Those who have lost a family member appreciate having a church family who can provide a few meals. This gives them one less thing to worry about when dealing with so many other needs and emotions. Single parents could probably use some help trying to provide regular nutritious meals for their children.
Service at Church
The Gospel is enacted through the local church all across the world. The church is us: people who love Jesus serving others by greeting visitors, providing meals to the hungry, working at local food banks, holding babies, praying with others, pouring coffee, and opening their homes.
In this, God changes us. Serving in our local church is a vehicle to discover how we are made and how the Lord can use us. Serving provides us the opportunity to know more about how we are created: our likes and dislikes, what we can do well and what we cannot.
Talk with Pastor Joseph Phipps about teaching the basics of Christian growth to others in our church. This is a ministry which people feel unqualified to do, yet disciplining others is also one of the best ways to grow to spiritual maturity.
If you are outgoing and can strike up a conversation with others you can became an official, or unofficial, church greeter. Seek out visitors and do what you can to help them feel welcome and comfortable. Help them find the things they need to have a good experience at our church.
We should all be involved in sharing our faith. One of the best ways you can do this and serve the church at the same time is simply invite your friends and acquaintances to attend a church service with you. Invite your neighbors and the people you meet in the store to any special activities our church may be presenting.
You may have a greater impact in a one-on-one teaching opportunity. Many young people today are growing up without good role models. Find a young person in your church (with the guidance of the pastor and permission of the parents) and invest your life into theirs.
Pray for the church, its leadership, and those in the church who have needs. Don’t just pray for situations to be resolved in a positive way, but pray more deeply than that. Pray that people will be changed and become spiritually stronger. Read the first chapter of each of the books that Paul wrote. He prayed less for situations and more for people to become strong in the Lord.
A timely card can be an encouragement to someone who has had to be out of church for a while. This may be due to illness, death in the family, discouragement or an extended trip.
Find out from Pastor Phipps who is in the hospital and would like a visit. Taking time to visit people in the hospital lets people know that our church cares and is praying for them.