Serving @ Living Hope
This is the ultimate goal of any church and any Christian: to share the love and goodness of God with the people around them in practical ways. Everything else leads up to this. At Living Hope, we try as much as possible to serve as teams, and we have plenty to choose from. And new teams start as people see needs that grab their hearts!
Sunday mornings
A variety of teams serve every Sunday, as we invite friends and family to come experience the generous love of God. Hospitality teams help people feel welcome and provide food and drinks at the breakfast table. Volunteers care for babies in the nursery and creatively teach kids in God’s All Stars and Bible Quizzing. Musicians and sound technicians help us feel the music and get the message. Setup and teardown crews turn a banquet hall into a worship center… and back into a banquet hall. These teams help us serve our guests and each other… and they have fun doing it!
Out and about
Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth.” So let’s get out of the saltshaker! We reach out to serve those around us in a variety of ways. Some are annual events, like the Baby Bottle Boomerang for the Women’s Center, the Angel Tree at Christmas time, or the ShareFest day of service in October. Others are ongoing. Here are two or three that we know are happening…
Spring Valley Child Enrichment
One Thursday each month, 6:00-8:00 pm, a team helps staff the Child Enrichment program at Spring Valley Homeless Shelter. While their parents are in classes of their own, this group engages kids in learning activities and games.
Whispering Pines Alzheimer’s Service
One Sunday a month, 1:30-2:00 pm, a team leads a worship service for the Alzheimer’s patients at Wispering Pines. They sing some old hymns, share a short message from the Bible, pray, and visit. These men and women can’t get out to a church service, so we help bring the church service to them.
GIFTS Tutoring Program
From October through May, these volunteers spend an hour a week one-on-one with kindergarten students at Parkview Elementary School, helping them grow in their reading skills. Each volunteer works with the same children for the entire school year. Each year, the kids involved show definite improvement!
Food Pantry
Every week, people attending Living Hope’s services are invited to drop a food item or two into “the pink tub.” The food is then distributed to families in need by the Downtown Christian Food Pantry.
Good Neighbor Offering
On the first Sunday of every month, we give a special offering for people in our community who are in financial distress. These funds are distributed by First Contact, a Christian Resource and Referral agency with offices in Valparaiso and Portage.
Interested?
If you would like to know more about how to get involved in one of these serving opportunities, please contact Rich Schmidt (email / staff page).
