Blessor or Blessee?

“…I enjoyed a fabulous time volunteering in the baby room. I loved getting the chance to play with them and hold such sweet little kids. This ministry is a blessing, not only to the people who receive food, but also to the volunteers to be a part of serving God by helping people.” Dana – Hope for the Holidays in Brandon

I used think of “volunteering” as a task. Something that needed to be added to my To-Do list. I would struggle with feeling torn between helping others and taking time away from my family. Then, I opened my heart and God moved. I found the joy in selflessly helping others and living out God’s instructions to care for “the least of these”. And then I found that instead of being the blessor, I became the blessee.

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A great glimpse into how Jesus spent 24 hours is in Mark 1:21-39.  A summary of His activities are below: 

• taught (vs 21)
• casted out demons (vs 26)
• showed compassion (vs 31)
• healed (vs 31-34)
• spent time alone (vs 35)
• prayed (vs 35)
• was intentional/focused – obedient to God (vs 38)
• discipled and equipped others (vs 38)
• traveled (vs 39)
• preached (vs 39)
• served long hours (vs 32, 35)
• spent time with people (vs 21-39)

We never read about Jesus being too busy, not having time for others.  Even with a demanding ministry schedule, he took time to rest and pray.  We do read about Jesus saying “No” several times in scripture to pursue the “Yes” that he was sent to accomplish.  

We all have 24 hours in a day.  What can your learn from Jesus’ example?  What can/should you do differently with your days?

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It is not very often you hear someone describe the administrative work of organizing a project as “fun”.  But that is just what I heard yesterday as I was helping a Local Missions Director of a church post needs and read reports through Meet The Need.  This Director is one that is not very computer savvy and was apprehensive about using Meet The Need.  There was excitement in her voice to see the needs of her upcoming Serve Day being met by her members so quickly and with much less effort than she had done on past projects.  She simply posted needs and communicated to her members in a few different ways where to go adopt needs.  Then she jumped for joy as she received emails notifying her shifts were being filled.  As we were talking she had her MTN dashboard open and could see needs be met instantaneously and said “This is so much fun!”.  She now has more time to spend with her Coordinators in developing relationships, equipping, and discipling them how to bring others closer to Jesus.

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Ten years ago, when God gave our founder the vision for Meet The Need during a drive from Jacksonville back to his home in Atlanta, he envisioned churches and ministries in a large city connected, providing help and hope to the needy and lost.  He imagined church members able to find opportunities to serve the community in whatever ways God had gifted them.  He pictured pastors and church staff members able to provide a “window” to the outside world – a portal through which members could be mobilized to vastly increase the Church’s impact in the community.  God showed him that it was possible to unite the Body of Christ, to empower them to join forces by leveraging a common platform to demonstrate God’s love to a hurting world. 

It has been a long road, but we’re blessed and excited to see that the vision has now been realized! 

Over a roughly 40 mile expanse from Clearwater to Lakeland, many churches and nearly all ministries are now part of a single giving network.  Through Meet The Need, churches now show their members chances to volunteer at their local ministry partners and opportunities to give used items to families who need those exact same items.  Ministries now display their volunteer, resource and family needs on their own web sites, and those same needs appear on many local church sites.  Needy families who used to walk from church to church asking for help, are routed back to a “home” church because local churches are now on a common benevolence system.  Needs that would never have even been seen within the “4 walls” of churches are now being met by those willing and able to help.  And church members are provided more chances to share not only their time and belongings, but also their faith, with those in need.

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1/17/11

Why should you reach out to the community to serve and bless? Why do we do what we do?  Here’s why!

“I thought that all hope was lost on me and my two kids, and then there you were with your hand saying, ‘Can I help you up?’ You have given me the best gift of all to see a smile on my kids’ faces on Christmas and letting me know there is hope. Thank you.”

- Rebecca, Metropolitan Ministries Recipient

You can be a part of something bigger. Something eternal. Give hope. Give help. And change lives through showing God’s love to the world around you.

Search for needs now at www.meettheneed.org.

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When Jesus was asked by a scholar “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”, Jesus answered “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all of your strength and with all of your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 25, 27)

It is not by accident that these two commandments are together (love God, love others).  They are not mutually exclusive, they cannot be separated.  We cannot love God and not have His love within us overflow to others.  God designed us that when we have accepted the gift of His Son, Jesus, and we seek to love Him with everything we have, that love is so great it cannot be contained.  It is to be shared with our “neighbors”.   

