Saddleback Hong Kong Outreach

Ever since Daring Faith launched in 2015, Saddleback Hong Kong has been committed to reaching our five FAITH goals. To help fill God’s house, they’ve grown from 550 members to 1,100 since the start of the campaign.

For our “T” goal, they are training over 100 members at their monthly Leader Plus Seminars. They are also hosting a Purpose Driven Church Conference later this May. To help share the Good News, they are planning PEACE trips to Cambodia.

In a mighty effort to assist people in need —the “A” goal — the Hong Kong campus hosted their annual PEACE Box Campaign. Held on March 24, the event shared God’s love to people in need, while also mobilizing members through serving. Now in its fifth year, this community campaign serves 15,000 low-income families with PEACE boxes.

“We wanted to connect the powerful to the powerless,” says Saddleback Hong Kong pastor, Stephen Lee. “Through this campaign, we can unite these two worlds and spread hope to people in need.”

As the campuses’ signature event, the campaign started as a means to bridge the church with the 200,000 local households of the community. Each year, one month before Easter, empty boxes are distributed with a list of needs according to age and gender.

Each family is encouraged to participate by filling each box with approximately $20 worth of gifts. Every box is different and unique, featuring a variety of gifts including a booklet on The Purpose Driven Life.

Painted on the outside of each box is a Bible verse and the words “You are loved.” Packages are filled with a variety of gifts prepared by the Saddleback Hong Kong church family as well as other local churches and non-profits.

Once filled with items, boxes are returned to Saddleback Hong Kong to later be transported to the area’s main shopping mall. The weekend before Easter, nearly 300 volunteers spend 10-15 hours constructing an enormous box tower in the center of the mall lobby.

“It’s amazing to see it all come together, from individual boxes to a gigantic tower,” says pastor Stephen. “From the point of supply to delivery, each box involves at least five people. This means that approximately 75,000 people are somehow impacted by the PEACE box campaign from start to finish. It’s really mobilizing a lot of people.”

In total, about $300,000 worth of gifts are donated to low income families. In addition to Saddleback’s members, more than 20 schools and 30 churches are part of the giving process. This annual outreach has touched countless lives, including one family who travels from England to Hong Kong every year to participate in the event. Pastor Stephen recalls other stories of life change, ranging from kids who received boxes at the children’s cancer hospital, to a new family who joined Saddleback after seeing the box tower at the shopping mall.

“It’s not the things inside the boxes that matter,” says Pastor Stephen. “It’s about reaching the lonely, the sick, and the poor — and bringing a smile and laughter to their faces. Plus, so many of our own members are happy and energized to be part of something that mobilizes the church and builds great memories in the process.”

To learn more about Saddleback Hong Kong, visit saddleback.com/hongkong.