volunteer job descriptions

Community Outreach at RiverCross offers many opportunities to serve in ministry. These

opportunities range from on-going programs, mostly located at RiverCross Mission, to seasonal

options and one-off events. Please contact Pastor John at 642-8060 or by email at

johnpknight33@gmail.com if you wish to chat about getting involved. Here are some ways to

do that. Take a look and see what interests you.

BUs Driver

The RiverCross Church Bus is a vital support to many programs and events in our church. It’s used to bring people to church on Sunday, and to transport them to Community Outreach, Chinese Outreach, Youth, and other programs and events on an on-going basis. In addition, it’s an extension of our church’s ministry to the surrounding city. We offer our bus and drivers to support community events at no charge, provided it’s not tied-up with a church commitment. 


We need many Bus Drivers to sustain all this. If you’re interested in being part of this team, here’s what you need to know: Bus Drivers must hold a valid Class 2 license and will be insured by the church. If you want to serve in this way, but don’t yet have the right license, please know that support and training, and all costs to obtain it, will be provided by the church.  

FOOD BANK

The North End Food Bank is located at RiverCross Mission. They’re always open to taking on volunteers to help with registering people, and to organize and distribute groceries to everyone who comes looking for assistance on a monthly basis. They need help on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays. 


Hazel Clarke is the Food Bank Coordinator and can provide additional information, if you’d like to get involved.

HOPE MISSION

Hope Mission is located at RiverCross Mission and runs on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9:15 AM - 12:30 PM. The Mission is a place where people form the Old North End and Crescent Valley can enjoy friendship and fellowship together, a time of worship, and a lovely home-cooked meal. There are several ways you can help out at the Mission, including:


  • Cook

    The Mission has one or two cooks on its team that plan and coordinate preparation of the meals. But the team is always looking for more cooks with experience doing quantity cooking for large groups of people, to sometimes fill-in and give the regular cooks a break. Serving as a “supply cook” would typically happen on Thursdays, since the crowd is usually smaller on that day, requiring less demand on the kitchen team.

  • Kitchen help

    Working in the kitchen to assist with the Hope Mission’s lunch preparation requires people to be there by 8:30 AM or earlier on Tuesday and/or Thursday mornings. The Mission’s cooks set the menus, and kitchen help then assists with all preparations. 

  • coffee/tea servers

    During the Mission’s fellowship time, we always need two people to “work the counter,” preparing coffee and tea, and serving it to people upon request. It’s best if Coffee/Tea servers arrive at the Mission no later than 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday and/or Thursday mornings.

  • Lunch servers

    The Mission serves a hot lunch to 50 – 100 people at 12 Noon every Tuesday and Thursday. The lunch includes a main dish, salad, rolls or bread, drinks, and dessert. It typically takes 4 or 5 people to serve all this food. It’s best if Lunch Servers are at the Mission by 11:30 AM every Tuesday and/or Thursday, and they’ll be kept busy until about 12:30 PM. 

  • Kitchen clean-up crew

    People are always needed on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays to clear away the dinner dishes, to operate the dishwasher and wash-up pots and pans, and to put the clean dishes, pots, pans and utensils away until the next meal. It’s best if Kitchen Clean-up volunteers arrive at the Mission by 12 Noon at the latest, although some clean-up, such as pot washing, actually happens before lunch is served. So the earlier the better!  

  • Mission Hall Clean-up crew

    The Mission Hall is a high-traffic zone, with lots of people in and out. It gets messy and dirty! So people are always needed every Tuesday and/or Thursday to serve on clean-up crews, clearing and washing tables and chairs, sweeping and mopping floors, and doing anything else as needed.  

  • friends

    We always need people to just be friends with the people attending the Hope Mission program each Tuesday and Thursday mornings. This is all about forming relationships with people! It involves sitting with people at tables and listening to them, talking with them, and praying with them when appropriate. This is a very important part of the ministry, and we always need more people to just hang-out with folks at the Mission every Tuesday and/or Thursday. 

  • lobby and parking lot hosts

    When people come to the Food Bank on Tuesdays, some of them wait outside until they’re served, others wait in the RiverCross Mission lobby, and others come down and spend time at the Hope Mission program. It would be great to have a few people to just be friendly and mingle with people outside and in the lobby – to extend a RiverCross welcome, even if they choose to not come and be part of the Hope Mission program. 

