Suzanne Hall Stout, First Christian Church, Des Moines, Iowa
Giving ourselves to others is a vital part of living out our Christian faith. At First Christian Church we strive to be the hands and feet and heart of Jesus with our neighbors -- both near and far.
Our GenOn LOGOS ministry (grades K-12) puts this understanding into action. Every semester for the last 13 years, our LOGOS children and youth have sponsored at least one service project for the entire congregation. Some projects are part of congregational ministries, others are part of our local community's ministries, and some have been in response to global issues.
These mission projects help children and youth better understand who their neighbors are:
- After the Haiti hurricane, LOGOS collected items for Church World Service (CWS) hygiene kits. The youth counted the donations, and our Family Time activity was preparing the kits for shipment.
- For our adults' Haitian mission trip, Recreation classes decorated and filled gift bags for Haitian children while adults shared about the upcoming trip.
- LOGOS sponsors our "Warm Fuzzy Tree" of hats, mittens, and scarves for local children. One Recreation class puts up the donation tree, another counts the donations and sorts them for delivery, and several youth make the donation request on Sunday mornings.
- After our high school group did a hunger-awareness study, they organized a fundraiser to help provide a week's groceries to four local families. They taught our church what the new face of hunger looks like in Des Moines.
- We did a book drive for families in our ESL program. During Family Time each younger child partnered with an older youth or adult to read a book together before blessing the books.
Throughout each project, we use Bible Study, Recreation and Family Time to learn together about our neighbors' needs and the ways God calls each of us to help.
Please share how your LOGOS program incorporates mission into your midweek activities – commenting here or via GenOn's Facebook page. Through their love of LOGOS and their journey with God, children and youth will surely learn it is the heart we bring to all that we do that enables the light of God to shine.