Love People to Jesus Through Sunday School Class Serving Projects

In my previous blog entry, The Ministry of Sunday School in Times of Chaos, I stated that “God’s people must stand up and be counted. They must reach out and care. They must mobilize in love. They must look for and listen to needs around them. They must respond to what they see and hear.” But the sheep in our care in our Sunday School classes will best know how to respond during these times of chaos when we have given them opportunities to serve at other times.

I like what Dino Rizzo, pastor of Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said in an article entitled Servolution: Establishing a Presence in Your Community:

It is a great thing for people in your community to know your church is there for them. But helping them believe it means more than just spending money to advertise on billboards and in newspaper ads.”

In the article, Rizzo suggest five simple steps for leading classes (or churches) to get started in serving others:  pray, listen, believe, act, and give. Then Rizzo offers fifteen suggestions for serving your community through small acts of kindness.

Remember that these serving projects not only extend the love of your class, develop good will, meet needs, and start conversations, they can also build relationships between class members and help them to be better prepared to respond to needs during times of chaos. Think through the following fifteen projects and look for the ones that are right for your class. Here are the projects Rizzo shares:

• give away bottled water,
• adopt an inner-city block,
• start a cooking team,
• provide free auto maintenance (call Sam at First Baptist Church, Richmond, KY for ideas),
• serve as the cleanup crew after community events,
• serve widows,
• be active on your local college campuses,
• serve your local government,
• serve the homeless in your community,
• start a free food pantry,
• give free coffee to those in the emergency-room waiting area,
• give away school supplies,
• reach out to single moms in need,
• respond to crisis and tragedy in your community, and
• connect with other groups who are already serving in your community.

Has your class, Sunday School, or church taken on community serving projects to make Jesus famous? Share what you are doing by pressing comments below. If your people are not involved in serving, they need leadership. Pray and lead them to find the place of service that is needed. Lead them to get involved. Share the love of Jesus. Be revolutionary!