As a Christian, you’re called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus by serving your fellow man. In doing so, you serve God and bring purpose to your own life. In this article, Dino Rizzo, the founder of Servolution and co-founder of the Association of Related Churches (ARC), offers a range of ideas to serve your local community.
The calling to serve remains constant, but how you serve may change. If you’re looking for ways to contribute to your community, finding options like volunteering at a shelter or food bank is not hard. But what if you want to do more? Here are a few options to consider.
Volunteer to Drive Veterans to Appointments
Sadly, too many veterans face physical and mental health concerns that create mobility hurdles, making it almost impossible to attend critical appointments at the nearest Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital or authorized facilities.
In some cases, the Veterans Transportation Program (VTP) offers transportation services for vets in need, but you could also serve as part of the Volunteer Transportation Network by using your own vehicle or a donated vehicle to ferry veterans to and from appointments in your free time.
Offer Tutoring Services to Underserved Students
Some communities and schools do a great job of providing students with the extra help they need to succeed. Others may not have the funding for after-school programs or related services designed to help kids that fall behind.
Whether you want to volunteer in a classroom to help harried teachers or you’re driven to organize an after-school program with other community volunteers, you can make a big difference in the lives of underserved students by offering tutoring services.
Help Seniors with Chores
For older adults, it can become harder to complete daily tasks that were once easy, from shopping and cooking healthy meals to cleaning the house and mowing the lawn. As an able-bodied adult, you can help seniors enormously by assisting with chores.
And keep in mind that some seniors are suffering from loneliness as well. Dedicating time to chat regularly, share meals, or even watch a show or read a book can really lift someone’s spirits.
Start a Community Phone Tree for Families Facing Hardship
If your church doesn’t already have one for members of the congregation, you could be the one to start and organize a community phone tree dedicated to providing meals for those suffering hardships like job loss, medical emergencies, or grief from losing a loved one.
Any member can activate the phone tree, and everyone can coordinate to bring food on different days so the family in need has one less thing to worry about.
Organize or Take Part in Neighborhood Clean-up/Improvement Projects
When you plan or participate in clean-up efforts at local parks or work with students to create murals at their school, you can beautify your neighborhood, boost community pride, and bring people together for a positive purpose.
Serving Your Community Can Be Simple and Fun
With so many great ways to show your community you care, serving doesn’t have to be a complicated affair. By getting creative, you can keep service both simple and fun.
About Dino Rizzo
Dino Rizzo, a 35-year ministry veteran, co-founded Healing Place Church with his wife, DeLynn, where he served as senior pastor for two decades. Through his passion for inspiring believers to serve their communities, Dino Rizzo founded Servolution and authored “Serve Your City.” Rizzo serves as the Executive Director of ARC (Association of Related Churches), which has planted more than 1000 churches worldwide, and is on the Senior Leadership Team at Church of the Highlands.
