What would we do if we didn’t have volunteers? When I look at all the people who attend Lord of Life, I see many who take time out of their everyday life to freely offer their time, talents, funds, and expertise to tackle a task. They don’t do this for pay, nor do they do it for the fame and glory. They volunteer because they are following the call of Christ to serve one another. What a special way to show the love of God.
Volunteering can look like being part of a mission team, leading our youth and children’s programs, going on mission trips, sponsoring a Bible study, serving communion, being part of the praise team, praying for others, helping with Stepping Forward, providing food during a food drive, giving backpacks to children who are in need, being on the board for the Preschool, greeting people at the door, and my favorite: volunteering for Family Promise.
Did you know it takes approximately 50 people volunteering each week that Lord of Life hosts Family Promise guests at the church? It requires people to set up the family rooms, 2 volunteers each night to spend the night, around 4 people to prepare and serve a meal along with being with the families during the evening, then taking everything down and washing the laundry at the end of the week. If 50 individuals volunteer, then you only serve time for the week.
I’d like to share a couple of stories as to how our volunteers affect the lives of those we serve at Family Promise. One of our single moms was asked by a volunteer if there were no barriers what did she dream of doing with her life. This mom had never had someone ask her what her dreams were. Her answer was to own her own daycare. This volunteer then sat with her while they put this dream on paper and set up a path to make it happen. I am so excited to say this mom followed through on the dream and now runs her own in-home daycare. She is very successful, all because a volunteer asked what her dreams were. One of the congregations took the families to Light Up Middletown to see the Christmas Lights. Several of the children had never seen a Christmas display before. We had a kindergartner who was failing because he couldn’t read. For 2 months straight, we had a volunteer tutor at each congregation who worked with this child and he graduated from kindergarten at an age appropriate, reading level. This is a super small sampling of what our volunteers have achieved.
While Family Promise is obviously my favorite way to volunteer, I would encourage everyone reading this to prayerfully consider where your gifts and talents lie and then volunteer. Volunteers do make a difference!
Linda Smith, Executive Director, Family Promise of Butler County and Lord of Life member
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Family Promise of Butler County addresses the needs of families struggling with homelessness by providing shelter, meals, and support services. You can learn more about this crucial ministry, as well as serve and support them, here: http://www.familypromisebutlercounty.com/
Many thanks to all who made our host week with Family Promise happen, this week. Each greeting, meal, and prayer was a service of love.