church life 
 

Summer Cell Outreach

This summer we are planning to find ways to do good in our communities through the cell groups.
 
Jesus had an amazing reputation for doing good wherever he went (Acts 10:28) and his church should have the same reputation. Paul says “let us do good to all people” whenever we have the opportunity (Gal 6:10).
 
So we’re encouraging every cell group to find a practical way to serve and bless others with the love of God at some point in the summer. Here's how.
 
First think about the needs in your community – or another community near by. Then come up with creative ways to do something that will bless them. And if you need some money to make this work we’re going to give each cell group an amount for this. We’re taking up an offering on 31 May after which each cell will be able to request some funds.
 
We heard recently about another church that had done this. One of the cell groups used their money to hire a skip for a street where some of them lived. They then invited all the neighbours to make use of it to get rid of stuff from their garages or gardens, and offered to give a hand if needed. They even let people take stuff out of the skip! This proved to be a great way of serving and getting to know people - and if they were asked who paid for it they were able to tell them a bit about the church.
 
So you need to start thinking together: where is there a need we could meet? How could we surprise people with some acts of kindness? There might be an opportunity in your own neighbourhood - or in another local area which has greater need. You might be more effective if you combine forces with another cell group. It might not even take much money, but we want you to have the resources if you need them.
 

One idea will spark another, so please share as many ideas as you come up with in the forum for this page. I’ll be adding a few to start it off.


Steve Haines, 12/05/2009

Feedback:
Steve Haines12/05/2009, 19:43
Here are a few ideas to get you thinking:

- the skip (as above)
- throwing a street party/bbq
- window cleaning
- clearing up litter
- cream tea party for the elderly
- give out free water at a carnival or other event
- hot chocolate for people coming out of night clubs
- face painting for kids in your street - or on another estate
- baking meals/cakes for poor/needy people
- organise a children’s clothes swap for young mums

More ideas please!
Chris Allison14/05/2009, 10:41
We had a great chat about this at cell last night - found it very stretching trying to think of effective creative things. The two main things which we are going to pursue are looking into a walking entry for the carnival giving out sweets or something and if poss some flyers about KCC or forthcoming events. If other cells want to look at this with us that would be good as its the sort of thing that the more people there are the more impact it has!

Several of our cell are also involved with various school PTA's and so we are looking at volunteering an activity at a school summer fayre....
Office KCC14/05/2009, 11:13
Our cell also had a great discussion about this and were also really keen to get involved in the carnival - manning a stall and doing puppets and face painting. I've got the carnival organising team's phone number so if anyone wants details about how to get involved in the carnival then just let me know.
Lindsey Dunsford
Steve Haines18/05/2009, 16:42
I spoke to someone the other day from another church where they'd done something similar. They've seen many people touched by the kindness and generosity of God's people. It gave rise to many opportunities to talk about the unconditional love of God.

Here are some of the things their cell groups did:

- Some cells ran a kidz klub in an area where there had been nothing before

- One cell rented a community centre and did a BBQ during a football championship

- Another used their money to buy some basic necessities for a person who was in dire need.

- The women from one cell visited a women's refuge and gave small gifts (toiletries etc) to everyone

- Gifts of sweets, specially wrapped with a message, given out at a council firework party. (They had the council's permission)

- A semi-professional tennis player opened up the courts in his garden to give free tennis coaching to youngsters in the local community
Office KCC20/05/2009, 10:00
Kings Copse Primary School are holding a community day on Saturday June 20th, so they are looking for community groups to run a stall. This could be a great opportunity for a cell group to get involved. If you're interested please email suzanne.watson@wildern-hants.sck.uk.
Chris Nesbit (Guest)20/05/2009, 21:15
We took part in a beach clean-up (ilovemybeach.org) which proved popular for the organisers.

This could be something people do (a beach, park, woodland etc)... Organise some food (cake, BBQ + drink), contact the council who will provide the litter pickers etc. and then just grab friends, family and stick flyers in the local area.

There were a few families turning up-to this event as the kids could play whilst adults pcked...and all on the beach. Lovely.
Steve Haines31/05/2009, 10:13
Here are some things we've heard about from other churches:

- decorating for a family who've moved into a run-down house

- coffee morning with cakes (anything with cakes sounds good to me!)

- free BBQ on a nearby housing estate

- funding a cell member to do something with their skills (something they'd normally have to charge for, e.g. IT tuition)
Steve Haines31/05/2009, 10:28
"The Big Tidy Up" is a national campaign to clear litter and brighten up our neighbourhoods and country side - aiming to collect 500,000 bags of rubbish this summer!

You can join an exisiting event or start a new one. Find out more and register at www.thebigtidyup.org They will send you a free clean-up kit, but you'll need to supply things like gloves and litter-pickers which you could use your cell's money for.

Make it a community event, inviting friends, neighbours and so on to join in.
Steve Haines07/06/2009, 07:45
The Big Lunch
Here's another great idea - check it out at www.thebiglunch.com
Simon Thomas26/06/2009, 12:07
Southampton City Council are plugging a big street party initiative across the city. As a counciul they are offering help with advertising, and organising, and even road closures and such like, a fairly painless way of doing something if a number of people in your cell live close together.
For more info - http://www.southampton.gov.uk/people/yourcommunity/activecommunities/default/biglunch.asp