Ridgecrest Baptist Church actively supports Operation Christmas Child, a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse. Each year, the adults and youth of Ridgecrest work together to purchase toys and supplies to pack into shoe boxes for worldwide distribution.

Once all the items are purchased, the boxes are packed and labeled to be taken to a local collection center. During collection week, the youth of Ridgecrest and their leaders volunteer one night of service at the collection center. There they receive the shoeboxes dropped off by other churches and load them into shipping cartons to be taken to regional processing centers.

During the distribution of shoe boxes collected for 2019, one of the boxes sent by Ridgecrest ended up in Burundi, Africa. There the son of a local Christian evangelist received the box and showed his father what was inside. That box included contact information for Ridgecrest, so the father wrote a thank-you email for sending the box.

That email began a conversation between the pastor of Ridgecrest and the local evangelist about how Ridgecrest could help further the Gospel ministry in Burundi. Since then, Ridgecrest has purchased Bibles for five local prayer groups meeting in homes. The Bibles were printed in the Kirundi language spoken by the people in Burundi.

After providing Bibles, Ridgecrest provided sanitation supplies to help the prayer groups remain safe and healthy during COVID-19. Ridgecrest also provided a computer to help the evangelist perform administrative tasks and keep track of the growing congregation. Soon thereafter the conversation turned to the idea of helping the evangelist plant a church in Burundi.

After much discussion and planning, Ridgecrest agreed to fund the building of two meeting halls in two areas where most of the people were gathering for prayer. Assisted by the Kenyan pastor of Africa Lighthouse Baptist Temple in Barboursville, Virginia, Ridgecrest began the process of funding and overseeing the construction project.

On March 21st, 2021, the first church service was held at the partly finished church building. There were 70 people in attendance and the congregation enjoyed a fellowship meal after the service. They praised God for the provision of a spacious meeting place that was adequate for everyone who had previously been meeting in someone’s home.