Reaching the community: It's our mission
Betsy Dishman, Olivet Presbyterian Church, Charlottesville, Va.
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 Our LOGOS ministry, called Kids' Connection (KC), includes a mission component as part of our annual master plan. A mission activity is often part of Recreation, when we devote time to creating a mission project that frequently takes more than one week to complete. Rather than choosing new mission opportunities, the KC leaders look to existing church ministries. This approach allows us to partner with other church leaders. When our youth group went to New York City to serve the homeless in January, the children made scarves for them to take and give away. Another church tradition is delivering Easter baskets to homebound members. The children enjoyed preparing the baskets and sampling the leftover goodies! Church members are then invited to visit the members to deliver the baskets. When we learned that some KC parents are involved with local charities, we used a little creative thought to make more connections. Our community has a large children's hospital, so the KC Kids made coloring books by choosing online images, making booklets, and adding crayon packs for patients and their siblings. Another new ministry that a community member started in support of the hospital invited groups to collect items to help provide packaged meals for families who couldn't afford to eat out while their child was hospitalized. The KC families shopped to provide the requested items, and the children packaged them assembly-line style. If you're considering adding mission projects to your LOGOS ministry, try one or two to get started. Then enjoy building and growing new connections in your church and in your community! Do you have a LOGOS community mission story? If so, please share via GenOn's Facebook page or website.
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| Handprints all over the church |
Liz Perraud, Executive Director, GenOn Ministries
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What does it mean to reach the community through our ministry for and with children and youth (and a whole lot of adults)? Does it mean flinging wide our doors and saying "y'all come"? Does it mean going to homes and picking up those who wouldn't make it otherwise? Does it mean inviting and encouraging non-churched parents to form new, lasting relationships through participation? Does it mean wrestling with behavioral issues when many of those parents are unwilling or unable to participate?
Yes.
The United Church in Canandaigua, New York, has a long LOGOS ("Youth Club") history of reaching out to the community and engaging families. Christian Education Director Cathy Bush shares a recent reflection:
"In getting out the Bibles for our new 3rd graders yesterday, I picked up an older Bible left behind by one of our Youth Club children. She was forever leaving that Bible behind and I thought - her handprints are all over this church. It made me smile, thinking how this child from a difficult home life has been present and a part of our Youth Club program for so many years.
I love the idea of so many children over the years leaving hand prints all over the church - at Sunday school, Youth Club, nursery, VBS - and knowing that the most important handprint of all, one scarred with the cost of forgiveness, has left His imprint upon all of us. The mark of our Maker, our Savior.
Thank you, Lord, for this gift of Your handprint on our lives. Use it to connect and bring lives closer to you. In Jesus' name we pray."
What's your LOGOS community connection story? Please share via GenOn's Facebook page or website.
In Christ,
Liz Perraud
Executive Director
GenOn Ministries
cell: 443-255-8492
Toll-free: 877-937-2572
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Parents Corner: Families serving their communities
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Shirley Carlson, La Crescenta Presbyterian Church, California
God created us to be in community, and He calls us to serve others. Reading Jesus' words from Matthew 25:37-40 to your family can help your children comprehend what it means to be Jesus to others. God needs our hands and our hearts to reach out to those around us who are hurting.
God also wants to be in relationship with us, and He wants us to be in relationship with others. You can work together as a family or perhaps you could form a group of families to work on local missions. Learn about your community's most significant need by asking your pastor, the United Way, or other social service agencies.
Present some of the ideas and have a vote. These online resources can help you and your children focus on being God's hands to those in need in your community:
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 New Faith For Life
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One Great Idea
from Carolyn Brown,
Charlottesville, Virginia
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 LOGOS User Guide
50% off
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 Advent resource
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