First Word
Blue Bell Ice Cream, juicy watermelon, and home-grown tomatoes are just a few things that make summer one of my favorite times of the year. Another is the opportunity for it to be a season of rest (although we don’t always take advantage of that). Our Summer Study topic for this year is Soul Keeping, which encourages you to find rest for your soul and take a break from the busyness of life. In keeping with that theme and to create space so that we as a church can reach out to the community together at the end of the summer, we wanted to give you a list of ways for you to serve together as a family in your own time over the next few months. Usually we schedule Serve Starkville activities in July, but we created this list to provide you with some less-hurried suggestions that will hopefully be a natural extension of your time with the Lord this summer.
- Join the whole church family in hanging door hangers and prayer walking the community on August 6 for our new third service, coming August 13
- Host a university student, young couple or young single for dinner to connect with church members in a different life stage than you
- Drive through an unfamiliar neighborhood that looks different than where you live to see that there are plenty of material needs in our own community
- Pack a school supply backpack for a CPS foster child (contact Nathan Taylor at ntaylor@fbcstarkville.com)
- Take your kids to play in a different place than normal to meet people you wouldn’t normally meet
- Donate supplies for or pack an Operation Christmas Child shoebox with the Kids Ministry in July (contact Leah Frances at lfeaton@fbcstarkville.com)
- Pray together for a mission trip team traveling this summer or fall
- Pray together for Christians in the 5 most persecuted countries on earth: North Korea, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan (Open Doors, World Watch List)
- Invite a friend to church
- Take treats to people who serve our community (firemen, policemen, ER staff, CPS staff)
- Volunteer to help an elderly neighbor with house/yard work
- Offer to pay for a stranger’s coffee, meal, groceries, etc.while running errands
- Volunteer at the Casserole Kitchen as a family (contact Judy Nagel at jmln123@yahoo.com)
- Visit a nursing home to read and talk with the residents, paint nails, or bring flowers
- Make a donation to the FBC CPS Care Closet (contact Kathy Montgomery at klmontgomery.km@gmail.com for specific needs)
- Drop off frozen or canned food at Peter’s Rock Food Pantry (call 662-615-4001 for specific needs)
- Volunteer to host a Disciple Now group January 2018 (contact Neil Tullos at ntullos@fbcstarkville.com)
- Volunteer to help in a new way on Sunday mornings or Wednesday nights with FBC (contact Kathryn Entrekin at kentrekin@fbcstarkville.com)