There are two broad categories of serving or
volunteering today, individual and organizational. Perhaps the simplest for
someone who is looking for a way to get started is the second. You may
participate in a community ministry that your church sponsors or help a local non-profit
organization. You can give money. Charity shouldn’t be defined as just giving
money, but it certainly does take lots of it! But don’t stop there if you want
to truly feel useful and fulfilled. Ask how you can volunteer. Can you write
letters? Answer phones? Do surveys? Help with a local campaign? Serve on the
board or in leading group activities?
Many Christians have come to think of what they
do at church or Sabbath school on Sabbaths as their service, but that is really
very self-centered thinking. The fact that you play the piano for the
Kindergarten Sabbath School or help take up the offering during worship is
simply a more active way of participating in worship, not service in the sense
that the Bible teaches. On the other hand, if you hold a responsibility at church
that requires considerable time outside of the Sabbath, that is a type of ministry
or service on the same level as volunteering at the community service center on
Tuesday afternoons or being an active member of the fund raising committee for
the United Way in your county.
When considering which service organization to
become involved with, think of the old proverb: “Give a person a fish, and feed
him for a day. Teach a person to fish, and feed him for a lifetime.” Is the
organization you are considering giving away “fish,” or teaching practical
methods of “fishing?” Is it really helpful to give truckloads of infant formula
and disposable diapers to indigent populations? Would it be more sustainable to
work for women’s health, and educate about breastfeeding and sanitary issues?
Be sure you and the organization of your choice are considering the big
picture, and the long-term results.
When looking for places to serve, start with
your own local church. Does it sponsor a community service center or free
clinic or food pantry or homeless shelter or similar organization of some kind?
Does it have a team that helps the homeless or visits in prison? Is there a
need to start an after-school program for the children in the neighborhood
around the church?
You could also look in your local phone book or
ask the local agency that coordinates volunteers for nonprofits in the area.
The smallest town usually has a food pantry, service clubs, a ministerial
association, a thrift store or day care center; the possibilities are endless.
Be creative. Ask the Sheriff what he/she wishes were available in town. Get some friends together and start
something.
If you have a need or desire for something
structured, and someone to tell you what to do, the organizational route will
be a good beginning for you.
Whether or not you are officially involved in
one or more organizations, though, every Christian will also be doing
individual, personal service for someone. This includes all the endless, loving
details of things people do for other people. Random acts of kindness start at
home. And explode in all directions from there! What are the things you already
do in your own family that perhaps you haven’t recognized as acts of service to
God and others? What things could you add? What might you do in your neighborhood?
Mow a lawn, mend a fence? Visit someone lonely?
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