Some people forget or wait until the last moment to get Mom a flower or card. Flowers can be expensive when purchased at the store individually, but they can be purchased for less than fifty cents per flower in bulk. Your group can probably explain to a local supermarket florist what you are trying to [...]
Even though we have a dozen points here about starting vital outreach the basic idea behind Kindness Outreach is quite simple. My tendency is to jump into something I find exciting and to stir things up as much as possible. Sometimes stirring things up creates complexity. Life just flows that direction. As others catch the [...]
Spring is here and this season is a great opportunity to reach out to your community and show them God’s love in practical ways. Here are three great outreach projects that are perfect for spring: 1. Free Car Wash This is an effective, practical service. We offer a car wash every week in the summer. [...]
Can we do outreach on our own? Or is it better to create outreach teams? Steve reflects on his past mistakes and answers these questions while giving practical advice.
I had the pleasure of meeting Steve Sjogren at a conference he sponsored at the Kings Island Inn in 1989. I should have known something was up when I lost one of my 2 front teeth setting up the sound equipment (a story for another time, but feel free to insert your favorite hillbilly joke [...]
It’s getting warmer and this changes what we can do to show love to our communities. Take a look at your supply closet, and do some spring-cleaning to freshen everything up. The typical toilet-cleaning kits and windshield washing supplies are a start, but add some more spark to your outreaches with a good variety of [...]
As a full time MDiv student I spend much of my time hidden behind my laptop and a pile of books and journal articles. I debate and defend theology with other students, wrestle with Greek and Hebrew, and receive instruction on topics from church administration through to effective communication techniques; I even have classes specifically [...]
I’m not sure when the term ‘servant evangelism’ first came into play. In the early days of the Vineyard movement, Steve Sjogren was the first voice I heard talking about focusing an entire church community around the idea of serving outsiders through practical, applicable acts of kindness. My Vineyard church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa has [...]
It seemed I had tried it all! From dropping thousands of eggs from a helicopter to sending out what seemed like millions of postcards, but our church was not getting the “results” that everyone else had gotten. I hired coaches and mentors who told me “how” to plant the church. I did everything by the [...]
John Chapman, aka the legendary “Johnny Appleseed” was a missionary who reached out to native Americans in the Ohio Valley in the early 1800s. He Had Simple Tools His primary planting tool was a stick! Do you have a stick? When his current stick wore out he found a new stick. I heard recently through [...]