Serve | Bridges Church

Serve Our Neighbors

DO JUSTICE,

ACT WITH MERCY,

AND WALK HUMBLY WITH GOD.

Micah 6:8

At Bridges Church, we want our service to make a difference. We believe that God has the power to transform lives and communities, and that God wants to work with us to make that happen.

We want to show God's love to our neighbors through our service, but we also want to receive God's love from our neighbor as well. We are trying to build relationships - bridges - with people around us.

We are trying to keep it simple and focus on a few relationships and projects, but we encourage everyone at Bridges to find their own service projects that match the passion God has placed on their hearts.

Based on the bible verse from Micah 6:8, we have justice and mercy projects. JUSTICE tries to address systemic problems that affect a lot of people, and MERCY works with individuals to meet personal needs.

Mercy - Local

LOCAL PARTNER: HOPE RESTORES

Jesus calls us to help our neighbors in need. Bridges Church works with our neighbors to meet the needs they identify for themselves by partnering with local groups such as Hope Restores.

We collect personal care items such as toilet paper and dish soap, as well as funds for replacing driver's licenses and birth certificates so people can get housing and jobs.

2021 #GivingTuesday Fundraiser: We raised $720 to pay for personal documents at Hope Restores.

2020 #GivingTuesday Fundraiser: We raised over $1200 for the Black Empowerment Fund at the La Crosse Community Foundation.

Mercy - International

PARTNERS: KIVA.ORG, WWBIC.org

Bridges Church has a team on Kiva.org where we fund loans for people in Wisconsin and around the world working towards financial sustainability. WWBIC has a local office that helps people develop financial stability through business plan development and loan funding, and offers loans through the Kiva.org website.

Our members take turns choosing loan recipients, and we watch as they succeed in completing their development projects and repaying their loans. Individuals can set up their own loan accounts as well and join the Bridges Church Team.

Click here for more information on our Loan Project.

Click here to see our loans at Kiva.org.

Justice Partners

We work with two local nonprofits to advance justice issues in our local community: the Waking Up White Multi-Cultural Diversity project and the 7 Rivers LGBTQ Center.

We attend PrideFest, and offer spiritual support to our LGBTQ neighbors who have often been rejected by other faith communities.

We were a sponsor for the December 2021 White Privilege Symposium, and gave $2000 to buy books for the Regional Read of "Waking Up White" by Debbie Irving. We are looking for new projects for 2022 and beyond to help our community grow as a welcoming and affirming neighborhood for people of color and LGBTQ people.