When Worship Walks Out the Door
By Julie Hawkins, Pastor of Ministry
Some of the moments I remember most clearly from my years in outreach ministry didn’t happen inside a church building. They happened while serving alongside someone, hearing a story I might never otherwise have heard, or watching a volunteer discover that a need they had thought about from a distance belonged to an actual person with a name, a family, and a story.
Like the time I was serving alongside our Thai Prison Ministry team. We walked into a prison in Bangkok not sure how we would relate to the women incarcerated there. And through the power of shared stories and shared experience, I saw our team come alive. I remember one woman on our team commenting how sitting with women who love Jesus in a Thai Prison helped her understand what Jesus meant when he proclaimed freedom for the captive. That team member came back changed. In fact, she started serving at WCCW up the road every week because she said she learned about Jesus by serving alongside women in prison.
That’s one reason I’m looking forward to Serve Day on November 1.
Throughout The Heart of Revival sermon series, we’ve been asking God to do what only he can do. Revival is his work. We don’t manufacture it by trying harder, planning the right event, or becoming more religious. We ask God to awaken and renew us.
But when he does, something changes in us.
Isaiah 58 makes that connection rather uncomfortable. God’s people are fasting, praying, and seeking him, yet God keeps directing their attention toward the hungry, the oppressed, and people carrying heavy burdens. Their worship has become disconnected from the lives of their neighbors.
Jesus brings those things together again: love God with everything you have, and love your neighbor as yourself.
I’ve seen how serving can make that second commandment wonderfully concrete. You may begin because you think you have something to give. Then you meet someone. You hear a story. A need becomes a name. A place you used to drive past becomes somewhere you care about.
That’s what I hope Serve Day can be for us. On November 1, we’ll gather at 10:00 am for a shortened worship service. Pastor Ellis will preach from Isaiah 58 about how revival affects society, and then we’ll go serve. Some of us will stay at Chapel Hill. Others will head into the community. We’ll serve alongside Tacoma Rescue Mission, Kitsap House—our church plant in Port Orchard—and local schools. Here on campus, one of our projects will be assembling Compassion Kits filled with practical hygiene items for people served by Tacoma Rescue Mission.
And our children belong in this story. Kids in kindergarten through fifth grade can serve alongside their parents. Our Early Childhood kids will have programming during the shortened worship service, and afterward families with babies, toddlers, and preschoolers can head to Mini-Serve in the Neel Chapel. There will be play, but there will also be simple ways for little hands to serve, including decorating cards and placemats for Tacoma Rescue Mission.
As a kid, my parents would take me and my sisters along with them when their small group served. This was so formative to my faith. I know that one of the reasons I am in the line of work I am in today is because my parents modeled service to me. I am so grateful for that.
You don’t have to wait until November 1 to figure out where you fit, either. Beginning this Sunday, our Serve Team will be in the Lobby after worship. Come talk with us. We can explain the different opportunities, help you sign up, answer questions about serving with your kids, or simply help you figure out where you might fit.
And please hear this: you matter to this mission. You don’t need special expertise or years of ministry experience. You don’t have to know exactly what you’re good at before you come to the table. Part of my hope for these next few Sundays is that we can help people find a place to begin. Sometimes the first step really is as simple as walking up and saying, “Where could you use me?”
If you’ve never served before, I want to challenge you and encourage you to jump in and serve with us. Maybe you haven’t been able to find the time, or you haven’t known where to plug in, or you’ve been reluctant to join. This is a great opportunity to give serving a try. In fact, you could even invite a friend or neighbor to join in!
I don’t expect a few hours of service to solve everything that hurts in our community. And serving doesn’t create revival. God does the renewing. We serve because we have been loved. We serve because Jesus teaches us to notice our neighbor. And when God begins renewing our hearts, we often discover that we’re noticing people we once overlooked.
My hope is that November 1 feels like a continuation of our worship rather than something we do after worship is finished. We’ll sing, pray, and open Scripture together. Then we’ll walk out the doors and keep worshiping with our hands, our feet, our attention, and our love.
I hope you’ll join us—and if you’re not sure where to begin, come find us in the Lobby this Sunday. We’d love to help you find your place.
Serve Day begins at 10:00 am Sunday, November 1. Serving times vary by opportunity, from about 30 minutes to two hours. Light refreshments will be provided whether you’re serving at Chapel Hill or out in the community, or feel free to pack a lunch.
You can also help prepare for our Compassion Kit Build by purchasing needed hygiene items from our Amazon Wishlist.
I’ll see you there!
Pastor Julie