Making A Difference

Yesterday I was invited to a dinner celebration for the Virginia Beach City Public Schools. It was a time to hang out with other volunteers and school administrative staffs. Our church won an award for being a Model Partnership with Salem Elementary School. It was great to receive this award on behalf of our church. I didn't win the award, our church won the award. I just happened to be the talking head that cast the vision and made the challenge. That was the easy part! The rest of the church stepped up and made the real sacrifices. Being in a poor economy makes this award more special to me. I also learned a few things last night.

I learned that there are tons of people who tirelessly give their time to help school administrations, teachers, and students. They devote tons of hours without batting an eye. This realization confirmed to me that people are starving to make a difference. They want to make an impact in their community. They don't complain and they work hard. What if the church provided the same opportunity? I think we do but we don't cast the vision for making a difference. Instead we cast a vision for needing help or needing a warm body to 'babysit' or make coffee. In order to capture people's hearts and passions we have to show them how much their contribution of time will impact their community.

I also learned that we need more guys to step up their games. I was overjoyed to see guys get awards for volunteering in schools. However, we probably only made 2-5% of the overall school volunteer force. So guys, STEP UP YOUR GAME! One or two or even three guys is great but we still need more. The children need more. They need to see men who give them a solid example of what being a man is all about. Who knows...you may be the only godly male influence in their lives.

The celebration was closed with a short video of a 13 year old African-American kid who is volunteering his time at an Elementary School. I had to hold back the tears because at thirteen he has already learned the two things that I learned last night. That kid got the message.

What are your thoughts about volunteering in the community? How about your church? Do you volunteer in your faith community? How can church leaders get better at recruiting people into service?