Turkeys giving away turkeys

Here's what we have discovered:

• people want to make a difference....this year over 300 Ikea Bags went out the first weekend in November. Yes we are ordering more.

• people like simple...people grab a bag as they leave a weekend service. The instructions stapled to the bag help guide people as they purchase the food items.

• people enjoy the sense of togetherness...We encourage participation: families packing the bag together, or joining with friends, or joining as a small group to fill the bag. Be creative by adding a worship set and breaking up into small groups for prayer...then introducing the team leaders, and receiving instructions and maps.

• some people like to participate but don't want to go on the outreach...that's ok, participating at any level is appreciated. The 'no go but want to serve people' will bring their filled boxes at 9:30am. The others show up at 10:30am. Have a crew at both times to help people unload then load the dinners.

• people like the fact that we go to the areas we have consistently served in the past...example: we will be divided up into three huge teams, caravaned to the locations in order to reach out to 3 low income apartments in different parts of the city.

• people like the adventure... we go to apartments unannounced, offer the Thanksgiving meal and offer prayer. When we leave the home we place a small sticker on the door notifying the rest of the team that the stickered door is a home we have served.

• people who serve begin to see life through an outward focused lense...One family went to a home and offered the Thanksgiving dinner. The single mom invited the family inside to place the dinner on her table. The family noticed...all she had in her apartment was the table. Their perspective changed. Their hearts were softened through the experience and began to view life through a different lense.

Going, serving, praying = caring for others ...an outward focused life.

Instructions
Thanks so much for helping to make Thanksgiving possible.

This year’s date for Turkeys Giving Away Turkeys is Saturday, November 17th. We will meet at 10:30am and join team leaders to head out to three different locations.

How to participate: Join together as family, friends, or a small group to fill up the bag with items listed below.

Turkey’s Giving Away Turkey’s List.

• 2 Cans Corn
• 2 Cans Green Beans
• 1 Large Can Yams
• 1 Can Cranberry Sauce
• 1 Box Au Gratin Potatoes
• 1 Box Brownies
• 2 Boxes Mac and Cheese
• 1 Dinner Bag Rolls
• 1 Box Stuffing Mix
• 1 FROZEN Turkey
• Roasting Pan

Optional:

• 1 Pie
• Fresh Veggies
• Fun Stuff

Important Instructions:
If you are going on the outreach... Please leave your dinner box in your car come in for instructions and to join a team.

If you only want to participate by filling a turkey dinner box and not go on the outreach...Please drop the filled box off at 9:30am.

It's on us!

It's On Us!

a great Idea by a church, Valleydale Church Birmingham AL, just branching into kindness outreach. I liked the idea so much I decided to use the concept.
It's on us!People from the Vineyard can now chose how they use this multipurpose connect card. It can be used to buy gas, purchase a meal, pay a bill, give a gift, use at an outreach, or any other service, kindness, or mercy we show toward the people in our community. That's what I like about Servant Evangelism...the ideas are unlimited to the creative mind. Experimenting also keeps the edge sharp.

Back to School Backpack promo

Back to School Back Packs

kindness to go backpacks
Usually we begin to ramp up for school in July. I know that sounds early however, parents begin to shop for supplies early August. Our special Back to School Bash begins by the fourth weekend in July in order to ensure their return to the Vineyard in good time to deliver to the schools.
Here’s how it works.

We purchase back packs from www.sctb.org/(Somebody Cares Tampa Bay) They have been doing this for years and have networked literally hundreds of churches in the Tampa Bay area for this important project. I think last year over 150 churches of the Bay area gave 36,000 backpacks to the underprivileged kids.

I purchase the back packs for $6 each... then sell them to the Vineyard people for $5.* ($5 is just enough to remind people they have a pack to fill up) I usually purchase 500 backpacks. That’s about our limit.Interestingly the packs usually sell out in just two weekends.



People then return the backpacks to the Vineyard we place them in a visible area in the building which generates buzz and a sense of accomplishment. Stacking up 500 backpacks makes a huge stack.

Here is the information flyer I use to help connect the dots.

Back to school backpacks ...
Why?
Under privileged children of Trottwood are not able to purchase their school supplies. Therefore, each year we partner with the Trottwood teachers to make a small, yet significant investment to help further a child’s education.

Why$5? Five dollars is really your commitment that says, ‘Yes I want to help.’

How? It’s simple.
Take the list on the back of this instruction sheet to any store that sells school supplies like Wall Mart, Target. Purchase the items then fill the back pack and bring it back to the Vineyard.


