Spring Break is a phenomenal time to begin serving - even in your own neighborhood or apartment complex, as the weather gets a little warmer and the days are a little longer! (Plus, Easter is right around the corner...)
Last week, we shared great ways you can serve with your kids - provided directly by Watermarkers! But you have also shared how you serve in your neighborhoods and apartment complexes. So today we're posting some great ways YOU serve your neighbors.
And there's more where these came from: You can download "60 Ideas for Serving in Your Neighborhood"! if you'd like!
Just Step Outside
Let's start with some activities to get your blood pumping!
- Helped neighbors move
- Picked up neighbors' newspapers and put them on their doorsteps
- "Welcome to the Block" treats
- Hosted a popsicle stand to raise money for our neighborhood school
- We took cookies to our neighbors when we first moved in
- Cleaning up the park
- Help neighbors take out the trash
- Babysit so neighborhood families could attend community group
- I’m the "Sunshine rep" for our neighborhood - I arrange meals, visits, cards for anyone having surgery, ill, or in need of encouragement
- Built a wheelchair ramp for a neighbor
- Held prayer vigil for a neighbor during a time of family crisis
- Kids created "homeless care kits" for the homeless in our neighborhood
- Serve my neighbor who has MS by meeting needs during the day when her husband is at work
- We pick up a pre-K child from school every Monday so his mom does not have to leave work
Ready-Made Service
You don’t always need to create projects—many chances to serve come through activities organized by others, or by taking on an official role.
- I worked at the carnival and the bike rally at the elementary school down the street from our house
- Coach a kids soccer team from my neighborhood
- Serve in a neighborhood boys summer Bible study
- Planning committee for our local National Night OutCrime watch captain
- I have a passion for fitness and health, so I serve my apartment community by instructing group fitness classes
- Served with Lake Highlands YoungLives, mentoring area teen moms
- Room parent at Boggess Elementary
- Assistant Scoutmaster in my neighborhood troop
- We served with Kids Beach Club for our local school
Hosting!
Watermarkers have found many activities to host in their homes and their neighborhoods. Here’s a sampling, and you can find a guide for creating your own right here.
- Backyard Bible Club
- Co-lead a prayer group with other mothers
- Served our apartment complex in The Village by partnering with two other Watermark attendees in the complex to host a "Get to know you Party"
- Game night
- My husband and I planned the annual Easter Egg Hunt
- I join other moms to host the elderly on our block for quarterly lunches
- Partnered with another Watermark family in our neighborhood who hosted brunches and get-togethers to reach unbelieving neighbors
- Started a closed Facebook group for my neighborhood as a means of connecting people with each other
- My family started and maintains a community garden that we have quarterly work days for. During these workdays we maintain the garden but also look for opportunities to minister to the wide variety of lifestyles and worldviews that come
- We hosted an Easter potluck for the neighbors in our hallway. We continued pursuing one of the couples who came to the potluck, including a meal where we engaged them specifically about the gospel and had an awesome conversation about theology and religion. Even just that one pair of neighbors made a huge difference in my confidence to engage neighbors
Don't forget: You can find more ideas at "60 Ideas for Serving in Your Neighborhood." Enjoy serving!