3 Ways Your Church Can Start Serving Your Community This Month

We believe that Jesus, through the local church, is the hope of the world, and that we can do infinitely more together than we can apart. That is true for your church as well.

The church was never meant to be contained within four walls. The Great Commission is a call to go. To the people in your community, the people in your city, and the people who will never show up on their own. The community that you are in should feel your presence.

“Love your neighbor as yourself.” Mark 12:31 NIV

1. What Are the Felt, Tangible Needs That My Community Is Facing?

One of the simplest and most tangible ways your church can serve your community is through a supply drive. Whether it is school supplies, food and hygiene items, winter coats, or holiday gifts, a supply drive mobilizes your entire congregation around a single, concrete act of generosity.

Ideas for your supply drive:

• School supply drive: collect backpacks, pencils, notebooks, and other essentials for kids in underserved schools
• Food and hygiene drive: partner with a local food bank or shelter
• Winter coat drive: collect gently used or new coats for families who need them before winter hits
• Holiday gift drive: serve local families in need and collect gifts for kids who might not otherwise receive them

2. How Can I Put Together a Community Serve Day?

Getting your entire church to serve together is special. When your congregation serves side by side, they build relationships with each other and begin to believe that they have a part to play in bettering their community.

Ways to serve your community together:

• Partner with a local nonprofit and offer your congregation as volunteers for a day
• Serve at a school: spend a day cleaning up the campus, painting, or landscaping
• Neighborhood cleanup: grab gloves and trash bags and make your neighborhood visibly better
• Host a free community meal: set up tables in your parking lot and serve a free lunch to anyone who shows up

3. What Ways Can I Uplift and Encourage My Community?

Not every act of service looks like a project. Sometimes the most powerful thing your church can do is simply show up and encourage the people in your community — the teachers, first responders, healthcare workers, and nonprofit leaders who pour themselves out every day.

Ways to encourage your community:

• Appreciation meals for first responders: bring lunch or coffee to your local fire station, police department, or hospital staff
• Teacher appreciation: stock a teacher’s lounge with snacks, notes of encouragement, and supplies
• Spotlight local heroes: use your social media and stage time to highlight the people in your community who are making a difference

Download the Free Local Missions Resources

What’s one thing you can do this week?

1. Download the Local Missions Resources at open.life.church and share them with your team.
2. Pick one of the three ideas above and put a date on the calendar this month.
3. Identify one local organization your church could partner with and reach out to them this week.
4. Bring your team together and ask: what is one need in our community that our church is uniquely positioned to meet?

Your community needs your church. Not a perfect church, just a church that is passionate for its community that shows up consistently, with love and generosity and the name of Jesus on your lips. Let’s reach people together.

Download the free Local Missions Resources