Tip: if you have children let them shop with you. As you are shopping talk about the project, why you are shopping for someone else and where the packs are going.

Tip: people often place some other exciting items in the backpack, key chains, to teddy bears. Be creative, be generous and put some fun in the project.

Supplies list:
3 3”X 3” postits
1 inch 3 ring binder
2 packs of wide ruled lined paper
2 Elmers glue stick
1 box of No.2 pencils
1 box of 2 erasers
1 box of colored pencils 12
1 box of Crayola Markers
1 Fiskar’s scissors
1 plastic folder 2 pockets blue
1 8 by 10 composition book
1 box of Crayola crayons 24 count
1 5 section divider
5 pronged 2 pockets folders
1 4oz school glue
1 dry erase markers low odor
2 pencil holders, zippers with grommets


Thanks for making a difference!

Peep People

a fun inexpensive outreach for Easter...

purchase wholesale peeps (snacc foods 513-723-1777) you know those funny looking yellow chicks that are marshmallows inside, have the peeps at the exits and hand to people as they leave the services the weekend before Easter.

Or plan an outreach to the local businesses the week before Easter.

Have a card that says. 'You've just been peeped.' with the Easter service times on the card. Encourage people to have some fun as they peep people.

Gee think you need to do some training?

Interestingly we have had hundreds of people helping us love our community into a relationship with Jesus Christ. We call it City Care...serving our way into the heart of our community. Most people serving have had little or no training... This just proves on the job outreach training works in most cases.

Now we are discovering we need to launch into some specific training to help people develop their outreach skills. We've looked at what's out there and have developed our e:training

gleaning from the best of the best. Our desire is to connect people to great resources that will help them grow as a self-study learning experience as they learn and then participate.

Saturday March 15th is the date for the training 9am to 1pmish.

e:training pdf

We will be learning:
Future/Past Lessons learned from our outreach e:history
Servant Evangelism Breaking down barriers, building bridges
I'm wondering?? How to ask great questions
Just walk across the room How to share your unique story.
The good news is still the good news How to lead a friend to Jesus Christ

Book list
Conspiracy of Kindness sjogren
Irresistible Evangelism sjogren, ping and pollock\
Just walk across the room hybels
Externally Focused Church swanson, rusaw
Jesus on Leadership cg wilkes
The Church of the Irresistible Influence lewis
An Unstoppable Force mcmanus

Web

http://daveworkman.blogspot.com
dave is a down to earth pastor who has more passion than anyone I know

www.servantevangelism.com
steve sjogren has several sites that encourage the heart

www.externallyfocusednetwork.org
this site is very encouraging healthy, encouraging, great resources

www.daytonvineyard.com
practitioners not theorist doin' the stuff in Dayton OH

www.justwalkacrosstheroom.com
the book I wanted to write

www.godgps.com
my friend doug who thinks often outside the box

http://www.yoursforlife.net/alpha
leading someone to Jesus is relational

http://stevebowen.blogspot.com
my web with many stories etc

Serving Tips...

We are kicking up our training: We want help people to serve well...

Serving Tips

How to serve others more effectively

If you have signed up to serve at the Vineyard, you might be excited, nervous, and feeling a bit like a fish out of water. Good news… it’s normal. Here are some tips to help you develop confidence as you serve.

Gain knowledge…be sure you the information you need and that you have an understanding about your assignment. It’s ok to ask questions and to ask for a simple job description before your time of service. Be sure to attend any training sessions before the event.

Exercise…confidence grows as we apply our ability through experience. Simply put…the more you serve…the better you serve.

Find a place…there may be an event when volunteers just show up, or arrive late; the instructions may seem sketchy; people are rushing to meet time lines; setting things up, moving here and there the energy is high.

The show up events can feel a little like being out of control, chaos. We prefer to call it organized excitement. We really do have a plan and know what we are doing.

The key to press through this stage of the event is to actively seek to find a place of service. Step back and look around and begin to ask yourself is there anything needing done that’s not being done? Is there any equipment that needs to be moved, or set up, or trash needing picked up? Are there any volunteers that seem over whelmed you could help? Learn to step back and take a wide look at what's going on, then take a deep breath and begin to serve.

People focused… remember people are always much more important then the task at hand. In the midst of serving... remember it’s all about building relationships and revealing Jesus to the people we serve.

Attitude…have you ever been served by an uptight aggressive person? I have. I’ve wondered why they are serving in the first place? Having a positive attitude toward the people you are serving is all important. People are usually pretty perceptive and can sense when we are uptight, having a bad day, or when we are full of encouragement and are genuinely seeking to care about them.

