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Story | SouthWoods Christian Church

FIA Helped Us Prepare a Depth & Breadth of Service

"We tailored our FIA projects so that they'd meet our people's needs and desires on a number of levels."...

“We tailored our Faith in Action projects so that they’d meet our people’s needs and desires on a number of levels,” explained Laurie Montague, Director of Adult Ministries and Outreach at SouthWoods Christian Church in Overland Park, Kansas. “We gave them the option of serving Friday, Saturday, and/or Sunday,” she continued. “People could serve with their small group or as a family unit. Various projects reached out to people with various skill sets: carpenters, painters – those who wanted to get their hands dirty – and those good at organizing, cooking, or teaching – and those who have a passion for just talking with and encouraging people.”

And it worked: SouthWoods church, located in a suburb of Kansas City, typically runs 500 in attendance. More than 400 showed up to help out with various projects on their Faith in Action weekend.

Many of the projects re-visited and reaffirmed ongoing relationships with several other ministries; others were ventures into brand-new areas of service. One team served Friday night at Freedom Fire, an inner city mission that works with urban youth, preparing and serving meals, helping lead worship, playing games with the kids, and just visiting with them. Meanwhile, another group across town worked at the local Harvesters food pantry, sorting and organizing donations.

On Saturday and Sunday, groups visited two nursing homes. One was a “forgotten” nursing home where people seldom visit – so the team led worship, sang, made crafts with the residents and spent individual time with them. On Sunday they visited another nursing home, holding a worship service complete with kids singing during part of the program. They stayed afterwards to visit with residents and help them make craft projects.

Another group worked at City Union Mission – another inner city mission working with the homeless. The mission had just acquired a thrift store and needed help with demolition, construction and organizing donated merchandise, getting ready to open their doors.

Other teams worked at two local church camps doing clean-up, landscaping, painting, roof repair. They even set up a playground at one camp. Other repair work was done at the homes of two single moms: landscaping and deck repair at one home and repairing and adding guttering at another.

Still other teams worked at the Special Olympics regional tournament that weekend, encouraging kids, keeping scores and handing out trophies. They also partnered with county firefighters, visiting five local fire stations near the church, bringing along a home-cooked meal, thanking them for their service. “We asked at every location – how can we pray for you? And then we did,” explained Laurie. “It was so humbling – and gratifying – to see these big, burly firemen circle round for us to pray for them.”

At the Inner Kansas City Rescue Mission for men, team members played games, visited and encouraged them. Some team members have also signed up to go back and help teach computer skills to the men on an ongoing basis.

One added benefit that Laurie had hoped for: people new to SouthWoods, who hadn’t yet assimilated into the body, came out in force to serve and also joined small groups. “I’d prepared all the team leaders to look for those new people and help them forge new relationships with others in the team. And they did! We saw lots of connections taking place,” she said.

“What I loved about Faith in Action is that it gave us a very tangible way to show God’s love to others in our community,” she added. “We preached it and taught it in small groups, preparing them to serve – and then we served! Faith in Action gave us the resources to help us do that.”