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Madison’s Thoughts on Serving

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Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve blogged. A lot has happened since I wrote last, and I’m sure you’ll get a glimpse of it as I write a series of blogs over the next few months.

I currently run an after school program in an under resourced neighbourhood in London, and have been doing so for the past year. In January, my awesome mentee has joined me at this program. (I should preface this by saying that I currently only mentor one individual.) We endure the chaos, the laughter, the doubts, and the creativeness together. All of it together. This is a neat experience for both of us. Here is what I have been learning along the way.

  1. She gets to see me in another context. At the after school program, or as the kids call, “campsite”, she sees me take on a leadership role, how I interact with kids, and how I deal with the stressful situations. She sees how I problem solve, hears my doubts and concerns, and laughs with me when the kids do something hilarious. At the same time though, I get to see her blossom into a leader as she observes the kids and sees which kids need some extra attention. I see her work one on one with kids and see the smiles on their faces when she’s with them. I listen to her observations of the days, and take in her ideas. It’s a great opportunity for us to grow together as we serve there, and then afterwards we sit down and chat about life and dig deep into the Word.
  1. We don’t just get to read about God’s command to serve, but we get to do it together. Over the past year we have done a few studies together and serving seems to come up a lot. It’s one thing to just talk about serving and serve separately, but it’s another to learn and serve together. On her own, she serves a lot, and we debrief about those times, but together, we learn about each other by actually seeing each other in that context, as stated above.
  1. It’s something we both enjoy. We both love working with kids, and have babysat together in the past and served in the children’s ministry at church before. Working with the kids at Campsite is natural for both of us. As it says in 1 Peter 4:10, “Each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” God has given us both the gift of caring for kids, so asking her to help me was not difficult, knowing that she would be a good fit.

Over the past 5 months, we have had a great time being together at Campsite and building relationships with the kids we work with. I’m looking forward to continuing this routine and seeing how we grow and develop together and in our understanding of who God is.

Serving – Part of the Journey

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Serving-SoupAs part of the ongoing journey of discipleship, there must be action. What we learn needs to express itself in tangible ways. In fact, the ongoing back and forth of engaging scripture with our minds with the practical and active service of our “hands” makes both come alive in new and meaningful ways. We recognize that Jesus did not spend all of his time simply teaching his disciples but was with them on mission as we are to be with those that we come alongside. Now, to be fair, in his context, 2,000 years ago, in a culture where a Rabbi – disciple relationship was common, it was expected that Jesus’ discipleship would be with him, that they would be in essence be living together. We don’t live in that context. And yet, how are we to incorporate this in our lives with those we are gathering together with?

I have taken two different angles of serving for the guys that I have connected with, both of which have been effective in helping us grow as disciples of Jesus. I suggest that you consider both ideas.

First, at times we step outside of our areas of giftedness (which is often outside of our comfort zones) in order to stretch us mentally, and allow us to learn about areas of life that we may never come in contact with. One time, we have served in our local homeless drop-in centre. This involved serving breakfast in a small kitchen to about 30-50 men and women at 7am. We weren’t necessarily gifted at this role, and we didn’t necessarily believe that we were called to this aspect of ministry, and yet it helped us to see an aspect of life that we should be aware of and it grew our hearts for those that are living a life that is so difficult for us to even imagine. Interestingly, a friend of mine has taken his guys to serve kids in grades 6-8 in a low-income community. He is fully aware that this age group is not their sweet spot and that he is facing many challenges compared to someone who is more naturally suited to these kids. Yet, for a season, it is stretching him and his guys and giving them a sense of the issues that many of these kids face.

The other area of service falls into our sweet spot, using the gifts and experiences that we have. However this requires that you, as the leader, understand those that you are meeting with and link their skills and experiences with areas of service that will enhance your community and serve the kingdom. This past year, the guys that I meet with had the privilege of helping a significant homeless organization in our city, Mission Services, develop a business and marketing plan to move and expand their thrift store as well as relocate their head office. We all have business backgrounds, with one guy owning his own growing business and the other guy having spent 20 years with one of the largest marketing firms in Canada working with some of the major brands in Canada. We had the privilege of helping the Executive Director pull together a plan that he could present to his board who ultimately approved the expansion. It gave us a sense of satisfaction knowing that we were able to help this organization take a step forward in the work that they do by using our skills and work experience.

In all of this, it is important for you, as someone who leads others, to engage them in active ministry beyond simple meeting together to reflect on scripture and pray together. Make scripture come alive as you serve your community, both in areas that use your skills (your sweet spot) and in areas that may be outside of your comfort zone, to stretch your thinking and to grow your heart.

For the kingdom.