PRIME TIME

Prime Time is an Adult Bible Study program located at RiverCross Mission. In the past, it has run weekly on Sunday afternoons but the plan is to now shift it to Wednesdays, from 4:00 – 6:00 PM (or perhaps 5:00 – 7:00 PM). Prime Time offers people the chance to receive Bible teaching, and to learn what the Christian faith is all about, in a setting of friendship and fellowship over a nice home-cooked supper. Typically, 25 – 30 people attend. There are two main ways you can help out: 

  • Bible teaching

    Prime Time teaching sometimes focuses directly on scripture; for example, later this Fall, the plan is to start a study on the Book of James. At other times, Prime Time relies on a video study with a facilitator guiding the conversation before and after the video. But either way, this ministry always needs people with experience in Bible teaching, who can communicate in clear, simple, non-churchy language, and effectively apply this teaching to real-life. Prime Time Bible Teachers serve on a rotating team – so it’s not an every-week commitment – rather, every 3rd or 4th week, depending on the size of the team. 

  • Meal preparation, serving, and clean-up

    Typically, Prime Time relies on recruiting groups of volunteers – Life Groups, Church Boards, etc. – to help with Prime Time supper preparation, serving, and clean-up. Perhaps your Life Group, or some other group you belong to, would like to serve in this way. These teams should arrive when the program starts, do all preparations, and be ready to serve supper once the one-hour study time is over. If more meal prep time is needed, arrangements can be made to get into the building earlier. Preparing and serving food according to Public Health regulations is expected – i.e., wearing of hairnets and gloves and masks, and avoiding cross-contamination between raw and cooked food, and clean and dirty dishes. After supper, the team then cleans-up: Dishes need to be washed and put away, tables and chairs need to be cleared, washed and rearranged. Training for the Mission’s industrial dishwasher will be provided, if needed.   

Moms on a mission

Moms on a Mission is a ministry to young Moms and their children, who have connected to our church through RiverCross Mission. At present it meets once-a-month on Wednesday mornings, from 9:00 – 11:30 AM. The purpose of this program is to come alongside and support these Moms in the challenges they face, while speaking into their lives with spiritual teaching and encouragement. This group has now grown into a “family” of about 10 Moms who consistently attend, along with many children. And with that growth, the volunteer needs are also growing – covering everything from having people to provide child care on-site, to preparing refreshments, to planning and running the monthly program. This is a women-only volunteer opportunity. Margaret Totten and Debbie Hughes coordinate the program and can provide additional information, if you’d like to get involved.  

seasonal options & one-off events


In addition running regular programs, Community Outreach also offers opportunities to get involved in other ways. 

These include:



  • trunk or treat

    Every October 31st, RiverCross Mission offers children from the Old North End and Crescent Valley a safe and welcoming place to receive all kinds of candies and treats. We also serve hot chocolate to all the parents and guardians who accompany the kids. The event takes place in the Mission parking lot, with the candy and treats given out from the trunks of cars. Typically, 200 children turn-up, along with many adults, too. We can always use more people and cars for this event. It’s a lot of fun, and all volunteers are expected to dress up in a funny costume

  • Christmas outreach

    RiverCross works in partnership with Saint John’s Christmas Exchange and Empty Stocking Fund, and complements this with its own initiatives, to speak into the lives of many people in the city and in our church, at Christmas time. From children to youth and young adults, from families to seniors on their own – our church brings encouragement to hundreds of people, touching them with a little bit of tangible Gospel-love at this time of year. It takes a huge effort requiring many volunteers to do all this. Volunteers help with registering people, preparing gift cards, assembling gift bags, delivering and giving out gift cards and gift bags, and in a multitude of other ways. Linda Naves coordinates Christmas Outreach, supported by Blair Thompson, and they can provide additional information, if you’d like to get involved. There’s always room for more!  

  • community christmas dinner

    In December, Hope Mission hosts a beautifully-put-together Christmas Dinner for people who live in the Old North End and Crescent Valley. Typically, 150 – 200 people show up to enjoy the feast. Preparing for and serving this dinner is a major effort requiring 50 volunteers to help with getting the food ready, preparing the space, serving the dinner, and cleaning-up afterwards. There’s always room for more volunteers, if this is something you’d enjoy doing.  

  • spa day

    Every April, we host a Spa Day for the women who attend Hope Mission. The purpose of the day is to encourage these women and build-up their self-esteem by spoiling them with kindness, offering spiritual care, and treating them to a lovely lunch. Hair stylists, estheticians, and special speakers are brought in for the occasion. This is a women-only volunteer opportunity. It’s a very special day. If you’d like to help-out, we’ll put you in touch with the organizers. 

  • june community bbq

    Every year, on the second Sunday in June, RiverCross Mission hosts a BBQ for the neighbourhood from 12 Noon – 2 PM. It’s a great big community event, attended by over 400 people, featuring live music, activities for kids, a fire truck, and a BBQ lunch. Lots of fun! And it requires a lot of people to run – to serve on the Kitchen and BBQ team, to set up the space outside, to coordinate activities, and to help with take-down and clean-up. If this is the kind of thing you enjoy doing, give us a shout!