What is Northridge Beyond?
Beyond is about rolling up our sleeves and engaging deeply in our community and around our world. We will go beyond the walls of our church with the Gospel to strengthen families, end poverty, and seek justice.
STRENGTHEN FAMILIES
We want to see children protected and families supported so they can flourish in God’s original design.
END POVERTY
We want to see effective Gospel-centered community development that leads to an end of physical and spiritual poverty.
SEEK JUSTICE
We want to fight unjust systems and stand with the vulnerable and marginalized like Jesus always did.
A Church That Cares Beyond Its Walls
We desire to be a church that goes beyond just meeting together once a week. We want to be active in our community and around the world. We often say that we desire to strengthen families, seek justice, and end poverty in the name of the gospel. But what do those things mean, and how do we go about that practically? Find out in this message.
Check out these episodes of the Northridge Podcast A Little Better where we explored the ideas, history, and details of our Beyond initiatives.
Beyond Stories
Many families at Northridge sponsor children through Compassion in the Central American country of Honduras. This year’s gifts enabled Compassion to aid in updating a local childhood center.
Throughout the month of May, our Webster Campus did a campaign called “Loving Our Neighbors,” where they partnered with our Beyond partner, Caring Choices. This organization empowers women and families facing unexpected pregnancies in Rochester and Webster.
One of our Beyond partners, Agape International Missions (AIM), a justice focused organization in Cambodia that actively works against sex trafficking, recently rescued three adult women and one girl from sex trafficking. AIM is currently caring for all of these survivors in various ways to help them heal from these traumatic events.
In May, Northridge’s Beyond Director, Michelle Gerringer, had the opportunity to visit a church near Lilongwe, Malawi. The church is an active partner with HOPE International and Tearfund, which guide American churches to provide financial support for vulnerable families in the communities. They create groups that provide each family with a safe place to save their finances, small loans, and a supportive community. One of the families that HOPE International and Tearfund were able to bless was the Philimon family.
Regina is a young woman living in Malawi who faced shame and isolation after discovering she was pregnant while still unmarried. She had very little support before finding a Savings Group to join. Now, she has a community to help and has been able to mend the relationship with her family. She has been able to provide for herself and her baby and can once again dream of the future.
Hanna Telela, a woman in southern Malawi, found a deeper faith in God with the help of a Savings Group through Hope International.
Our Partners
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Global Lift Collective
Global Lift Collective is a group of Kingdom-minded churches and non-profit partners that champion churches to abolish extreme poverty and unleash the God-given potential of all people. They are committed to seeing every local church that wants to play a key role in transforming its community have the resources, know-how, and network of relationships needed.
In practical implementation, this looks like non-profit organizations collaborating to equip churches in things like savings groups, agricultural projects, water access, and bible training.
The local church is God’s primary answer to a broken and hurting world and is His preferred plan to bring physical, spiritual, economic, and social redemption to His people.
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441 Ministries Beechwood
partners with local churches and other like-minded organizations to bring hope, healing, and holistic development through the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Beechwood neighborhood of Rochester. This is accomplished through the New City Cafe and Roastery, Children’s Ministry, Teen Club & Mentoring, Foodlink’s Curbside Market, Beechwood Community Garden, and other programs.
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Agape International Missions (AIM)
The goal of Agape International Missions (AIM) is to rescue, restore and reintegrate survivors of sex trafficking through Christ’s love and Gospel. They prevent sex trafficking by protecting, equipping and empowering vulnerable and exploited communities, reducing demand and equipping the local church to do the same worldwide. This is accomplished by freeing girls who have been trafficked and training them to be social workers at their restoration home, artisans at their employment center, members of their swat team, and teachers in their schools.
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The Hub 585: CarePortal
In every community, there are children and families at a point of crisis who need help. CarePortal is a technology platform that connects vulnerable children and families to people who have something to give. The Northridge Church CarePortal team responds to needs vetted by Monroe County caseworkers to provide support to foster families and families in crisis. The CarePortal is coordinated in Monroe County through TheHub585.
If you are interested in learning more about our CarePortal team and how to join, check out our online Northridge CarePortal Orientation.
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David’s Refuge
Provides respite, resources, and support to parents and guardians of children with special needs or life-threatening medical conditions where they will be refreshed, restored, and renewed. They do this through retreat weekends and special community events because they want caregivers to know they are not alone, what they do matters, and God and this community love them.
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Compassion International
Compassion International is working to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name through their “three-cord” approach. They are a Christ-centered “love thy neighbor” ministry, helping the poorest of the poor, the children in greatest need, without ulterior motive. They are church-based because local churches are catalysts for community change, optimizing the mutual respect, resources and common purpose critical in caring for children. And they child-focused, blending physical, social, economic and spiritual care together to help children transcend what is often a generational legacy of poverty.
Want to sponsor a child? Visit the Compassion website today!
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Convoy of Hope
Convoy of Hope is our domestic relief partner, providing timely and effective relief when hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and other crises threaten lives. By linking arms with Convoy of Hope to provide disaster relief, hurting people receive the help and strength they need to get back on their feet. Convoy is committed to helping as much as possible for as long as possible. They are a humanitarian, faith-based organization on a mission to feed the hungry and bring help and hope to communities that need it most.
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Foodlink
The mission of Foodlink is to leverage the power of food to end hunger and build healthier communities. They believe that the fight against hunger and the fight against poverty is the same and envision a future in which food is recognized as a human right, and every person can feed themselves and their families with dignity. Foodlink mobilizes a diverse network of community partners to address the symptoms and root causes of food insecurity in Allegany, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne, Wyoming, and Yates counties.
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World Relief Western New York
World Relief Western New York (formerly Refuge Rochester) empowers the Church of Rochester to embrace local refugees as a way of welcoming Jesus. They aim to cultivate meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships between Christians and refugees in our community. With your help, we can continue helping immigrants in vulnerable situations in the United States find hope and rebuild their lives, creating communities of love and welcome that we all feel proud to be a part of. Consider purchasing from their Amazon wishlist items needed by those families settling in the Rochester area.
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CompassCare Pregnancy Services
CompassCare Pregnancy Services has been Western New York’s trusted source for reproductive healthcare for over 35 years. CompassCare operates professional medical offices in Albany, Buffalo, and Rochester, with staff dedicated to serving women facing unplanned pregnancies by transforming their fear into confidence. Their doctors and nurses are committed to providing ethical and confidential services to women in a caring environment. Their services include Diagnostic Pregnancy Services and Pre-Termination Evaluations, STD Testing and Treatment, and Abortion Pill Reversal.
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RISE Community School 106
RISE Community School 106 is right down Ridge Road near Kodak, less than a mile from our Rochester Campus. It serves pre-K through 6th grade as a part of the Rochester City School District. They have been named the official partner school of Northridge Church through the City of Rochester’s Faith in Action program.