To the average eye, it looks like a construction project. But to people with a big heart for outreach, that church construction project looks like a huge opportunity to reach out and show the love of Christ. Here are some examples of outreach that our construction teams have experienced from churches over the years:
CARE KITS – When those cold winter winds started blowing, one church put together bags of goodies for each worker on the site. The kits had lip balm, hand warmers to fit inside of gloves, beef jerky and other items to help them endure the freezing temperatures.
LUNCH – Enough can’t be said about the impact of feeding the “troops”. Whether it is a cook-out on site, a sit-down catered meal or a bunch of pizzas, we haven’t met anyone yet who didn’t appreciate the church providing a meal. Recently at a catered lunch hosted by a church, one of the construction workers remarked “he had never had anyone serve him before.” What a great opportunity to show love and appreciation.
FELLOWSHIP – Either during meals or at other times on the jobsite, take time to talk to the people building your church. Do they have family? What’s going on in their lives? Let them know you are praying for them. Tell them you appreciate the gifts they bring to the project.
PRAYER – There is nothing more powerful than prayer. Regardless of beliefs, we’ve heard many stories of workers who were moved by knowing they were being prayed for.
TREATS – Simple things like a cooler of Gatorade on a hot summer day or donuts dropped off one morning are great ways to acknowledge the hard work of the construction team.
PICNIC TABLES – One church plans to put a couple of picnic tables on their construction site so the workers have a place to sit, eat and take a break. It sure beats sitting in their cars or using a cooler as a chair! And even more special is that the church plans to have prayers, blessings and messages written on the tables when they are delivered to the site.
I would love to hear your stories or ideas with regards to using construction as an opportunity to share the love of Christ.
(A word of caution – Always talk with your Construction/Project Manager about your ideas first. He/she can partner with you, while assuring jobsite safety is maintained.)
