Some people simply aren’t experienced or creative enough to see where people are hurting.
For that reason, here’s a concise list to get the thoughts rolling.
- Statistically, your gifts and personality make you best-suited for some sort of ministry on this list.
Most healthy churches have plenty of volunteers, and they’ll usually pick people who have served before.
- Many people within a church can be motivated towards self-interested purposes, so it can get complicated.
- Look beyond official church meetings for the greatest needs, such as community services and parachurch organizations.
Types of People
Family members
Poverty-stricken and involuntarily homeless
Inexperienced people
- New parents
- Foreigners
- Teenagers and children
- New people in a group you’re in
Disabled people
- Blind
- Deaf
- Mentally disabled
- Elderly
- Chronically sick and infirm
Abandoned people
- Antisocial people
- Widows
- Shut-ins/home bound
- Stay-at-home mothers
- Nursing home tenants
Organizations that serve suffering people
- Church ministries that specifically serve people
- Non-church charitable organizations
The volunteers themselves
Things to Try
Pray steadily
- For the needs of the people themselves
- For individuals’ souls and spirits
- That the workers have what they need
- For blessings to the workers
Create systems and events
- After-school programs (e.g., sports)
- Volunteer/need referral service
- Hotline/website for meeting needs
- Public service events
- Holiday events
Request money/resources
- Charity events (e.g., races)
- Car wash
- Food drive
- Supplies/clothes
Visit people
- Become a friend/mentor to someone
- Send cards (e.g., birthdays)
- Babysitting/childcare
Busywork
- Do chores and clean things up
- Admin and office work
- Run errands
Creating
- Art
- Software design
- Engineering
- Performance arts/music
- Knit/crochet/quilt
- Decorate
- Photography
- Web design
- Write letters
Teaching
- Spiritual discipleship
- Tutoring
- Job training
- Read to others
Across the World
Advertise the persecution rampant across the world, or get involved with a group that does already (e.g., Voice of the Martyrs).
Cambodia has been a hellscape of a country for decades.
Large cities in the USA (e.g., Portland, Seattle, San Francisco) have a deluge of lifestyle transients that have destroyed its society.