3 Easy Steps to Serve Others

Well school starts on Monday here, so summer is coming to an end.  A little sad because of the additional free time that will be lost with the boys.  A little glad because we can get back to a normal routine full of work, school, church, soccer and karate.

Our "summer of serving" has been fun.  It won't end here.  We still need to go visit a local nursing home (that was the only thing we didn't get to do that I planned to do over the summer).  So I feel like we accomplished much - not just checking our "to do" list but the experiences that came with serving were invaluable family time together.

1. Searching for a Need

Here is an account of our latest serving experience.  I searched our church's website for serving opportunities that would accommodate our boys (ages 7 and 10).  Our church has a button on their website (through Meet The Need) that gives me a list of all the serving opportunities around Tampa Bay as posted by local ministries.  I found a need that sounded perfect for our family.

There was a need to host a family movie night at a residence hall for homeless or nearly homeless families at Metropolitan Ministries.  I adopted the need online and I got an email the next day from a Metro Min representative with details of what we needed to do.  We bring the movie and snacks, they provide the place and people, and we serve the food and interact with families. We picked to show the family movie "Turbo". Easy enough!

2. Preparing to Serve

We invited our lifegroup families to join us and a couple of them did. We prepared snacks bags, popcorn, and cheese and nachos in advance to give to the residents.  The children helped shop for and package the candy.

They drew and wrote encouraging biblical messages on the bags of popcorn.  We prayed for the families that we would encounter and that they would feel the love of Jesus through our actions.  We prayed there would be opportunities to share His word at just the right moment.

3. Serving Others with Dignity

We had a great time putting smiles on little kids and their moms' faces with a surprise Saturday afternoon movie and goodies to boot.  One of the dads that came with us spent some time with a family of 3 boys talking to them about general life stuff (school, sports, etc).  I spent some time talking to a single mom looking for a job to support her two young children.

People that have fallen on hard times, don't want a hand out and feel like they are charity.  They just want to have real conversations and be treated like anyone else with dignity.  It was great for our children to watch the movie and interact with the resident kids so they may be a few moments they could forget about themselves.

What's Next?

We will continue to serve (both inside our church and out in the community).  Serving is a part of who we are.  My husband, Joe, and I met in college serving the community together and we were bonded together from that point on.  We started serving for the sake of Jesus' name further in our marriage.   This is the most important legacy we want to leave with our boys.

I'll still keep posting about new serving experiences and ways we are leading our family deeper in a relationship with the Lord through serving others.  Please share (through Comments) your fun serving experiences that might inspire others.