The Zone Gathering

This is Part 6 of our Thursday Leadership Lesson series on Service. Today, we will talk about Serving Our Communities.

In Matthew 25, Jesus clearly spells out how the good will be separated from the bad:

“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

Jesus connected our eternal status to our service to others. Bill Hybels once pointed out that the church is the only institution that exists for those that do not yet belong to it. But sometimes, we forget that and think that the church exists to serve us. Let’s get back to Jesus’ idea of the church and start serving our communities.

Service is a deliberate act of kindness with the intention of revealing Christ to another.

We should mobilize our groups to serve our communities for several reasons. First, because Jesus makes it abundantly clear in Matthew 25 that we should do it, so it’s a simple matter of obedience. Secondly, service is a means to our own personal spiritual growth. Thirdly, service is the most powerful form of evangelism we can do. In Nine Keys to Effective Small Group Leadership, Carl George said, “The words to the Gospel of Christ without the Body of Christ have no life-changing power for most people.” Being the Body brings the Gospel to life. And finally, groups that serve together grow together in community.

There are many groups at NCC that have discovered this principle. Joseph Llobrera’s Living Out Social Justice group serves the community by painting schools and cleaning watersheds. Elizabeth Schloesser’s In Service Ministry and Living Room small group feed the homeless. But they don’t just meet the physical needs; they are also creating safe, loving communities that minister to the emotional, social, and spiritual needs. Heather Gonzales’ Generations small group is reaching out to the elderly.

It’s not just the traditional “Missions, Service, Outreach” groups that are involved. The Fantasy Baseball League groomed fields for a local Little League team. John Purcell provides the muscle behind the Angel Tree project every Christmas. Bill Stevens is moving men out onto the streets to pray for DC public schools and students.

How do you begin?

• As a small group, consider your “neighborhood.” That could be the place you physically live or the marketplace you are most connected to. Here are some questions to consider: Where do you live? Where do you work? Who is your neighbor? How has God uniquely designed your group to contribute to your neighborhood? What do you have to offer?
• Start small. Plan one project for the semester. Get it on the schedule and ask someone in the group to coordinate.
• Find out if you need any sort of special permission or permit from the community to do your project (check with a zone leader or staff member if you have questions or need help).
• Ask another small group to partner with you.
• Secure the necessary materials.
• Cast the vision to the group. Explain why you are serving and what the expectations are for each member.
• Be sure to take time to debrief after the project. Get everyone involved in talking about it. Celebrate what God did, discuss the personal inpact, and talk about the potential your investment can have.

Here are some easy ideas:

• Distribute free bottles of water or cups of hot cocoa
• Wash car windshields in a parking lot and leave a note behind
• Find ways to beautify the community (pick up trash)
• Go to a shopping mall and offer to return carts

Partner with a group that’s already doing something:

• Contact Bill Stevens about prayerwalking the DC public schools.
• Contact Heather Gonzales about an elderly outreach.
• Contact Joseph Llobrera to get involved in one of their community outreaches.
• Contact Catherine Beechler about ways to reach out to the HIV/AIDS community in DC.
• Contact Elizabeth Schloesser about making lunches or dinners for In Service and Living Room.

And finally, here are two final opportunities to serve the community. These events already come pre-packaged; you just have to get your group to show up and have fun!

Young Life Amazing Race

Sunday, October 15, 1pm @ Ebenezers- You’ll compete in tasks like sack races and puzzles for a chance to win prizes. It’s $50/team to register but all proceeds go to support the ministry of Young Life. Race check-in and orientation start at 1pm with the race beginning at 1:30pm sharp. You can pick up a flyer at the connection table with more information.

Snesko Scary House

There are a couple of service opportunities related to this event. On Sunday, October 29, we will decorate the Snesko House for Halloween, so we will need volunteers to help with that. On October 31, approximately 5:00 pm- 8:00 pm, we will actually run the Scary House and the Gospel presentation afterwards. Many volunteers will be needed for that. This would be a great way to get your entire group involved. For more information, email Pastor Joel.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 12th, 2006 at 10:23 am and is filed under Leadership Lessons, Service. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.