Jesus was pretty clear when he commanded us to “serve the least of these.” He taught about it, modeled it, pointed out when it was not happening, and tied it to our eternal destiny. It seems clear. And, according to Bono at the Summit, the Church has made huge strides in this area in the past few years. The church – collectively and individually – has made an impact on the poorest of the poor in our world.
But let’s be honest – it can be difficult at times to get small groups to serve outside their group on a regular, consistent basis. The exception seems to be if it was a cause or task that brought them together in the first place. Church leaders I interact with are still challenged to get more than 20% of the church involved in serving consistently.
In my time on staff at Willow Creek Church we had a committed core of people who served regularly with their small group at Circle Urban Ministries in Chicago. Groups grew closer to each other and closer to God as the challenges of living in and raising kids in the inner city took on names and faces.
I grew and was blessed. And I was changed. I now watch any news about this Chicago neighborhood differently – I care deeply. Those days are among my best memories of leading that group of people. Yet even with my best efforts, no more than 10% of the groups came together to serve. I know many were serving in other ways in the church. But this was a huge need and we were making a huge impact.
It just seems that when the serving involves coming face-to-face with people who are poor or suffering, two things are true. One, it’s harder to get groups to engage. And two, it’s life-changing for the groups that do.
So let’s talk. If you are having above 20% of your groups involved on a regular basis in serving the poor face to face, how are you doing it? What are you learning? And as they say in Texas, “No brag, just fact.”
And if you want to be part of a live conversation on this, Adam Phillips from ONE, Alvin Bibbs from the Willow Creek Association, Mike Seaton from the C2 Group will join Bill Donahue and me on a live webinar on October 1. Click here to check it out.