Tip: before the event it is important for you to do some personal prayer prep, to pause and think why you signed up and ask God to help you care for others, and help you to serve with a good heart. Chose to wear a smile, and to allow your love to be real.

Paul writing in Philippians chapter 2 talks about having a proper serving attitude. He says, in your serving:

Don’t be selfish…as you serve don't be focused on your feelings and your needs, but choose to focus on the needs of others.

Be humble…begin to think how you can effectively express Gold’s love and grace toward those you are serving. Perhaps your expression of humility will be a kind smile, a calm voice toward and aggressive stressed out person, a warm look toward someone who looks out of place, a gentile hug to affirm a kid, or an informative answer to a nervous question.

Bottom line…How do you learn to serve? By serving. Serving others generates a healthy other centeredness. Consistently serving others is one of the ways God brings health and healing into our lives.

ktg Jan

January is always a great month...I slow down and think, reflect, pray and plan for the year ahead.

We are keeping our outreach on ramps, just strengthening what is already in place, retooling 2nd Saturday, adding Vineyard on Main and helping Impact...Love In Action for Dayton's World Impact Tour.

We will begin to up our training this year planning a few exciting all church intensives.

The first intensive is March 15th 9am - 1pmish

Future Past Creating An Outward Focused Church Doug Roe

Good Deeds Creates Good Will That Opens Heart To The Good News Steve Bowen

Being Irresistible...I'm just wondering...Boy, I wish I said... Doug Pollock

Just walk across the room. What's your story morning glory? Steve Bowen

The Good News Is The Good News YWAM



Kindness to go

January is the kick off month so it's Give em the Bag!

What's in the bag?
I purchase the bags and the sparkle filler from American Paper and Plastics West Chester OH nice paper lined bags various colors. Sparkle filler that we place in the bag gives the bag some eye popping color, and buzz...we've discovered that people like to dig past the sparkle filler to see what items of interest are in the bag.

Items:
1 package of Grandmas Cookies
1 bag of peanuts
2 granola bars
2 rolls of lifesaver peppermints
1 peanut butter crackers
a sprinkling of peppermint round candy
1 box of Kleenex tissues
sparkle filler
1 connect card attached to the bag and 2 connect cards in the bag on top
1 instruction sheet for people doing the outreach.

Our Teens pack the bags the Wednesday night before a Kindness to Go! weekend. We always hear from someone who was on the receiving end.

During the weekend services we mention the outreach and encourage people to grab a bag along with some instructions as they leave the service. I usually plan for around 100 bags at the end of our 3 weekend services. Long Term Sowing. Bridge Building. People Equipping. Fun and Uplifting. Creative Sparking. Outoftheboxthinking.


This weekend is a Kindness to go weekend...We're doing the 'give them the bag' outreach. It's always fun to watch people as they realize it's a KTG weekend...Big smiles, some people usually new, pausing to read the instruction sheet then smile and grab a bag. Those in the know usually grab their KTG item on the way in to ensure they are locked and loaded for the outreach.

Behind the scenes:6 to 10 hrs.
Steve: orders the items from Sam's Club online.
Steve: drives to Sam's picks up items
Steve and Nicole: Unload items and prepares for packing
Chris and Teens: Set up tables, packs bags, staple card on bag and place bags in safe secure room
Steve: Goes through bags, fills any light bags, puts iridescent film into bag and places two connect cards in bag.
Nicole: prints out Instruction sheet and has them photo copied enough for every bag
Steve and Nichole: Place bags on Kindness to go cart and in wagon for each of the 3 services

Church: grabs bags and goes out into the community to do outreach on weekend or through the week.

Here is the instruction sheet information.
Kindness to Go! Ok, How’s does it work?

It’s simple:
Step one: Grab a bag
Step two: Transport the bag to your favorite restaurant, after or before the meal hand the bag to the person serving. Say, ‘This is a small gift for you and your team.’
key… tip big and smile.
Or
Step one: Grab a bag
Step two: Take it with you the next time you go grocery shopping, put the bag at the end of your shopping for the person checking.
Or
Step one: Grab a couple of bags
Step two: Take the bags to your local police station, fire station, emergency room or post office. Say, ‘Just thinking about you this time of year.’

When asked, ‘Why are you doing this?’ Reply, ‘Just showing you God’s love in a practical way.
Or
Be creative...choose your place, smile and have some fun!