Volunteer and Support Opportunities
A critical part of our mission is how we involve individuals, families, and the local church in our work. From the moment the First Church of Jerusalem decided to ask seven people to start making certain that everyone in their congregation had enough to eat, the Church was asked to focus on being a family in word and deed. They had a problem, and they needed a solution, so they adapted their structures to make certain that they were not just talking about loving their neighbors as themselves, but actually doing it. We believe that today’s church needs to be challenged in the same way and must play a key contributor and collaborator role with our work.
By recognizing that local mission remains a fundamental responsibility of the Church, we endeavor to include families and the local church gatherings in our missional work by offering Christians the following:
– Mission focused actions that allow people to use their spiritual gifts in ministry
– Help people grow in their faith by loving their neighbor through one-on-one relationships
– Building up the local church as a caring community
– Offering local missional projects to the local church
To support this mission, we offer the following ways to get involved in our ministry.
This program is designed for individuals, families, or a small group who wish to adopt a lonely senior adult in San Antonio. Through the adoption process we introduce the volunteer(s) to the senior adult and help them develop a relationship through telephone conversations and face to face visits. We continue to stay involved in the relationship – the volunteer(s) just adds to what we are already doing. By developing this friendship, the volunteer(s) bring joy and conversation to a lonely individual and will certainly be blessed by sharing the love of Christ. We encourage the volunteer to talk by phone with the senior adult once per week and then plan an outing of at least two hours, once per month. Outings can be a visit to the senior’s home, a trip to lunch or a trip to Walmart, a ride to church or many other alternatives. The total time commitment for each adoption is less than 6 hours per month.
Reaching senior adults in various areas of our community is vital to our mission.
- Support our community events on select Saturdays where we host outdoor cook outs and fun activities at senior properties. We need volunteers to help set up and tear down for the event, register participants, lead games and activities and just visit with senior adults.
- Join us in door-to-door Evangelism. We have a community engagement team who are currently working on the west side of downtown. Each Monday we share the Gospel by going through San Antonio Housing properties. Normally we go in the mornings, but we are flexible and would be happy to accommodate other times if a small group or interested individuals wanted to join us. These visits have been very fruitful and each week we pray with people and have seen several adults make professions of faith. We would love to have more come with us (especially Spanish speakers).
Performing acts of love is an important way we minister to senior adults. On the third Saturday of each month, we schedule a workday at the home of a select senior adult. These events generally last from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm and are ideal for Individuals, families, or small groups to join to perform a variety of activities such as mowing yards, raking leaves, painting, hauling trash or debris and other light maintenance projects.
Discipleship is an integral part of our mission, and we need Biblically sound Christians who can support these efforts in the following ways:
- Disciple a new Christian through weekly conversations, Bible study and prayer (virtual and in person)
- Participate in a group online (Zoom) senior adult Bible study
- Help support our seniors with technology support so they can participate in the Zoom Bible study. This means helping them with setting up zoom on their phones and then walking them through how to connect, disconnect, mute conversations etc.
- Ask one of our seniors to join you at a Bible study at your church or to participate in your small group.
There are several ways that your Church, life group, small group or family can help support this ministry. Here are some other examples:
- Invite one of our senior adults to your church or life group meetings and offer to give them a ride so they can attend at least twice per month.
- Organize a supply drive for seniors by purchasing and collecting items from our needs list below. If the group wishes they can participate in delivering the collected items to the seniors in need. This is a family friendly way to do local missions.
- Provide lunch for one of our weekly Bible studies. Group can simply provide funds to purchase lunch or is welcome to come to study and serve lunch to the seniors.
Paper Towels
Toilet Papers
Dishwashing Liquid
Laundry Detergent
Hand Soap
Body Soap
Body Lotion
Deodorant
Toothpaste
Facial Tissues
Shampoo
Socks (new with grippers)
Night Lights
Blankets – queen sized (new)
Throws (new)
Electric Heaters (new)
Electric Fans (new)
Bibles – NKJV Super Giant Print
