A few months ago, our group "adopted" the day care center of one of our members, the Divine Children Christian Center. The woman who runs the day care center, Yalonda, is a woman with a big heart. She takes care of a lot of kids from the local homeless shelter, the Samaritan Inn, for free, and she tries to teach the kids Christian values. So we want to help her.
Last week our group decided that we would offer to bring an evening meal to the day care center, figuring that many of the families might need a meal and that this would be a good fellowship opportunity. When we asked if we could do this, we got a resounding "yes," with an ask for food for 15-20 kids and 15-20 adults. So our small group brought over two briskets, beans, potato salad, and bread for this group.
Wow. What a great night. The kids were adorable, and the people there could not have been more appreciative. What is more, it was clear that many of the mothers of the kids who came and ate with us when they came to pick up their friends were actually hungry for much more than food. They were starving for friends, conversation, love, and community.
The picture below is a picture of my wife (on the right) with a woman named Cassandra. Cassandra is a single mom with three kids. She works in an eye doctor's office. She is from Dallas but moved here recently. She was so great to talk to--a lovely woman who is a good conversationalist with a good sense of humor. But she has not made any friends here.
Cassandra asked if I had a card for our church. I didn't have one on me, but we explained where the church was (it is nearby) and I'm sending her more information. She plans on coming on Sunday to worship with us. I told her that she could sit with us. She said, "Good. It's kind of scary going into a place when you don't know anyone." Becki told her not to worry about dressing up. She liked that as well. Cassandra stayed quite a long time talking with us.
We also talked with another mother named Summer (see below). Summer is from Chicago and moved here recently as well. Her grandfather passed away this week. When I told her about our food pantry and clothes closet, she said that she wanted to donate some of her things to the clothes closet. She also asked for a card and about our church, and she plans on worshipping with us as well.
As we talked with the parents and workers, our kids all played with the other kids. They dressed up and played with puppets and just were kids. I asked one of the parents if they always hung around afterwards and played together. She said no, usually they went right home. So we were able to create a bit of community this night, in addition to feeding everyone, meeting people, and building friendships.
Please say a prayer for Cassandra, Summer, and the rest of this day care "community."
This, my friends, is why we must be "missional." Would we have been able to meet these ladies or talk with them without going to them and serving them? Would they have ever have wanted to visit our church if we had stayed in the building on Wednesday night, studying Romans? Or even if we had been in a home? I do not think so. In fact, some of the people there noted that we had "graduations" at our building (we let the high school use our building for baccalaureate, while we go to the park on that night), and they had noted that there was a large group at the Park last night (this was our "High Pointe in the Park"). "Oh, that was you guys," they said.
I am going to recommend to our group that we provide a meal like this once a month. Think about how many people we could get to know. This day care community could come to rely upon us, look forward to seeing us, and we could build up some real friendships. A constant presence in a community, rather than a one time act of service, is what will have a lasting impact (and is "incarnational"). I am so proud of our little group. They are such willing and great servants! Way to go, team! God was glorified tonight.
If you want to really impact a people group, I suggest these three things:
There are many different groups that can be adopted by a missional small group or missional community. Schools are often mentioned in the missional literature as a group to adopt, and we've done that too. But a day care center certainly seems to be a great group to serve and build relationships with. And this to the "missional" list!
What do you like about this story? What are some other people groups that could be adopted by a missional small group or community?
Comment
Thanks, Chris! Sure, we would be happy to have you join us for service projects. You have such a great heart for mission and service. That you!
Timothy, serving is so important! Jesus said that the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve (Mk. 10:45). And nothing breaks down negative stereotypes about Christians and opens doors to share our faith today like serving people.
Our congregation is about 800 members. This small group is only 4 families. We lead another missional type of small group that we are planning on joining up with this one for some service projects together. This will form a mid-sized group, which in the missional literature is termed a "missional community." Still meet separately, but come together for service.
Great example of what the church can be! Serving others is a pretty low priority for my church, based on third party surveys we've done over the last few years. How large is your congregation, how large is your group, and how many missional groups do you have? I'd like to start gathering some measurables to point to in our vision and strategy meetings.
12 members
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