Why Serve Days?

This Summer, we have the joy of participating in several different Serve Days.

Though the opportunities are diverse, the driving aim of these days is to help us engage in the Great Commission:

Mat 28:19-20 - Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

The mission of going, disciple-making, baptizing, and teaching are all features of reproducing local churches. The pattern demonstrated in scripture includes going to where people live, preaching the gospel, gaining converts, gathering new believers into local churches, instructing believers in the faith, appointing elders, and then repeating. In this way, local churches are both the goal and the means of making disciples. Once a new local church is established in a particular region, those believers continue to learn, grow, and live out the Kingdom ethic in that community.

So, we are a church that has been planted in McMinn County. What does it look like for us to continue living in light of this Great Commission? Part of what we want to do is focus our energy and resources as a church toward opportunities for evangelism and strengthening local churches. Making disciples by nature means helping non-followers become followers of Jesus. This is at the heart of evangelism. Additionally, once people are following Jesus, we want to do what we can to help them grow to love the Lord more and other people more.

Below are a few ways we are seeking to honor the Lord with these Serve Days this Summer - we would love for you to prayerfully consider jumping in where possible as an expression of praising the Lord with your gifts and serving others for his glory!

JUNE 10 | MOUNTAINSIDE COMMUNITY BIBLE CHURCH

We want to bless other local churches who are laboring for the gospel. One area pastor and friend, Jacob Stockner, welcomed us to help renovate a building so that their congregation could have a place to regularly gather on Sundays. We were happy to help serve these brothers and sisters in many practical ways.

 

JULY 8 | LAWN CARE & PRAYER

We want to freely give to people in our community as a small expression of how Christ has freely given to us in the gospel. One way we aim to do that is by serving folks who may struggle to maintain their lawn for one reason or another. On Saturday, July 8, we want to send out teams to serve. Each team will consist of people like you who will physically care for the person through mowing or spiritually care for the person through prayer.

  • Do you know anyone who may be blessed by a Lawn Care and Prayer Team visit (single moms, widows, elderly, disabled...etc.) in the Athens area?

  • Are you interested in helping serve on our Lawn Care & Prayer Team?

If the answer is “Yes!” to EITHER of these questions, click below…

 

JULY 19-21 | VBS AT THE YMCA

Our friends at the YMCA have generously offered to let us come into their summer day camp and facilitate a condensed version of Vacation Bible School from Wednesday, July 19 - Friday, July 21. The theme is "Radical Rescue." Through a combination of stories, drama, games, and crafts, we will draw out the radical rescue we find in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our aim is to leave kids with an amazement at the power, kindness, and goodness of God.

Are you interested in helping serve at this year’s VBS at the YMCA? Sign up below and we’ll give you more details about how you can be a part of the team that proclaims the good news about the radical rescue of Jesus Christ!

 

AUGUST 12 | BACK TO SCHOOL BLOCK PARTY

There are many people in our community, for one reason or another, that will not venture into a church service. But as Christians, we don’t have to wait until they come to us. The wonder of our faith begins with a God who left the comforts of heaven in order to pursue us while we were still his enemies. So, we have a wonderful precedent to intentionally pursue people with the love of Christ. One way we aim to do that is by connecting with our neighbors through a block party.

Our friends at the YMCA have generously agreed to allow us to host a party behind the YMCA on Saturday, August 12 from 11am-2pm.

This will be a time to enjoy what we have in common with all people (regardless of whether or not they are Christians, yet). We will enjoy music, food, games, and community. These things should be a delight for all of us! However, we also want to provide a context to share about the Giver of all good gifts. We want to proclaim the hope of the gospel in Jesus Christ.

So, in addition to the fun, we aim to share the gospel in two ways. First will be through a public dance performance by Enoch Contemporary Ballet outlining the story of the gospel. The second is to set up a booth for free bibles and prayer. Hopefully, both of these will provide space for a clear presentation of the gospel and conversation.

To create the context for our church members to connect with our neighbors, we will need to combine our efforts in a number of ways to serve. There are numerous ways to plug in! If you are available and interested in serving, click below.

 

Conclusion

We pray that, by God’s grace, many will become followers of Jesus and his church will be built up as we live for him in our community. May God help us as we learn to walk in dependence on him and love our neighbors as ourselves.