Who are our neighbors? 

Neighbors can literally mean the people living next to us.  They can also be those next to us at work, school, sports, etc.  Neighbors don’t have to be people we already know.  A neighbor could be next to us for a short time sitting on a bus, in a doctor’s office, or in a grocery store line.  Neighbors are dynamic and not a coincidence.  God gives us neighbors to love in relationship and over time. He gives us neighbors to love only in a brief moment.   

• Ask yourself each day, Who will God send to be my neighbors today?  Who can I love? 
• Ask God in prayer to open your eyes and ears and prepare your heart and hands to love.  

Who are your neighbors? 

We would love to hear who some of your neighbors have been lately!

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“Several young adults invited me to volunteer with them at the Metropolitan Ministries Prayer Chapel. When we arrived, we were given instructions from the team who volunteered before us and we jumped right in. During our shift, we heard everything from pure joy to heartbreak.  It was amazing to hear the honesty of many of the people that came through that day.  What was more amazing was that no matter the circumstances, there was great faith that so many had.  As we prayed, they joyfully agreed and were thanking us for the blessings of that day.  We felt that we were truly blessed by being able to serve, for we had watched God’s faithfulness first hand.” Todd Leet – Van Dyke Church

If you haven’t taken the opportunity to serve recently, we encourage you to make the time and see first hand how God can move through you.

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As much as I enjoy the Holidays, they can be hectic and it’s nice to transition back to “normal” schedules. For many, Christmas activities include service of some kind in the community. My challenge is making service a way of life. As the Bible teaches, “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.” Deuteronomy 15:11 A great reminder, and motivation for me to find and address needs as part of my “normal” schedule!

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We went to a wonderful place the other day called Hope Children’s Home.  It is a Christ centered home for children whose parents simply can’t take care of them any more.  Parents voluntarily (not through the courts) decide they don’t have the means to take care of their children and they give them to the Hope Children’s Home for care.  Currently they have 63 children in residence.  The children range in ages from birth through early college age. 

Hope Children’s Home doesn’t receive any funding from government agencies, so they  share the love and teachings of Christ freely with the children and families.  They do not require the parents to contribute funds towards their child‘s stay.  All funding comes from donations received by businesses or individuals who believe in the vision. 

It was amazing to see the “Prayer Boards” throughout the campus with prayer needs written by the children.  Such things listed were batteries, sugar, cleaners, paper plates, laundry detergent, etc.  Not the typical “wish list” from a child.  These children know the power of a prayer.  They are being taught to depend on God for each and every need in their lives (no matter how small). Each donation of resources and money is stretched to its fullest to provide quality care, education, and a loving home for these children. 

Thank you to the staff, house parents, teachers, volunteers, and contributors of Hope Children’s Home for investing in children who have no father on this earth.  Because of you they will know the love of our heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ.      

What can you do to help the least of these? Visit www.hopechildrenshome.org and see the list of needs and volunteer opportunities.

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Driving to work a few days ago, I heard a discussion on the radio about a book written recently by Pastor Tim Keller.  According to the reporter, Pastor Keller believes many Christians see helping the poor as optional – something we do “out of the goodness of our hearts”.  And something that if we do, we should be commended for… 

Charities play to that line of thinking.  Either through guilt or compassion, they try to engender in us a desire to make some small difference.  To feel good about ourselves for having done anything to help those in need.   As a result, many people volunteer at a local charity or donate a little money, particularly during the holidays.  But how much are we thinking about the poor during the other 10 months of the year.

Keller’s point in all this is that according to the Bible, helping the poor is NOT an option.   It is not charity, it’s our responsibility. 

It’s not about our spare change or a couple days of our lives each year. 

And it’s not an event.

It’s a lifestyle.

Meet The Need exists because we, like Keller, believe there’s a Biblical mandate to help the poor.  We believe it’s wrong for Christians to buy luxuries for themselves while doing nothing to help those dying of starvation and preventable diseases.  At the same time, we understand that many more Christians and churches would do more to help the poor if they know more about the actual needs. 

Before Meet The Need, there was no way for churches to gather, filter and communicate opportunities to help those less fortunate to its members.  That’s why Meet The Need set about fixing that broken process – there is now a communication channel for sharing and selecting ways that Christians can make a difference in the lives of others that fit each of our God-given skills, interests and possessions.

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