Equipping

TRANSFORMING YOUR CHURCH THROUGH COMMUNITY SERVICE
Wendi Hammond

Part 1 - What NOT to Do

One of the most difficult tensions pastors and ministry staff face is trying to help members live as good stewards of their limited time. Demanding jobs, car pools, soccer practice, homework, PTA—dozens of activities place demands on our members' time before church activities ever show up on the radar. Our role is to provide an environment that helps our people become fully functioning disciples of Jesus. But the reality is that this places more demands on their already limited time. It's important that we help guide our members to service opportunities that are most likely to help them grow as disciples.

It's fairly straightforward to evaluate the transformational effectiveness of activities that we sponsor. It's more difficult to assess the transformational potential of serving opportunities with local parachurch and civic organizations, schools, hospitals, and other agencies. But difficult does not mean impossible.

In April we'll discuss what to look for in order to create or select community service experiences that can be growth experiences for the one serving, the one served, your church, and your community at large. This month we suggest a few things to avoid that can literally suck the potential out of participation in community service.

Avoid punching the community service time card
In our self-focused society, people will tend to look for ways to connect to the community (and to your church) that are neither sacrificial nor life-changing. Even church leaders can give in to the temptation of viewing community service as a duty.

We must help people understand that life as a Christ follower is one of sacrificial servanthood, through a community of faith, motivated by gratitude for grace (Romans 12:1). Choose activities and partnerships with the intention of helping people understand and experience this. When a church member walks away from a service activity with little more than a feeling of having fulfilled a community duty, it's not likely that anyone has experienced transformation.

Avoid the community service crowds
This one is related to the time card. It is natural for our heartstrings to be tugged on during holidays, but the community has needs all year long. During the Easter break, for example, community organizations often have to think up projects so that youth groups will have something to do. Around Christmas, rest homes and hospitals have to turn kindhearted people away while the patients listen to endless choruses of "Silent Night." It isn't honoring, nor is it life-changing, if the people being served feel like we are just using them to help us feel better about ourselves once or twice a year.

Avoid equating activity with ministry
Many community service opportunities have great potential for bringing spiritual growth to those serving, but these characteristics will not be present by accident. You need to be intentional about it. When you simply offer a list of activities outside your walls from which your members can choose, when you have no part in the planning or structure of these activities, you'll have no way to gauge whether these activities are helping people grow as disciples. Next month we'll discuss how you can be intentional about making opportunities transformational. For now, my advice is to avoid outside activities that you know little about.

Avoid getting off mission
There will always be more opportunities available to your church than you can effectively promote and support. Stick to the ones that will help your church fulfill your unique mission and align with the DNA of your church. "Good" is the enemy of "great." If part of your mission is to influence your immediate community, then perhaps you should stick to opportunities that directly serve people who live within a five-mile radius of your church. If your future includes a church plant in another area of town, you might look for partner organizations that serve your future geography. Your church must say no to some really good things in order to say yes to those that keep you on mission. In addition, promoting too many activities and opportunities—even when they do align with your mission—will overload people's mental circuits and they won't know what to choose. Or they will choose too many activities and lose their personal mission focus. Regularly invite people from outside organizations to share opportunities with your leadership team, then strategically choose which among them should be suggested to members.

Your church has the message of hope for the hurting community just outside your walls. The people in your church are ready and able to deliver this life-changing message and grow themselves in the process. But they want and need your help to do so effectively. Avoiding those things that work against transformation is the first step. Next month we'll look at what your church can do to become intentionally transformational in your community.

Wendi Hammond is the director of operations with Fresno/Madera Youth for Christ. Previously she served as a director of equipping in several churches and was part of the development of LEAD, a project in Fresno, Calif., designed to help local pastors and church leaders develop equipping cultures and systems within their churches.

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