MISSION BEYOND

There are various opportunities for serving beyond the boundaries of our community of faith. Serving the local community, the region and the world is a significant part of the DNA of our church. Connect with others by serving in local and global ministries focused on Children in Crisis, Relational Evangelism, Poverty and Homelessness, and Disaster Relief.


For more information, contact Jill Okimoto.

To reserve meeting or ministry space at the Saint Matthew campus, please contact Kathy Frattini to make arrangements.

POVERTY & HOMELESSNESS


  • SAINT MATTHEW TRINITY CREW

    MONDAYS | 12-1:30PM | 1271 s cALIFORNIA BLVD

    Our mission is to "Love Our Neighbor as We Love Ourselves." If you are loved you have hope. If you have hope, you can love yourself. Join us in providing lunch, dignity, and affection to the less fortunate. We plan each lunch, buy groceries, prepare and serve food, and most important- eat with and create relationships with the homeless.


    Please contact Bob Johnston for more information.

  • SUMMER FARMERS MARKET

    SUNDAYS | JULY-AUGUST | smlc FELLOWSHIP HALL

    Volunteers at the Farmers Market have raised tens of thousands of dollars for Monument Crisis Center and Loaves and Fishes for more than 15 years. Help with market set up, clean up, and sales by donating fruits, vegetables, baked goods, and art or by sponsoring the corn.


    Please contact Toshiko Barrett for more information.

  • habitat for humanity

    EAST BAY/SILICON VALLEY

    3RD SATURDAYS | 8:30AM-4PM

    Seeking to put God's love into action, Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities, and hope. Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley revitalizes neighborhoods, builds affordable and sustainable housing solutions, and empowers families through successful home ownership.


    As partners with Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley, SMLC members and friends volunteer monthly to help build new homes for low-income families- putting justice and faith into action. 


    Those interested in helping build, go to Saint Matthew's dedicated volunteer page. If building isn't your thing, check out other service opportunities at the RESTORE ministry of Habitat for Humanity.


    Please contact Scott Etzel for more information.

  • monument crisis center

    fridays throughout the year

    There are many opportunities to serve at Monument Crisis Center, one being the Seniors Program, "Senior Moments." Saint Matthew volunteers provide lunch and entertainment on scheduled Fridays throughout the year. We welcome volunteers to help set up, clean up, socialize, provide bingo prizes, and entertainment. 


    Please contact Toshiko Barrett for more information.

  • loaves and fishes

    4th fridays | 9am-1pm | 835 ferry st, martinez

    The mission of Loaves and Fishes is to provide community-based food programs and partner services that focus on basic needs.


    Volunteers from Saint Matthew prepare and serve 100-200 meals to those in need at the Loaves and Fishes Martinez Dining Room. 


    Please contact Norman Prange for more information.

  • derek silva center

    six holiday meals | san francisco

    People living with disabling HIV/AIDS can turn to Derek Silva Center for low-coast, long-term housing and support services. The program provides subsidized housing to its residents, which allows them to focus on medical treatments and relevant mental health issues without the threat of homelessness.


    Each year, Saint Matthew members and friends provide five holiday lunches and one dinner at the Derek Silva Center. The holiday meals are for Valentine's Day, Easter, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas dinner. 


    We are seeking volunteers to cook a dish and/or help set up, serve, and clean up at each events.


    Please contact Cheryl Jennings for more information.

CHILDREN IN CRISIS


  • layette ministry

    TUESDAY AFTER MOTHER'S DAY

    Our mission is to provide low-income mothers a complete layette package of newborn clothing, handmade blankets, and diapers. For some recipients, these items may be the only new or handmade gifts their children will receive to celebrate their birth.


    Every Mother's Day, the Tuesday Morning Service Group organizes a church-wide collection, gathering new clothing, diapers, hand-made quilts and blankets (from Piecemakers Quilters and Knitting Ministries). The completed layette kids are assembled and then delivered to County Hospital in Martinez.


