Jesus said these words:

“Love your neighbor as yourself” - the second most important commandment (Mark 12:31)

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.” (John 15:13)

The temptation right now is to withdraw and think solely of your own wellbeing, and that of your immediate family. Yet Jesus makes clear that we are to lift our gaze beyond that very tight circle, and to serve the wider world. The command to serve and sacrifice for your neighbor has not been put on hold by coronavirus - in spite of what the devil will tempt you to believe!

IDENTIFY

Your next step is to assess your community to see what needs are apparent. Which of those needs can you most effectively meet? You can’t do it all, but what can you and your household offer? What can you rally others to help with as well?

HOW DO YOU UNCOVER NEEDS?

· Survey - Deliver a quick note to every house on your street, saying that you and your household are happy to help serve where you can. Also invite others to contribute where they can. We have shared an example of this sort of note below.

· Facebook group - Use the group to communicate the same message. Due to its real-time, interactive nature, this will be a great place to track needs. NOTE: The temptation for some is to try to control what sort of serving is okay, or who can do it. Instead, view yourself more as a facilitator - unless something is an epicly bad, immoral, or illegal plan, encourage people to share what they can!

· Ask around - Neighbors know neighbors, and what might be going on behind closed doors. Simply invite people to share if they are aware of a nearby need that someone in the street could take care of. NOTE: The only proviso here is not to let such sharing devolve into gossiping!

Practical Ideas

To help you and your household lead the way in serving your street, here are some ideas to launch your thinking. You won’t be able to do them all, but you will be able to do some! Allow the Holy Spirit to use this list to stir up other ideas.

For the elderly, vulnerable, or sick:

· Grocery shopping

· Pharmacy collections

· Yard maintenance

· If trash cans have to be put out each week, do so the evening before, and then return them later.

For anyone:

· Outdoor babysitting - for those who have younger children stuck inside the house, offer to run them around for an hour if parents need to run errands/ jump on an important work call/ or the kids simply need debouncing! This could take place in the front yard/ an open space, with suitable distances still being maintained. Games could include:

• Different types of races (running, hoping, skipping, running backwards, walking slowly, etc.)

• Throwing games (distance, hitting targets, catching, etc.)

• Musical bumps and musical statues.

• If children are all from the same households, games involving touch then become fine.

· Older kids offer a school work hotline or homework hour for younger kids to call or Facetime into (often parents have no idea of the ‘right’ way to complete the math problem!)

· Dog walking - for owners not used to being at home all week, this might be akin to debouncing children!

· Share your toilet paper stash (the ultimate sacrifice!!)

· Give financially to someone in need or share groceries

· Use delivery services to send a dinner to a couple who need a spontaneous date night.

· Share simple yet healthy recipes that use minimal ingredients (great if there are shortages).

· Offer to fix household problems (e.g. garbage disposal backs up, minor plumbing, etc.).

· If you have an Amazon Prime account, you can send some food, activities for kids, or something fun to someone who is struggling.

· Put together a care package for a young family, e.g. coloring, activities, games, candy, etc. If they have to be very cautious regarding the virus, select things that can be sent electronically.

· If you know frontline workers (doctors, first responders etc) do what you can to support them (meals, child care, fun gifts, notes of thanks).

· Drop off a bunch of flowers to someone who is struggling or looking overwhelmed, along with an encouraging note.

· If you have kids at home from school, tell them that today's elective class is ‘kindness’, and they have to find a news article about people doing kind acts during this crazy time. Then they have to decide on and plan a kind act to do for someone in the street.

· If you have kids, pray with them for every student they know by name, for the Lord to protect them and that He would provide food, community, and care at this time. You could break bread while doing this. Plus, you could do it via video call with another family.