So you’ve convinced your staff and congregation that the next step in growth as a church is to do an all-church day of service to your community. That’s awesome! But what kinds of service projects will excite the body and impact your neighborhood for Christ?
Lots of churches are looking outside their 4 walls to serve their cities and towns in tangible ways. But many times the options for service aren’t very obvious or they’re difficult to arrange. So, we pulled together a quick list of 5 Day of Service ideas that are easy to organize and get us all geared up for getting our hands dirty in Jesus names.
Serve The Servants
You’d be surprised what gets cut from the budget of your local Police Department. In our city in Southern California, one of the first things to go is car washes for police vehicles. A local church has jumped in to serve those who protect and serve their community by providing car washes and interior detailing to keep them on the road safe and looking great.
The officers appreciate this act of service so much because they spend much of their time inside those vehicles. And when they found out it was done by the local church, they can’t help but be encouraged and grateful for friends in the neighborhood.
Check out 1 Peter 2:13-15 for a biblical call to submit and do good for the sake of your local authorities.
Looking for Day of Service T-Shirts? Check out our latest designs HERE.
Road Runners
A great way to serve the community is to go where everybody else goes. No we’re not talking about Walmart. Everybody uses the roads. As one of the most common areas in your city or town, everybody notices when the roads aren’t up to snuff. And if your town isn’t clean, it starts to wear on your sense of pride, safety, and appreciation for those in charge.
So do like it says in Isaiah 57:14 and send out a crew geared up with gloves, trash bags, and weed whackers to pick up litter, dumped furniture, and other debris.
Pro-Tip: Remember, “Safety First.” Suit your team up in fluorescent orange, green, or yellow t-shirts. And don’t forget to print the name of your church in big letters so that everybody who drives by knows how to find the church that cares about their commute!
Space For Learning
Ask any public school teacher or principal and they’ll tell you they cannot afford to provide the most healthy environment for learning. They’d love to offer the cleanest school experience with the very best campuses, equipment, and technology possible. Unfortunately, they lack the resources to keep their campuses clean and up to date.
Proverbs 4:13 says, “Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life.” A great serve day project that will protect instruction for the kids in your neighborhood is to send a team of able-bodied church members to your local school armed with gloves, rakes, mop buckets, paint supplies and other tools.
In just a few hours, your church will upgrade the atmosphere at the school so much that the kids won’t recognize it come Monday. The teachers and parents will take notice too and wonder where such excellent neighbors came from.
Elevate Your Elders
In Psalm 71:9, King David pleads with God, “Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone.” It’s so easy for a culture like ours to let the elderly and sick fade into the background of our fast-paced world.
The senior citizens of your church, many of them widowed or infirm, are in need of companionship and help around the house. Simple things like vacuuming and cleaning windows can be a huge blessing for a beloved shut in.
Pro-Tip: Often your seniors have been at your church a long time. When your service team is finished serving, encourage them to ask them to share stories about their memories of what God has done through your congregation in the past.
Dipstick Doctors
Here’s a fun one. We’ve all seen the roadside car wash advertised by the high school band or cheerleaders, but what if you could offer your neighbors a little bit more automobile expertise?
Gather the mechanically inclined in your congregation to put together a free oil change clinic in the parking lot of a local auto parts shop. When your neighbors drive up, a mechanic from your church checks oil and filters. Then they plug in a diagnostics sensor to see if the car’s computer has any outstanding errors.
This could save your neighbors hundreds of dollars in repair costs – and might keep them from traveling in the desert like Moses, under a cloud of smoke and fire. (ha!)
Pro-Tip: Partner with the auto shop to give a special discount to those you’re serving.
Whatever you do to serve your community, we pray it will be an opportunity to encourage both the people in your neighborhood and your church members themselves!
Here at Ministry Gear, we’re humbled to play a very small part in the serving work of churches like yours. Your Day of Service t-shirts help identify your servants in the community and draws the attention to the collective work of the church. People in your neighborhood will recognize the shirt and remember their impact long after the event is over.
Call us to get started designing your church’s Serve Day shirts today. 888.812.4044
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