Local & Global Outreach
Caring for People in Our Communities and Around the World
Whether it's through lending our neighbor a helping hand, assisting a local organization, or spreading the love and message of Jesus Christ around our communities, we strive to show our friends and neighbors what a relationship with Jesus Christ looks like and invite them on the journey with us. After all, we care about the people we live and work with! We hope to reach out to them in such a way that they become curious about what Jesus is all about and begin to seek a loving relationship with Him as a result. Below are some of the community outreaches that the churches of the Driftless Ministries take part in. If you would like to become a part of what we are doing, feel free to reach out to us.
Community Care Ministries
Our churches participate in a wide variety of ministries to care for the people in our communities. When we see a need, we try our best to act! Some of these ministries include: creating Baskets of Love to welcome new neighbors or the arrival of a new baby, collecting Toys for Tots, hosting free Community Breakfasts to simply give people a chance to build relationships, and offering support to families during times of crisis.
Youth Ministries
Our Vacation Bible School program invites children from around the region to come and learn about Christ and His sacrifice for us in a safe and fun environment each summer. Each program is uniquely designed with fun themes, lessons, and activities that will bring children into a loving relationship with the Lord. Head over to our Vacation Bible School page to learn more about our upcoming Vacation Bible School programs this summer.
The Retreat and New Hope Methodist Churches, in conjunction with Divine Providence, also actively support several Youth Activities throughout the year. These youth activities are generally hosted at the Retreat Community Center on Saturday mornings and offer area youth an opportunity to have fun with their friends in a safe environment, and maybe learn something about Jesus along the way.
Food Pantry
We are home to the New Hope Food Pantry which is open to the public every Wednesday, 5 - 6:30 p.m. and Thursday, 9 - 11 a.m. All who are in need are welcome. Our churches support the pantry through volunteers and donations from various events held throughout the year. To learn more about the New Hope Food Pantry or to find out how you can assist in the outreach, check out their page on our website.
In addition to supporting our own food pantry, we are also proud to help support the Living Faith Food Pantry in Viroqua through donations and volunteers.
Local School Outreach
We recognize that our youth are our future so we make a point to invest in their education every chance we get. With our churches spread across two separate school districts, each of our congregations focuses on the schools that are in their local area. We are proud to support both the De Soto and Viroqua Area School Districts in a variety of ways including providing school supplies, warm clothing for the children, milk money, funds for books, and more.
Crafting Hands Ministries
With a love of crafting in their hearts, many individuals in our churches come together throughout the year for days of crafting fun. They bring together people from around the community and beyond to create beautiful works of various crafts. The creations are then used to bless others in the community, whether through donations to benefit raffles, Quilts of Valor, "fire quilts", welcome baskets, shut-in "thinking of you" gifts, donations to local nursing homes and assisted living facilities, so on and so forth. The list goes on and on. If you have a love, or even a beginner's interest of crafts and are interested in joining one of our groups in their outreach, feel free to visit our Crafting Hands page to learn more information. You can also check our community calendar for the next group meeting to get involved!
Adopt-a-Highway Stewardship
God has blessed us with a beautiful area in which to grow and live. However, it is our job to take care of it! As part of our job as stewards of our home, the New Hope and Retreat Methodist Churches have adopted a 3.5-mile stretch of Wisconsin State Highway 82 between Retreat and Red Mound. Each year, volunteers from the church work to pick up litter and debris along this route and they invite others, including area youth to participate with them. For helping out, High School students can gain community service hours that go towards completing their graduation requirement! For more information on how to participate in our next clean-up, head over to our Serve page.
A Safe Place for All Groups
We often make our fellowship halls available to other organizations such as local 4-H clubs and cemetery associations for the purpose of hosting meetings or other events. If your group is interested in how you can reserve the use of one of our fellowship halls, please visit our Facility Use page.
Midwest Mission Distribution Center
Each year, our churches donate numerous items and kits to the Midwest Mission Distribution Center (MMDC), located in Pawnee, IL. The MMDC is a non-profit disaster relief organization whose mission is to compassionately help God's people in need locally, nationally, and around the world and to offer a center to fulfill the call for service to our neighbors in Christ's name. One hundred percent (100%) of their funding comes from private donors, so any donations received by MMDC are put to use helping those in need.
More Outreach
Throughout the year, we offer additional outreach opportunities to the communities we serve, such as prayer vigils, special dinners, funeral luncheons, and other various mission projects. To serve in these outreaches or see other volunteer opportunities, head over to our Serve page, or contact our office.