Volunteers

When I was growing up, Mom and her closest friend, Frieda, got together often for quilting parties. Sometimes they shared patterns or ideas or new methods of quilting. Sometimes they cut squares from donated fabrics for future projects. And, twice a year, they gathered with other church ladies for a quilting bee in the church basement. These were always a big deal, encompassing hours of needlework, quarts of coffee, and lunch served from the fellowship hall kitchen counter. There were often cookies, too, for small preschoolers like me.

With the flip of the calendar, our thoughts shift to personal resolutions for the new year. But do we think enough about others? Maybe. Maybe not. During this leap year, we get a bonus day—366 days rather than 365—to make a difference in the lives of others. Let’s consider how, month-by-month, we can focus outside ourselves. We truly can be the hands and feet of Jesus through our words and actions. It just requires some thought, creativity, effort, and time.

Do you love your job? Or do you just go to work every day and put in your time with zero or minimal enthusiasm?

How about your volunteer time at church? Do you take on tasks out of a sense of obligation? Or are you joyfully serving the Lord?

Looking out the window of the airplane, I watched the coast come into view. After almost a day’s worth of travel, we were almost in Costa Rica.

Across the aisle my daughter and her friends digested the same image with nervous excitement. A new culture. Language barriers. Cold showers. Weird food. The thoughts guiding their conversa-tions couldn’t possibly measure up to what God was preparing to do in and through them.

How does your church connect with your community during the summer?

When I thought about that, I looked to churches in my southern Minnesota city of some 25,000 for specific examples of summer outreach. I discovered four ways of connecting—via food, entertainment, evangelism and service.