what is impact?
Simply stated, impACT is an innovative way to get New Life out of our church campus and into our community. We want to bless our community and world by serving its people in practical ways. Because it transcends all cultural barriers, love is our greatest language, and impACT gives us ready and convenient ways to speak this language fluently by investing our hearts, talents, and time in others.
For additional questions, you can download our ImpACT FAQ's.
what role does impact play in sonoma county?
Volunteering is a very highly held value by the people of Sonoma County. At New Life, we support and affirm that value which calls us to live for purposes outside of our own comfort, convenience, and pleasure. impACT is designed to build a very strong bridge between the people of New Life and the people-serving causes within our community and world. Our hope is that we can also serve as a role model for other churches to begin building their bridges as well.
how do we curate our partner causes?
It’s clear from a reading of His life that Jesus focused His time and energies on three great causes — those which spread the good news of His Kingdom, those which served and elevated the marginalized and oppressed, and those which relieved human suffering. Our Partner Causes have been curated to reflect a balance among all three of these. Additionally, they have been curated to make sure their leadership works with integrity, values its volunteers, and provides a healthy and structured work environment for them.
meet our partner causes
We are excited to introduce you to the many organizations we have partnered with to impact the communities of Sonoma County and beyond.
mentor me petaluma
Mentoring, at its core, guarantees young people that there is someone who cares about them, assures them they are not alone in dealing with day-to-day challenges, and makes them feel like they matter. Research confirms that quality mentoring relationships have powerful positive effects on young people in a variety of personal, academic, and professional situations.
Ultimately, mentoring connects a young person to personal growth and development, and social and economic opportunity. As a result, the community becomes more cohesive with these cross-generational and often cross-cultural mentoring relationships. Yet one in three young people will grow up without this critical asset.
MMP currently has a list of young people needing a mentor. A caring heart and a desire to help a young person are the main characteristics needed to be a mentor.
Questions about volunteering? Please contact Dan McNamee, by email or 415-654-9153
petaluma people services center
PPSC provides assistance to over 12,000 of our Petaluma neighbors in need, through 73 human services programs, all based on best practices that achieve positive, measurable outcomes. PPSC does all this through a community of caregivers who share a common mission: to help relieve suffering and make people’s lives better. With these 73 different service programs offered, PPSC can use volunteers in a variety of fields.
Questions about volunteering? Please contact Tim Scheele, by email or 707-480-9720
bringing new life to mexico
Our church has been sending mission teams to a small town in Mexico for about 20 years now. The town of Vicente Guerrero, located in the San Quintin valley, has been our designated area to work because of the extreme poverty and need. Today we partner regularly with four different causes in this valley — a church (La Puerta Del Cielo), a center for children too poor to go to public schools (Every Kid’s Hope), a shelter for abused women and their children (Mujeres Nuevo Comienzo…New Beginnings for Women), and YWAM (Youth With A Mission, an international Christian organization that supervises the building of houses in the valley). Annually in June we take a group of people on a week-long mission trip to work with these organizations and to expose our church family to mission work outside of our own community.
Questions about volunteering? Please contact Jim Thornton, by email or phone 707-322-3401
redwood gospel mission
With a mission statement that reads “Mobilizing the community to minister to the needy so that lives are transformed”, RGM is a group of compassionate Christian people who do more than just feed, clothe, and house the needy. Where possible, they help them experience life transformation through receiving the good news of Jesus and participating in programs designed to give them the life and people skills required to thrive in our world.
Volunteer opportunities include direct guest services through hospitality and comfort ministries as well as indirect support through donations, food preparation, and annual collection drives.
All are open year-round to assist at various community outreach events or with the seasonal Nomadic Shelter hosted by New Life.
Questions about volunteering? Please contact Dan DeMars, by email or 707-486-0350
heartfelt help foundation
This great foundation was founded by a heart transplant recipient right here at New Life. Having gone through the heart transplant experience, Denise realized all heart transplant recipients must overcome many financial obstacles not readily apparent to the general public. So, she wanted to do something to help patients and their families pay for the costs associated with transplant that insurance doesn’t cover. The largest of these is the medically required post transplant housing costs. Most of us aren’t aware that transplant patients are required to relocate within a short drive of their transplant hospital upon their discharge. This temporary relocation can last anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months. Insurance rarely covers that, and this is where HHF steps in to help.
Since August of 2020, HHF has now assisted just under 20 heart transplant recipients with these expenses. HHF serves all of the Northern California transplant hospitals. Patients come from all over to receive their transplants at Bay Area hospitals and HHF has served patients from California, Oregon and Hawaii. Providing housing assistance to these amazing patients allows the recipient and their family to focus on healing and recovery instead of the potential for financial devastation.
New Life volunteers are used to help HHF in their fundraising efforts by tracking down and preparing items to be auctioned off or sold. They can also help market and support virtual cycling, walking and running events held throughout the year.
Questions about volunteering? Please contact Denise Redeker, by email or (707) 293-4566
giant steps
This Partner Cause is dedicated to enriching lives through the power of horses, team, and community. Through the excellence of their equine programs, people of all ages, means, challenges, and diversities experience the extraordinary benefits of therapeutic riding and activities. Volunteers are trained to supervise and assist those who ride, as well as how to properly care for and nurture the horses.
Questions about volunteering? Please contact Trinity Dickinson, email or 707-888-5331
foster Care support
We are partnered with CarePortal, a platform connecting the largest network of caring people to meet the needs of kids and families in crisis. You can find vetted, urgent needs of families right in your area.
You can volunteer at whatever level works for you. Sign up to receive emails of needs, or help coordinate with case workers to deliver the requested item.
Questions about volunteering? Please contact Jessica Sagaria by email or (707) 480-6185. Or Kayla Schmidt by email or (707) 217-0256
rebuilding together petaluma
RTP is a non-profit organization in our community that brings people together to perform critical home repairs and revitalization projects for our low-income neighbors, seniors, and the disabled in need.
This is a great cause for those who like to work with their hands doing minor to medium home repairs, yard work, general cleanup, maintenance, and just anything else that needs to be done to properly maintain a house and property. Every other Saturday RTP schedules an opportunity to help some community member in need. New Life is recruiting team members who can be available to serve from 9am-1pm for one Saturday each month, additionally a Saturday service project would be ideal for your community group to assist someone and bond with each other.
Questions about volunteering? Please contact Tod Taylor, by email or 707-774-9710
kairos prison ministry
Changing Hearts, Transforming Lives, IMPACTing the World!
Kairos is a prison ministry whose mission is to develop Christian communities inside prisons. During the 3 1/2-day Weekend, the servants/volunteers show the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ through talks, meditations, chapel visits, music, listening and loving. After the Weekend, small groups called Prayer and Share are held on a weekly basis; monthly Reunions also take place with the free-world servants/volunteers in attendance. By having a front-row seat to God’s miracles, we are blessed by the participants through His blessings. Kairos means “God’s Special Time” or “in the fullness of time.”
Volunteer opportunities include being...
- a team member on either a men’s or women’s Kairos Inside or Kairos Outside weekend
- a prayer partner
- a support volunteer for either Kairos Inside or Outside
- a Ministry Financial Donor
- a Cookie baker
- Drawing posters
