illuminate-servant evangelism

Servant Evangelism connects people to people in a natural, easy, low-risk, high grace way.Who doesn't like to be given a hot cup of tea or coffee on a cold day? Especially by someone who is smiling, happy and having fun. Servant Evangelism wins the heart before it confronts the mind. A small act of kindness nudges a person closer to God, often in a profound way as it bypasses ones mental defenses. The average Christ-follower is willing to hand a stranger a cup of coffee or wrap a gift f or wash windows(low risk). The high grace is seen in the typical reaction. "Oh, thank you!" "This is so nice!" "I can't believe this is for free!" And, "Why are you doing this?" Kindness builds the bridge for the person to receive a touch of love from God. It's simple, practical, effective and fun!

I am leading a group called Illuminate, which is a servant evangelism team. We meet once a month and do practical ministries throughout the community. Our aim right now is the Heights are which is the residential area that is not so fortunate. We have a goal for 20 people of the Heights to come to Christ this year and so far we have 4 people who have started that journey!!

In december we offered free gift wrapping to shoppers in Coleraine Diamond Centre. People were just amazed that we were doing this for absolutely nothing in return.

We washed windows in the Heights area for free in February, and had a blast! We were able to chat with several people and tell them why it is we are out in the cold washing strangers windows for nothing in returm. We are here to show God's love in a real and practical way.

For Valentine's day we invaded the town with kindness in our annual Kindness week. We handed out goodie baskets full of muffins, cupcakes & sweets to local businesses in Coleraine. One an in his mid forties was so thankful...He said he has never recieved anything for Valentine's day before and was a bit overwhelmed. We handed out jelly hearts to the teens where they all gather on fridays after school. We hand delivered 1400 Father's Love Letters in the Heights area. These letters just tell of God's love for us and it is so beautiful and passionate. One man who has lead a very bitter life recieved the letter and just wept while listening as his daughter read it aloud to him. The words are so powerful and it touches you right at the core. We toped of Kindness week with teams to the Montague & Cromore Nursing Homes where we handed out beautifully wrapped flowers for the ladies and sweets for the gents. We sang old love songs and hymns and visited the old folk and had so much fun!

This month we are Going Green for St. Paddy's Day(to all you americans...apparantly Paddy is spelled with two"d's" instead of "t's"...I got told for spelling it the latter!!!)!! We will be handing out free energy saving light bulbs in the Heights along with a list of green ways to save money around the house.

I have also been working on building a relationship with the Diamond Centre. It is where all the shoppers are and a great place to reach the community. I have been in contact with them for the christmas wrapping and have offered to serve with anything else that they need help with. The assistant manager, Lynsey, and I have hit it off anh she is now calling me to ask if we could help them out with events! So we are offering free face painting for their events and continuing to bless them with a servant heart. Isn't God so great!!!???!!!!

It's amazing the response you get from people and it is a wonderful opportunity to tell the community of God's incredible love for us. Here are some pix...