Serve others, connect with one another, and let the light of Jesus shine!
We encourage your congregation and school to make a plan shine a spotlight on service each year, giving witness to the love of Jesus through acts of service to their neighbors and communities. Simply join with some people from your church, school, small group, ministry group, family, etc., and serve!
How does your church or school fit into your neighborhood? Are you like someone with whom your community members can chat over the fence or share a cup of coffee – or are you the stranger who lives across the alley they wave at but never talk to? The Bible says “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” (1 John 4:7) How can we show love to our neighbors? By being neighborly!
Building relationships with your community should start inside your congregation with prayer, conversations and encouragement. The prayer is that God will show your people how they can shine His light outside the church walls. The more encouragement and equipping of your members, the more engagement that can take place.
40+ Ways to Shine
Before undertaking these acts of service, please contact the organization you’d like to partner with to make sure your service is welcome. These are just some starter ideas—there are many ways to SHINE!
- Visiting, singing hymns, and playing games with people in care facilities
- Assembling care packages for college students, military members, and homeless people
- Sorting donated items for Orphan Grain Train, shelters, pregnancy care centers, and community pantries
- Preparing care kits for families with newborn babies
- Prepare “shelter kits” for organizations that serve those in crisis like sexual abuse, stalking, human trafficking, etc.
- Construction and maintenance tasks for the homes of elderly and other families in need in the community
- Bake cookies and snacks for local food pantries
- Make lunches for the needy
- Hold a popsicle giveaway at a park
- Volunteer at a local food pantry
- Hold a “Donut Event” for those who serve our communities (police and fire stations, dentists, doctors’ offices, nurses’ stations at hospitals)
- Pick up litter at a shopping center
- Clean up a park or community garden
- Clean up the school grounds of a local school
- Rake leaves, mow lawns, and clean up the yard of a shut-in/elderly person
- Wash windows at a shut-in’s house
- Paint playground equipment at a park
- Collect and deliver non-perishable food items to a local food pantry
- Collect and donate hygiene products for local shelters
- Collect school supplies for a local school
- Ask a local school what needs their families have so you can assist
- Collect blankets, sheets, and newspaper for local animal shelters
- Assemble first aid kits for local shelters
- Volunteer at your local library
- Volunteer at a local nonprofit
- Hold a blood drive
- Hold a free car wash
- Hold a “give what you can” car wash and donate proceeds to a local charity
- Hold a concert for the community
- Make birthday cards and party bags for children in shelters
- Collect materials and make book bags for the pediatric wing of a local hospital or doctor’s office
- Write letters or send cards to seniors in care facilities
- Write letters or send cards to service men and women
- Color pictures for troops or seniors
- Place door hangers that have Bible passages on neighborhood doors
- Host a bingo event or play other games at a local shelter or nursing home
- Sponsor a bike-a-thon & teach bike safety
- Read to residents at a local nursing home or shelter
- Care for children while parents enjoy a day or evening out
- Host a sing-along or devotion time at a nursing home
- Make quilts or blankets for children in hospitals, foster care, or shelters
- Host a dinner for your neighbors
- Provide water bottles to commuters at a train or bus station
- Partner with a local non-profit and help with events they hold
- Complete minor repairs for a shut-in/elderly person
Does your congregation or school have a community service idea or story you want to share? Tell us about it at communications@ndlcms.org.