How can you demonstrate God’s love in your community? Here are just a few things Jesus might do.
1. Pray fervently. If your church has an intercessory prayer group, participate in it. If not, start one, and encourage others to join you in interceding regularly for the lost in your city.
2. Be an active school parent. Prayer may not be allowed in the classroom, but the government can’t stop your light from shining in a school environment. Become friends with the principal, teachers and other parents.
3. Celebrate holidays in style. Gather neighbors, co-workers or relatives for Christmas or Easter. Then tell the old, old story of Jesus’ birth or resurrection in a brand-new way.
4. Join a club. Writers’ groups, music clubs and other common-interest organizations can open doors for you to share the gospel. Don’t avoid non-Christian gatherings.
5. Coach a Little League team. Coaching or playing sports can initiate friendships and help you reach the younger generation.
6. Build a cross-cultural bridge. Become friends with someone who looks different and has a different history.
7. Adopt a child. We Christians admit that unwanted children need a home, but are we willing to play the role of parent to them?
8. Become a pen pal. Prisoners have time to read mail. Who’s going to write them?
9. Get a workout partner. Your lost neighbor needs exercise, too. Ask him or her to join you for regular visits to the fitness center.
10. Who says you can’t visit a bar? Jesus didn’t let religious people dictate where He could or couldn’t go; neither should you.
11. Bless your food server. Restaurant workers often complain that church people are more rude and tip less generously than others. Let’s change our image! Be friendly, listen and don’t just leave a gospel tract; leave a big tip.
12. Feed the homeless. Local ministries in your area are touching these lonely people. Get involved.
13. Share a meal and a movie. Invite an adult neighbor over for a home-cooked dinner or a backyard barbecue, then watch a wholesome video.
14. Send a card. Surprise unbelievers in your office with an expression of kindness on birthdays, holidays or the anniversary of a painful memory.
15. Help someone in crisis. Volunteer at a local hospital or with a meals-on-wheels program.
16. Start an office Bible study. Get permission first, then have an informal time of sharing over a brown-bag lunch.
17. Comfort someone dying of AIDS. Many cities need hospice volunteers to minister to the terminally ill.
18. Become a Big Brother or Sister. Scores of young children are raised in single-parent homes and need the influence of another adult to help them grow to maturity. Make one part of your life.
19. Reach out to children in your neighborhood. Invite neighborhood children into your home (with their parents’ permission, of course) for cookies, a story or a swim in your pool, and share the love of Jesus with them.
20. Be a friend. Nowhere in the Bible are we told to shun contact with unbelievers. We are called to love and serve the people we meet in school, at work and in our communities. Listen, offer encouragement and wait for opportunities to share Christ.
