The RV contains a fully operational dentist chair, doctor’s office, and many medical supplies for use.
The people in our community matter to God and they matter to us. No one should be left out when it comes to their personal health.
The clinic has already hit the road! If you’re a nurse, doctor, or other healthcare provider please contact us if you’d like to know more about volunteering.
Protecting Women & Children
The Grove is working with an organization called Remember Nhu to provide a home for 15 children in Thailand who are at risk of being sold into the sex trade industry.
We have already sent teams to meet with the organization, the children, and others involved in Thailand and will be sending more soon.
Locally, we have partnered with Rebirth Homes to help provide a home for women to escape human trafficking and the sex trade right here in the Inland Empire to be a safe place to help restore their lives with food, shelter, job training, and emotional/spiritual support.
Rescuing Women in the I.E.
The Grove is partnering with Rebirth Homes to help provide a house in Riverside where women can escape from the world of human trafficking.
The Inland Empire is known as a national gateway for the sex trade industry where teens are recruited and entrapped and then relocated to other parts of the country with no support and little hope.
A home in Riverside to provide food, shelter, healing, job training, restoration to family members, and redemption in Christ would provide great hope for the women who need to be rescued.
Preserving Life
The Grove is partnering with Riverside Life Services (RLS) to purchase an ultrasound machine for RLS’s mobile clinic that provides free, confidential medical and counseling services to women who are making decisions about unplanned pregnancies.
The impact of this ministry is needed now more than ever as our culture continues to devalue the life of the unborn through abortion.
Improving Life Skills
The Grove is partnering with Mayor Rusty Bailey and his Eastside Summer Work Program for youth who need summer jobs.
When The Grove asked the Mayor how we could be involved in our city in a significant way, he proposed that we fund this summer job program.
Opportunities are rare for these teens to acquire work for the summer months that provide experience, productivity, and income.
This is a strategic way to show God’s love while standing side by side with our neighbors and providing opportunities that would not exist otherwise.
Connecting People to The Grove
Bridge events are created to be fun, easy introductions for our friends and neighbors to The Grove. Our summer movie nights, Water Mania, and the big outdoor concert at the end of Summer Splash week are all created intentionally for people who have never been on our campus.
We send invitations to the whole neighborhood and encourage our church family to invite others.
Through these bridge events we also encourage people to come to a weekend service and check out The Grove. Dozens of families have responded this year and found The Grove to be a great fit as their church home.
We want to continue to provide bridge events.
Purchasing of Land for Grove Planted Churches in Uganda
In 2014 and 2015, The Grove successfully planted two churches in Northern Uganda with the goal of confronting the southward spread of Islam through the continent.
Both Anaka and Lira Bible Community Churches are vibrant and growing while meeting in rented buildings.
In order for these churches to be self-sustained blessings to their communities, it is crucial for them to own land.
On these properties, the churches will be able to serve their developing districts for generations as well as have space to create sustainable enterprises that would help to support the church.
Helping Struggling Churches Get Better
Often The Grove can come alongside of a small church to encourage and assist them in ways that make all the difference. A modest investment of resources, and often the work of some of our volunteers, provides the church the lift it needs to take steps forward and become healthy again.
We know it pleases God when we work together as His church.
Nursing Library in Egypt
A teaching hospital has been established by Dr. David and Becky Thompson in Egypt to meet the growing medical needs of the people in that region. A library for the nursing students is essential and one way The Grove is assisting the Thompsons.
Nepal Shelter for Children
Throughout Nepal orphaned or abandoned children are regularly taken by the Buddhist priests and placed in monasteries where they will learn and serve as a Buddhist for the rest of their life.
Our national worker ministers throughout Nepal and plans to purchase a house in Chepuwa where he and his team can provide for up to 30 children.
It is his vision to love them, care for their needs, lead them to Jesus, and disciple them as believers to serve the persecuted church. The Grove will be one of several churches working together on this project in 2016.
Children’s Ministry
We want to continue to keep our children safe and improve how they experience God on our campus.
Updating our nursery rooms, adding play equipment to the north playground, improving lighting and sound in Room B100, and adding TVs and DVD players to the nursery classrooms are at the top of the list.
Expanding Soccer Fields with Sod and Lights
Our children’s soccer leagues are bursting at the seams and attracting many families to our church for the first time. Adding space that can be used as practice fields would help immensely.
Fencing Project Along Grove Community
For safety reasons, we installed the white fence at the southeast end of our campus this year to prevent people from being injured on the slope. It also brought a finished look to our campus and added much to the neighborhood. We would like to extend the fence along Grove Community Drive to complete the project.
Carts for Sports Ministry and Parking & Safety Ministries
We need to replace two golf carts. They have served us well for the past nine years and been essential to preparing our fields during the week and to setting up the parking lots each weekend. With a campus of over 40 acres the carts are necessary to get people and equipment to the right places to keep things running effectively.
Worship Center Audio/Visual Equipment
In 2015 we were able to replace some critical sound and lighting equipment. We must continue to replace aging equipment in order to communicate effectively. Replacing cameras and video equipment is the next step.
Patio Shade Structures
With shade, the patio area becomes suitable for gatherings, events, and overflow for weekend services. It also provides a great environment for those attending baptisms.
Launching People From The Grove
This year we are sending David and Taylor Torna as full-time global partners from The Grove to Southeast Asia. God has called them to serve in the largest population of Muslim people around the world. He has given them a desire to reach these people in spite of the difficulty of language, culture, and a built-in rejection of Christianity. The Tornas are carrying the precious gift of the Gospel, God’s love story, to people who might never hear it otherwise. The Love Offering will be used to provide some startup funds for their work.
Community Outreach to Perris
God’s love for children in Perris who need food, clothing, and the Gospel.
