Many words can be used to describe Cedar Hills Church: welcoming, authentic, devoted.  

But at its core, Cedar Hills can be summarized by another word: community. After all, the word “church” refers to a community of people.  

With a mission centered on faith, Cedar Hills’ volunteer program continues to grow each year as church and community members alike cherish the opportunity to serve others.  

“There’s something that happens when you serve together. There’s a really amazing bond that happens,” said Alyssa McLaughlin, discipleship ministries leader for Cedar Hills.  

In cultivating a culture of service, Cedar Hills’ volunteer program has grown organically since the church’s founding in 2003, McLaughlin said. While participation has ebbed and flowed over the years, she noted the program has largely expanded through life groups and Bible studies where individuals were encouraged to do at least one service project together, through finding their own projects, or by plugging into ongoing partnerships.  

Now, the church aims to bring more than 400 volunteers to its annual “Serve Sandpoint” initiative — an event that sends participants across the city to complete roughly 20 projects. 

“We’re hoping to get at least 400 people out into the community working on these different projects. Not only to be the church in a very practical way, but I think the church is often known for what we’re against and all the things, and we want to be known for what we’re for, because Jesus is for us,” McLaughlin said. “We want to create that space and that spirit of letting Sandpoint know that Cedar Hills is for Sandpoint.” 

Over the years, volunteers have contributed to a variety of projects, including trail work with the Kaniksu Land Trust, stadium cleanups, preparing the Bonner County Fairgrounds, assisting at the Sandpoint Senior Center and completing campus cleanup projects. 

While the projects are promoted in-house during Sunday services, Serve Sandpoint is open to anyone in the community. Event details can be found at https://cedarhillschurch.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/3367015.  

“Last time we did it, we had several people who brought family members and friends, and it was fantastic. It’s just another way of meeting people and getting all on the same page and uniting around one cause,” McLaughlin said.  

Although Serve Sandpoint is just one day, McLaughlin said they aim to instill a sense of serving others for the goodness of their hearts, just as Jesus called them to do.  

“We want to provide opportunities for people to easily step into that, and ultimately, the goal would be just a lifestyle of who we are and what we are is not just showing up one day, but throughout the entire year and throughout our lives,” McLaughlin said.  

Outside of Serve Sandpoint, Cedar Hills also supports local nonprofits such as the Bonner Community Food Bank and Life Choices Pregnancy Center, along with nationwide efforts through Convoy of Hope, a humanitarian organization focused on disaster response and hunger relief. 

Support for Convoy of Hope has been ongoing for years, McLaughlin said. Each year, the church hosts a single-day compassion offering, with 100% of donations going to the organization. 

“Last year, I want to say we raised $55,000 for that, which is really just amazing because they’re an incredible organization that not only has people in very specific areas, but they also feed over 500,000 kids a day, all around the world,” McLaughlin said. “They are that first response for natural disasters and that sort of thing, just boots on the ground, immediately helping.”  

As volunteers continue to show up across Sandpoint, event organizers say the mission is simple; that service goes beyond the events put in place and becomes more of a habit, one that extends beyond the church walls. 

    Cedar Hills dedicates time for ongoing outreach in the community, including this day of service in 2024.