Adopt-a-Block

Yesterday was the first day of our Adopt-a-Block community outreach. We broke up into teams and each team "adopted" a block near the church. The goal of the outreach is to just create relationships with these people and serve whatever needs they might have, which we hope will have a positive impact on the community. So we went out yesterday and knocked on doors and explained to them our reason for being there and asked them if there was anything they needed done like yardwork or housework. Most people either weren't home or refused to answer the door. They probably thought we were J.W.'s or some other denomination out to convert them. But that's not what it's about. We are not out there to convert them, get them to join our church or ask them for donations. Everything we do is free. The only motive we have is to reach out to them in love, the way Christ teaches us to do. Some teams got some small jobs like pulling weeds for an elderly lady, others simply hung information packets on the doors with a phone number they could call if they needed any help with anything. And the amazing thing was that after we were all done and went home, the church got several calls from people with needs. This was just our first day! It's awesome how much God can use us if we just give Him our hearts and our time. I believe there's alot we can do and the needs are many. We are surrounded by motels that are known to have crack dealers living in them, and many families are single families living on food stamps. My block is an interesting one, with duplexes on one side of the road and manufactured homes on the other. The duplexes seem to have mostly young families and the manufactured homes are mostly elderly people, some are older women who live alone. They tend to be lonely and just need someone to take time to talk to them. Anyway, we want to be a constant presence there so we'll be out in those same blocks at the same time every Saturday offering to be of service.