Gospel Communities on Mission
The pastors and elders of Living Hope share the vision for all LH Gospel Community Groups to enjoy a rhythm of regular service within a community. Though our residential neighborhoods may be defined as a community, there are certainly other ways to engage. Because of this it is helpful to begin to think of places that may be a little outside of the box when it comes to Gospel Community engaging on mission together.
The Collierville Nursing and Rehabilitation Home is a great place to demonstrate the love of Jesus regularly and routinely to residents and staff. There are residents who seldom, if ever, have any visitors. Loneliness is real! This is a community ready to be served!
The Neighborhood Christian Center hosts Clothes Closets and Food Pantries for which regular volunteers are needed. They also need bible study teachers, tutors, mentors, and snack providers for bible studies and after school programs. NCC is another community ready to be served.
St. Mark Village in Moscow, TN is a low income housing development. The government gives funds directly to the apartment owners. Saint Mark’s charges lower rent for low income persons. The management is very receptive to people building relationships and serving in any way possible.
Any Sports Team is a great place to connect and engage in life on mission. If the people within your own GC have kiddos on sports teams it can be a perfect place to not only love one another intentionally, but to serve and engage other families involved.
Fayette County’s Southwest Elementary School has reached out to Living Hope to ask for help with various ministry opportunities throughout the school year. Some specifics include the need for GCGs to provide muffins and juice for the school’s Muffins with Moms event on October 25th. Likewise, Donuts with Dads in November, School Wide Feld Trip in January, Career Fair in March, Picnic and Field Day in May. Again, this is another community ready to be served.
Living Hopers have provided cupcakes for the Refugee Empowerment Program once a month for ten years. We also have at least one member who volunteers at REP weekly. There are opportunities for service which include tutoring and mentoring students and teaching English as a Second Language to adults. The Binghamton neighborhood is a community of refugees from several countries…ready to be served. One needs not go around to the world to reach the world with the love of Jesus.
Life Choices of Memphis offers a community of local residents and churches who are passionate about the sanctity of life and serve the ladies of our community who are in a crisis pregnancy, struggle with post-abortion trauma, etc. Living Hope Gospel Community Groups can serve together in many ways. Two upcoming events that are noteworthy include an annual banquet on October 25th and a Community Center Tour on November 5th. You would be surprised to hear just how many ways your GCG can serve together.
Safe Families creates extended family-like supports for families through a community of devoted volunteers who are motivated by faith to keep children safe and keep families intact. Safe, loving homes are provided where parents may voluntarily have their children cared for while parents seek to restore stability in their lives. Some of our LH people are partners with Safe Families already. This is a beautiful place to not just engage by caring for children, but to invite moms and dads of the children into the life of your GC.
The Common, our partner church in the Orange Mound neighborhood, offers several ways in which LH GCGs can engage the community. A food pantry at Melrose to serve elderly and students who otherwise would go hungry, renovation of homes of elderly residents, and meals for the Melrose football team are just a few specific ways to serve this community.
Contact LH Missions Administrator Alan May at amay@lhchurch.com or LH Gospel Community Pastor Dakota Zook at dzook@lhchurch.com for more information about these service opportunities and/or to share with us ways in which your GCG is already serving!