    We are seeking volunteers to help assemble the kits the first Tuesday after Mother's Day. Donations toward the layette kits are accepted anytime.


    Please contact Barbara Groenveld for more information.

  • MONUMENT literacy project

    wednesdays | 2-3pm | 1146 meadow ln, concord

    Encouraging a love of learning and fostering the school success of low-income children who reside at Diablo Mobile Lodge. Providing homework help and school readiness practices is helpful to their hard-working parents that may not be fully literate in English.


    Our group provides tutoring, math, and language arts practice throughout the school year. In addition, we have a library for children in Preschool-5th grade. 


    No teaching experience necessary. We are seeking volunteers with a heart for children who are willing to spend time giving valuable language experience. While being bi-lingual is not necessary, it is a plus, since many of the children at Diablo Mobile Lodge are learning English as a second language and are nearly a grade behind due to language barriers.


    Please contact Marty Campbell or Lin Ashlock for more information.

  • yeah! berkeley

    2nd fridays | dinner

    YEAH's mission is to supposed young adults (18-24) in Berkeley who are currently homeless. They provide basic necessities, offer case management and counseling, education options, employment, housing, and opportunities for meaningful community involvement. 


    The Tuesday Women's Service Group enthusiastically supports this program with donations of meals and much needed supplies. Pizza Night Dinners happen on the 2nd Friday of every month, serving about 35 young adults.


    We are seeking volunteers to donate toward the pizza, make salad, dessert, provide juice and/or help with the dinner in Berkeley.


    Please contact Barbara Groenvald or Cheryl Jennings for more information.

  • love-a-child

    thursdays | 9:30am-mid-afternoon | bay point

    The Love-A-Child facility located in Bay Point, provides food and housing for 70-80 women (and their children) in crisis. Saint Matthew and other volunteers perform maintenance and repair activities every week.


    Do you have Handy Man skills, a passion to help support the needs of those less fortunate, and enjoy the fellowship of others who are like-minded? "Come and See" (John 1:39) They need housing products to maintain their 24/7 ministries. This includes: cleaning supplies, linens, paper products, bath and beauty supplies, and food items. 


    Please contact Bob Fairbanks for more information.

  • children's rescue mission

    july mission trip | teupasenti, honduras

    Children's Rescue Mission is an inter-denominational, faith-based organization, providing humanitarian relief, education, and a message of empowerment to the people of the Teupasenti region of Southeastern Honduras.


    Founded in 1999 in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch, the first mission trip then was funded by a private $5,000 donation to provide medical aid to the children. The Saint Matthew CRM team has made annual mission trips to support their mission to make a difference in the lives of the children and villagers of Teupasenti.


    Join the Saint Matthew CRM team for monthly meetings or join us on the July mission trip.


    Please contact Mike & Cheryl Sigler for more information.

  • WINGS AS EAGLES MINISTRIES

    yearly mission trips

    Wings as Eagles Ministries (WAEM) was founded in 1995, for the stated purpose of relief for the Lakota children on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota. WAEM efforts are directed towards establishing children shelters, feeding the hungry, and spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ. WAEM has worked closely with the Arapaho, Shoshone, Blackfoot, and Lakota (Sioux) tribes.


    Their goal is to help assist with native children's life-giving needs and development of these nations. WAEM established The Dream Center on Pine Ridge for the Lakota youth. WAEM has delivered semi-loads of food and relief to native reservations in the NW regions of the US. WAEM is currently expanding its territories for Christ into the NE region of the US with expanded Dream Centers.


    Please contact Mike Basil for more information.

RELATIONAL EVANGELISM


  • young life russia

    quarterly meetings

    Saint Matthew has had a relationship with Young Life in the former Soviet Union for the past 15 years. We have developed a partnership with the city of Krasnodar where there is a vibrant ministry to orphans, street kids, and the disabled. Every year we have hosted visiting leaders and supported specific aspects of their ministry through yearly special offerings. 15 Partners in Mission have taken trips to the area and more trips are in the planning stages.


