Make Him Known

Local and Global Outreach

Serve your neighbors in Kent or stand behind mission partners on the other side of the world.

Serve Locally Support Missions

 In Kent and Beyond

What Outreach Looks Like

Riverwood Chapel in Kent, Ohio is part of this community. The church does not exist for itself. It exists to bring the love of Jesus into schools, neighborhoods, campuses, and city spaces across Kent and Portage County.

That same mission stretches across the globe. Riverwood partners with missionaries and ministries around the world through financial support, prayer, and trips that put you in the room with the people doing the work.

Whether you serve locally or support someone globally, you are living out the "Make Him Known" part of the mission.

Right Where You Live

Local Outreach

Riverwood is not just a church in Kent — it is part of Kent. The goal is to be woven into the life of this city, bringing the name of Jesus into real needs through hands-on service and long-term partnerships.

Food Pantry

When: Fridays, 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM

The food pantry is a choice pantry, meaning guests shop for themselves rather than receiving pre-packaged bags. Families in Kent and Portage County are invited to come pick up food every 30 days. Volunteers keep it running, and every bag that goes out carries the practical love of Jesus with it. Donations can be dropped off using the cart in the office airlock during the week or in the center airlock on Sunday mornings. Food tags are available at the Ministry Information Counter in the foyer on the first and second Sundays of the month.

There is also an option to shop directly from the Food Pantry's Amazon Wish List. Use this link to shop from the Amazon Wish List! All items will be shipped directly to the Riverwood office. Please schedule all deliveries Mon - Fri, 8 am - 4:30 pm.

A woman in a green shirt and glasses is standing behind a table with cardboard boxes and talking to a small group of people in a room. The room appears to be a volunteer or community center, with boxes and supplies on the table.
Sign Up to Serve
A young girl with glasses and braided hair kneeling on grass while measuring and marking a wooden plank with a pencil and carpenter's square outdoors, with a blue house, stairs, and a gray air conditioning unit in the background.

Community Partnerships

Riverwood partners with local organizations to serve families and neighbors across Kent and Portage County. These partnerships are ongoing relationships built on showing up consistently and bringing the love of Jesus to people where they are.

Faithful Servant Care Center — A Christian-based health care organization providing quality urgent health care services at no cost to the uninsured in the Greater Akron area.

Akron Pregnancy Services — Support and services for women and families in crisis pregnancies, including material, physical, and spiritual assistance. Its sister organization Eva provides no-cost pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, and education on life options.

Shepherd's House of Portage County — A non-profit organization providing shelter, support, and resources for individuals facing homelessness and crisis situations.

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Volunteer Opportunities

Every outreach effort runs on people who show up. If you want to serve your community and put the mission of Jesus into action, sign up below.

To the Ends of the Earth

Global Outreach

The mission of Jesus reaches further than Kent. Riverwood Chapel supports missionaries and ministry partners around the world through prayer, financial giving, and mission trips.

These partners are people Riverwood knows by name. The church supports them financially, prays for them regularly, and stays connected to what God is doing through their work. They are an extension of the same mission that drives everything here.

Global Ministry Partners

Riverwood Chapel supports the following missionaries and ministry partners around the world through prayer, financial giving, and ongoing relationship.

Brad & Sara — Serving in a security-sensitive area in the Muslim world. Since 1995, they have joined their calling to serve the North Caucasus Peoples of Russia, working toward every one of the 45 Caucasus language groups and 1,000 villages having a chance to respond to the message of Jesus.

Riley & Alissa Brookings — Serving with World Team in Paris, France. They met through Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU) at Ohio University where they both did short-term trips to France. They arrived in France in 2015 with their son Aiden.

Andrea & Blerta Clemente — Serving with CRU/Agape Italia in Rome. Andrea is from southern Italy and Blerta is originally from Albania. Together they serve full-time to evangelize and disciple students.

Del Rey Ministries — Serving in the sugar cane villages in the Dominican Republic. Del Rey Ministries exists to build vibrant, self-sustaining, Christ-centered communities through a team of local Dominican and Haitian pastors partnered with American pastors.

John & Jane Doe — Serving in a security-sensitive area in North Africa. After training and working with international students in Northeast Ohio, they moved to North Africa in 2018 where they currently live with their four sons.

Jenny Haver — Serving with Missionary Maintenance Service Aviation (MMS) in Ohio. Jenny grew up in Stow and was a member of Riverwood before moving away. She completed her aircraft mechanic's certifications in 2017 and serves as a project leader and supervisor.

Dan & Jen — Serving with Greater Europe Mission in Czech Republic. Through more than five years of ministry in Central Florida, God opened a door to work in central Europe with GEM. They have three kids.

Dale & Jillian Liff — Serving with Missionary Maintenance Service Aviation (MMS) in Ohio. They came to know Jesus in their early 30s and soon after began attending Riverwood. Dale's years of experience in electronics equipped him for troubleshooting and repairing airplane avionics systems.

PJ & Lizzy — Serving with Beyond in South Asia with their two children. They have ministered with Beyond for 17 years and serve a Tibetan people group called the Tazig people living in the Himalayan mountains.

Glenn & Erin Niedergall — Serving with China Outreach Ministries at Kent State. God called them to China in 2013. After serving at universities in Beijing and then North Carolina State, God relocated them to Kent State in April 2018.

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Mission Trips

Mission trips put you on the ground with global partners. You serve alongside them, encourage them, and see Jesus at work in a context outside your own. Trips are planned throughout the year and open to anyone ready to go.

Group of smiling people on a bus, some wearing green shirts with 'South Dakota' written on them, taking a selfie together.
Contact Jarrod Williams

Rooted Since 1991

Rooted Since 1991

Modern living room corner with a black-framed glass fireplace built into a black vertical slatted wall, a marble side table, a dark sofa, and a light-colored rug.

The gospel moves when the church moves. Every meal served, every partnership built, and every missionary supported is the love of Jesus going where it is needed most.

The People Leading Outreach

Meet the Team

There Is a Place for You in This

Get Involved This Week

You do not need a plane ticket to live on mission. Start by serving your neighbor in Kent, sign up to volunteer, and let Jesus use your hands and your time. If global missions is on your heart, reach out to Jim Bossler and find out what is next.

Sign Up to Serve Contact Jarrod About Missions