2014 City Serve Recap
With City Serve 2015 just seven weeks away, I thought it would be a good time to remember last year’s City Serve and let it stand as motivation to begin building momentum for City Serve 2015 — May 9. This is content from the recap post last year.
The Overall Scope was Genuinely Impressive
Here are our best estimates in terms of raw numbers:
Involvement
• 6 Cities • 1,200+ Volunteers • 27 Churches • 10 Community Partners
Work Done
• 28 Parks prepped •11 Parties in Parks
• 9 Community One Projects
• Projects At/With: Delaware Elementary, Throw Your Worries Away, St. Vincent’s Day Care, YWCA, Jacobsville Join In, Christian Life Center, Uncharted International, One Life East Construction, South Heights Elementary, Jefferson Elementary, Habitat Reuse Collection, East End Street Clean-Up, Kids Celebration at Bennett Memorial, East End Community Garden Prep, Holy Name Community Garden Prep, Vann Rd. Baseball Fields, Food From the Heart, Studio Bee, Chandler Elementary, Chandler Ball Fields.
And this is just what I’ve been able to collect from my seat. There was inevitably more going on, more impact created. That is way beyond even what we envisioned, and we have never been shy about dreaming big. It really brings Paul’s words of encouragement to the church at Ephesus into real life experience: “Now to the God who can do so many awe-inspiring things, immeasurable things, things greater than we ever could ask or imagine through the power at work in us.”
The Vision of a Movement—a Gospel City Movement—is Advancing
I keep returning to this definition of a ‘Gospel Movement’ to show where we need to go:
A Gospel Movement is a united, sustainable effort by churches and cultural leaders to transform their city by meeting critical needs and sharing the love and message of Jesus Christ.
City Serve was yet another example of that definition coming to life in the city and region we live in. Any one church cannot build a great city, cannot reach a city, cannot change the direction of a city. The Church, unified in purpose, can begin to move the meter together. City Serve was a fantastic step in toward that direction.
The Day can be Leveraged for More Than a One-Off Event
Days like City Serve are exciting and necessary to raise awareness and build momentum. However, if they stand alone their real impact is minimal. The real win for the day was in church unity and relationships built. The world needs to see 27 different churches coming together instead of divisiveness. And the relationships began among the City, neighbors and community organizations are invaluable if they are leveraged for lasting relationships. It was so cool to hear stories about people saying things like:
“We should come back to this park as a group once a month.”
“I’ve never even been to that part of town.”
“We can do projects like this on our own.”
“Our Group can really connect and serve here.”
And many more just like it. Showing the potential for lasting relationships. So to that end, here are three tips that can drive us all to use City Serve as a launching pad for continued impact and involvement:
1. Continue to connect to the City. Just like the person who had never been to that part of town, hopefully City Serve at least allowed you to see the City of Evansville in a different light. Continue to explore it!
2. Fall in love with a neighborhood in the City. A city is nothing more than a collection of people, therefore the Church should love every City. Your park, your project was in a neighborhood. At very least you live in one. Love it sacrificially.
3. Be Present in the City. Our churches need to move from the building to the community, our groups need to move from the couch to the community and as individual Christ-followers we need to be present where people are.
And in all these endeavors, “Be ready to offer a defense, humbly and respectfully, when someone asks you why you live in hope.” Look for conversations and share the Good News.