Powerful Acts of Being A Good Neighbor
Powerful Acts of Being A Good Neighbor
Sometimes it is the simple, small acts that make the biggest difference. Below are a few examples of what these acts of service and acts of neighborliness may look like. We encourage you to pick one and see what happens as doors open and new conversations begin simply because you showed up to unleash hope. These are just a few examples. There are many ways to love your neighbors well. When people ask why you are doing this simply tell them that God loves you and that is reason enough to want to love them. If your neighbors turn down your offer, don’t worry. You are being obedient to the greatest command no matter what. Before any activity pray God will use these acts for His glory and trust that is what will happen.
- Read a good book about neighboring to get you inspired. Try Dave Runyon’s book, “The Art of Neighboring.”
- Read Melody Warnick’s book, “This Is Where You Belong” and try out one of her ideas for learning to love where you live.
- Make a post of chili, soup or cookies and share… take some of your homemade treats to a neighbor and simply tell them you were thinking about them and wanted to bless them today.
- Beautify a corner of your neighborhood, plant flowers, help to clean, and pick up trash. If planting flowers, pot some and share.
- Do a family or group “Care Scavenger Hunt” to find ways of encouraging people in a define time frame. Then come back to share stories.
- Visit a local school, first responders location or hospital and take a thank you package to show appreciation for all they do for our community
- Put $20 cash or a gift card in your pocket specifically for the purpose of helping someone. Pray for wisdom in knowing who it should go to on that day.
- Reach out to old friends and tell them you would like to commit to praying for them at a certain time each day of the week for a month.
- Purchase a gift card to a local fast food restaurant. Use it to pay for someone’s meal or item unexpectedly.
- Write notes of encouragement and share them. They can be anonymous or not.
- Babysit for free for an evening so a couple can go out that rarely has the chance.
- Text 10 people and share something with them that you appreciate about them
- Make a busy bag for a family that has young children
- Keep water, socks, granola bars in your car to share in the moment when you see a need.
- Organize a prayer box in your neighborhood. This is a simply a place for people to drop off a prayer at anytime and know it will be prayed for.
- Give an overly generous tip
- Give out pre-paid card or quarters at a local laundromat
- Join CarePortal to learn how to respond to a need on the spot with a simple database notification. https://www.careportal.org/
- Leave a gift care with the check out clerk to be used for the next person in line (groceries, restaurant, gas station, etc)
- Offer a helping hand to rake a neighbor’s law, clean rain gutters
- Give thank you cards to those in your neighborhood who contribute in big and small ways.
- Find out who served in the Armed forces in your neighborhood and brainstorm something you could do that would show appreciation for them service.
- Host “Sunday Sundaes”. Invite your neighbors over for sundaes on a Sunday.
- Offer to walk your neighbors dog(s). They might welcome the break and you might have a chance to meet more neighbors.
- Bring cut flowers to a shut-in in your neighborhood.
- Start a neighborhood garden and bring the produce to your neighbors. You might want to put it in the front yard, so the neighbors watch the vegetables and flowers grow.
- Start a neighborhood lending library. You can build a book box on a pole for the neighborhood or in a public place in your apartment building.
- Look for needs in the neighborhood and ask if you can lend a hand.
- Host a neighborhood book club. You can host in your house, garage, or a local space like the library, community center, or a church basement.
- Go for a walk and bring a small trash bag to pick up trash along the sidewalk.
- Use sidewalk chalk to write an inspiring message on the sidewalk in front of your home.
- Ask an elderly neighbor or parent with young children if you can pick up items for them while you’re at the store.
- Compliment a neighbor on a feature of their home or garden.
- Make yourself available by spending more time in the front yard.
- Host a garage sale with special discounts for your neighbors.
- Organize a blitz neighborhood cleanup.
- Leave a bottle of bubbles, flowers, or a coloring book on the neighbor’s doorstep.
- Ask a neighbor if there’s a chore you can help them do.
- Set up a reverse lemonade stand with free drinks for neighbors.
- Host a weekly or monthly coffee bar in your garage for the neighborhood to gather people and get acquainted.
- Go to a library event featuring a local author or speaker. Invite a neighbor to go with you.
- Join your local HOA or neighborhood association. Or, if you can’t lead, find ways to support and thank them for their efforts.
- Offer to teach a skill you have to local neighbors. Skills like baking, writing, public speaking, budgeting, sewing, water color, and fixing a lawn mower are just a few ideas of skills many people (including young people) would love to learn.
My name is Mike Coumerilh. My family found HCC in the summer of 2021 while Nikomas and the rest of the leadership were laying out the vision for us to encounter Jesus, become like Jesus, and unleash the hope of Jesus – something that resonates with us so much. Hearing this from the leaders confirmed to us that we belong right here, right now. And while we have plugged ourselves into multiple places here at HCC, I most recently volunteered to help with EWR, the Emergency Weather Response Team when Harvester was a warming center this winter for our unhoused neighbors. I believe we need to have a love of the Word (theologically sound preaching), a love for the Church (serve the local body), and a love for the world (reach and evangelize the lost). HCC clearly and intentionally makes room for each one of these. My focus for these last few years has been to do more to love the world. And volunteering for EWR does exactly that. Even though HCC has offered to be a ‘host’ church these last three years for EWR to shelter the homeless overnight, it had yet to be cold enough during our week to activate. This year was different. We activated four of the seven nights, including the first three consecutive! For my part, I volunteered to be available to stay overnight to ensure things went smoothly, to provide some sense of consistency each night, and hope the peace was kept. Given that I also have a full-time day job to report to each day, it was nothing short of supernatural to be able to go those more than 72 hours with less than 6 hours of sleep in total and still function at a normal level! There were some difficult moments, for sure. But God has promised to provide for ALL our needs (Philippians 4:19), especially where we are weak and lacking – and He truly did during that week. I may not have formal training in conflict resolution, but in Mark 13:11 Jesus instructs us in a slightly different context to “not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit” (ESV). I experienced exactly that multiple times throughout the week. There were also so many enjoyable and lighthearted moments all week long! The feeling you get when those whom you have been serving are walking out the door, pause to turn around, look you in the eyes and thank you with a gratitude from deep within their heart is incomparable! THAT is a warming center I want to be a part of!
Literally. For about a week before we activated, I hadn’t shaved (but even that wasn’t THAT significant, LOL). And while I was there, I tried to avoid wearing anything that made me look like I never wear the same shirt twice. I dressed down and left my clean clothes at home. If I’m going to have a chance to listen to someone’s story or talk with someone about the LORD, I don’t want them to be distracted with thinking about the “good life” I must be living!