I have visited congregations in more than two dozen counties across Ohio. I love these visits because every congregation I visit has ministry opportunities posted on their bulletin boards, backpacks and health kits ready to be blessed, and lines of canned food ready to be given away.

I especially love seeing innovative ways of adapting and strengthening our service to the community that is lead by listening and putting those in need first. Efforts to collect and donate tampons and pads, expanding community gardens, and new partnerships that break down denominational, racial, and socio-economic lines to strengthen our effectiveness in service.

Charity responds to the brokenness of the world.

The impact of sin - and a broken world - is already evident when a child goes hungry in a world with an abundance of resources. Our charity is essential to help that child receive their daily bread after going without it. However, as we seek to build up sacred community, we should move beyond responding to brokenness and seek to address the causes of it.

Justice work seeks to heal the brokenness.

The reality is justice-work is only one or two steps beyond what we are already doing. By listening, learning, and opening ourselves for change we can modify existing service to both meet the immediate need in front of us while looking to address the root causes of hunger, division, and fear in our wrld.

Tips to strengthen your upcoming service projects:

Ask, don’t assume: Ask what partner agencies actually need. Often, donations of money go much farther than donations of goods or food that may have storage costs. As back-to-school gifts ramp up, ask the teachers what they need. While your congregation might enjoy a picture with 1000 notebooks, the teacher might not have space to store them. 12 high end calculators might be much more impactful to your school building.
Break down barriers: Encourage your congregation members to interact with those receiving services. Serving dinner at a family shelter? Bring a stack of coloring books and your kids so they can color together. Sit and eat with the community. This allows everyone to enjoy each other as children of God and neighbor. Encourage your members to learn something from the community. Focus on relationships first.

“If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”
Lila Watson
Incorporate learning: Prior to a volunteer event, study scripture and the world to understand the issue. We need to learn more about the causes. After the event, do reflection and devotion about what people saw and experienced. Ask, 'why does hunger continue to exist?' (or other relevant questions about root causes.) Invite experts on the issue to speak to the congregation.
Incorporate advocacy: There are many easy ways to add advocacy efforts to our service projects.
- Have members at a meal (both your congregation and the community being served) write letters to legislators on the issue or have community conversations about a social issue.
- Incorporate voter registration at your local food pantry.
- Invite a legislator to come in and join your service project so that they can experience and learn the issues as well.
- Have people record video messages about their thoughts on pollution and the environment during a trash pick up day and share them on social media.
Re-orient service: Focus our charity on building community and raising awareness instead of providing ʻsomethingʼ. Use volunteer opportunities as a stepping stone toward active citizenship that will lead people to address the systemic and underlying issues. For example, instead of asking congregation members for food, divide up the neighborhood and have members solicit donations from neighbors and businesses. Have a hunger walk to collect food donations!
New partnerships: Consider partnering with a faith community that is theologically, racially, and culturally different than yours. When you enter as equals, it can break down further barriers and help your members see the issue and world differently.
Be open to others serving you: Being in right relationship with others requires us to be open to being served and serving. Be open to serving side-by-side and allow others to bless you with their gifts and talents.