    We are seeking volunteers to: 

    1. Join the YLR support team for quarterly meetings.

    2. Host leaders from the FSU during visits to Saint Matthew

    3. Pen Pals: "Adopt" a leader through social media and develop a friendship.

    Please contact Lin & Dennis Ashlock for more information.

  • Young life marin

    spring banquet

    Marin County is one of the most expensive communities in the US, with one of the lowest percentages of church attending fundraisers or connecting Christian friends living in Marin with their mission.


    We invite Saint Matthew Partners in Mission to attend or host a table with your friends at our annual Spring Banquet to raise support for Young Life Marin.


    Please contact Kevin Morgan or Shea Morgan for more information.

  • ombudsman contra costa

    training involved

    Ombudsman Services sees aging as a natural and normal state of life- deserving of respect and dignity. We understand that aging has its own set of unique challenges and difficulties that may include moving into a long-term care facility, and that it's our job to empower these residents and help to protect their right to personal choice and safety. 


    Saint Matthew Partners in Mission serve on the board of directors and in the field for Ombudsman. Those in the field, advocate on behalf of facility residents by monitoring quality of care. In some cases, we work with families to find suitable placement for their loved ones, in addition to many other services to protect their safety and health care needs.


    Please contact Barbara Bassett for more information.

  • meals on wheels

    fridays | bay point

    We enhance the lives of older adults in Contra Costa County who have a full range of needs by providing coordinated care that enables older adults to live independently and with dignity for as long as possible.


    Saint Matthew volunteers deliver meals to house-bound elderly clients living in Bay Point, midday every Friday.


    We are seeking additional drivers to deliver meals to residences one Friday a month.


    Please contact Nancy Raniere for more information.

  • kairos prison ministry

    Kairos Prison Ministry shares the transforming love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ to impact the hearts and lives of incarcerated men, women, and youth, as well as their families, to become loving and productive citizens of their communities.


    Saint Matthew volunteers are involved in Kairos "Inside" (ministering to the incarcerated) and Kairos "Outside" (ministering to the families of the incarcerated). If you have ever been interested in seeing the Holy Spirit at work behind prison walls, then join a Kairos team. And listen, listen; love, love.


    You can support Kairos in a number of ways:

    1. Join a team and actually bring Jesus to the prisoners.
    2. Ongoing "prayer and share" small group sessions inside the prison walls.
    3. Financial support to this worthwhile ministry.
    Please contact John Kelly for more information.

  • el puente - monument

    monday dinners | driving | christmas store

    Our hope is to reach out to adolescents and families in the Monument community. We live, serve, and ministry IN the community. We have weekly gatherings for fun, food, and for kids to experience and hear the gospel. We also have college trips, camps, and lots of time living life with teens.


    Saint Matthew has supported El Puente through service and donations to projects, trips, dinners, and transportation over the years. Volunteers help with Monday night dinners served to approximately 30 high school students. Others father for certain events like the Christmas Store, events in the park, or driving students home from activities. 


    We are seeking volunteers to make a meal every 6 weeks, drive students home from activities, or help with the Christmas Store.


    Please contact Pat & Donna Noonan for more information.

  • CARING HANDS

    1-3 HOURS PER WEEK


    Caring Hands Volunteer Caregivers Program helps create one-on-one matches between caring volunteers and seniors over 60, helping them remain independent at home as long as possible by providing free, non-medical assistance.


    Saint Matthew Partners in Mission are invited to help seniors in the community by becoming a friend. The Caring Hands application and Volunteer Training ensure that every volunteer feels prepared and supported in this special relationship.


    We're seeking volunteers for about 1-3 hours a week to visit a local senior, offering companionship and assistance with shopping, errands, or social outings, while enabling the care receiver to remain at home for as long as safely possible, and alleviate loneliness and isolation. 


    Please contact Grala Warren for more information.