Ideas for Serving COST SIZE

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1 Ideas for Serving IDEAS DESCRIPTION Babysitting Offer to babysit for free for a single mom or a parents date night Those who fish with live bait need worms, grubs, gold fish, minnows, or whatever. Purchase these critters in large quantities from a bait shop, go to the lakes, and give them away. Load up a pickup truck, knock on doors, and offer it to people. You can even offer to help spread it. Many children ride their bikes during the summer. They often need a tune-up including tightening the brakes, aligning the gears, and greasing the ball bearings. Setting up shop can save families money and provide an opportunity to get to know them. Most outreaches to those in convalescent homes will touch their extended family as well. Provide an acrylic bird feeder Ð the kind with suction cups that stick right to the window. REMEMBER to return occasionally to refill the bird feed and check in on your adopted elderly friend. Many people prefer water to soft drinks. Ice down bottles of water in coolers. We don t recommend combining this with a soda giveaway because it offers too many options and gets complicated. You can do this anywhere there are a lot of people gathered. Bring a small gift, such as a basket of candy, into small businesses for their employees. Bring in one package Bait at Local Fishing Spots Bark and Mulch for Yards Bike Fix-up Bird Feeders and Refills to Convalescent Home Residents Bottled Water Giveaway Business Blasts TEAM SIZE 1 COST 1 inexpensive 4 moderate 2 free 1 inexpensive 3 moderate 2 inexpensive free

2 Care Package Coffee Coffee/Hot Chocolate Giftcards Community Dinner Cookies Doggie Treats Drinks at Intramural Athletic Events Drinks for Cashiers to be shared by store employees and leave a connect card. What to say? We appreciate how you serve the community with your business, and this is just a simple way to show you God s love in a practical way. Make sure you only give items to employees, so they don t think you are soliciting customers. Make up care packages for an entire dorm. Include such things as: packages of hot chocolate, microwave popcorn, cookies, mints, and gum. Total cost around 62. You ll need to get permission from the dorm. These can be distributed through student mailboxes or a box in the lobby. Buy a stranger a coffee and let them know this is just a simple way to show you God s love. Purchase coffee gift cards from a merchant and give them away to customers. The merchant is grateful for the sale and the steady stream of traffic Throw a dinner for the block. You provide the grill and the hamburgers. Everyone else brings a part of the dinner. The result: Neighbors will be talking to one another for the first time, they start to watch out for each other and, naturally, the door is open for a spiritual conversation. Everyone likes a cookie. Purchase these in small packets of four. Although manufactured cookies aren t as good as homemade, folks are reluctant to receive unpackaged food from strangers. You should have your greatest success with this in downtown or business areas. Go for quality of product -not low cost - people will receive a name brand like Oreo more than a generic brand. All kinds of snacks are appreciated! People often love their pets like family members. Either make a great doggie treat from scratch, or buy them from a gourmet pet shop. Wrap several with a ribbon and a BLESS card and give them out at parks or dog runs. Bottled water is recommended. If you want to get fancy, Individual Gatorade Ask the cashier, What s your favorite soft drink? When they tell you, walk back to the machine and pick up a cold one for them. Of course they ask you why you are 2 moderate

3 Flower Seeds Food Delivery to Shut-ins Fruit give away Garage Garbage Can Return from Street Gasoline for Your Neighbor Gatorade at Biking and Walking Trails General Interior General Yard Cleanup Golf Ball Grass Edging doing this. This should open the door for a spiritual conversation. Give out flower seeds. Staple BLESS card to seeds and give them away! Find legitimate shut-ins in your neighborhood. Start a 2 moderate system with interested neighbors for a weekly hot food delivery. Keep in mind, many pre-christians are very interested in helping others even though they don t yet know Christ. A project such as this could easily be an entry point to their hearts. People really like fresh fruit and they will readily take it. An orange, an apple and a banana are enough along with a BLESS card in a clear plastic bag. It works well door to door. Great way to invite neighbors to small group meetings! With a homeowner and half a dozen people, this 3 free unsavory task can be fun. You could do this one for your entire street each week. 1 free Usually garbage pick up is done early in the morning. Be the first one out. Return them near their garage but do it quietly. How many people do you see buying less than a tank 1 moderate of gas when you fill up? You see that happening all the time. They can t afford a tank of gas at today s prices. Add $5.00 to their total and blow their minds. Of course, add in a BLESS card. Some health conscious folks like runners, bikers and 2 moderate generally healthy people, don t drink soda. Offer them Gatorade or bottled water instead. Not everyone will let you come in at random and clean 2 free his or her house. It s best to stop by a prospective house to schedule a day before the cleaning team comes. Go door-to-door with gloves, rakes, and trash bags. 2 free Most golfers carry dozens of balls in their bag. Sure there are golf ball cleaning machines spread throughout the course, but most don t take the time to clean them. With the permission of the course, set up a simple clean up station and clean golf balls before golfers begin their round. If you don t have time to mow an entire lawn, edge the driveway and side- walks. Most homeowners don t 1 free

4 Grocery Bag Loading Assistance Grocery Cart Returns Grocery Store Bag Packing Helium Balloons for Kids Hot Dog Grilling Ice Cream Giftcard Lawn Mowing Minor House Repairs edge very often, so they are in need of it and are grateful. Moms with lots of kids hanging on them like koalas often need assistance getting their bags loaded into the car from the cart. The elderly need the same sort of help. On this one almost everyone will try to give a tip. As with all kindness projects, to receive money would taint what we are trying to communicate God s love in a practical package with no strings attached. This project may require permission from the store manager on the day of the event. The servers on this one need to be particularly safe-appearing folks. Smiling can help ease people s fears. Name tags or T- shirts identifying connection to Crossroads Church is a plus for this outreach because it makes the loading assistants look more official and safe. Approach shoppers as they finish unloading their carts with the offer, Hi, can I take that back for you? It s just a simple way to show you God s love. The shoppers will appreciate it, and the grocer will love you for it. Increasing numbers of grocery stores (ALDI) offer rock bottom prices. One of the ways they can afford this is by cutting out services such as bag packing. Name tags or T-shirts identifying connection to Crossroads Church is a plus for this outreach because it makes the baggers look more official and safe. Balloons are festive and fun. Kids are attracted to them from hundreds of yards away. We give them to the children while we talk to the parents and offer them an explanation with a BLESS card. Like em or not, grilled hot dogs bring everyone nearby together. Even with providing the dogs, buns and condiments, this is an affordable outreach. We put up a banner that reads, It s Party Time! Provide music and you ve got a party that will draw strangers like a magnet. Attach a BLESS card to the gift card and you ll have a project that just about everyone in town or on campus will respond to. Several mowers make mowing the lawn short work. Look for long grass, knock on the door, and go for it. Try to focus this outreach on single parents and the elderly. It is important that you clarify what you are 3 free 2 free 4 free 2 moderate

5 Pay Laundromat Washer and Dryer Pay Library Fines Pen Give-aways Popsicles Potted Plant Giveaways Purchasing Meals at the Food Court Rain Gutter Shopping Assistance for Shut-ins Smoke Detector Batteries Stamps in Front of the Post Office able to do in terms of repairs. There will always be more need than you can realistically meet. Try to do projects that can be done with your existing tools and supplies, and that can be finished in two hours. Bring a roll or two of quarters and dimes. As patrons enter ask them if they d like hot or cold wash. You can also provide detergent. Note: This project works best for women. ItÕs a bit odd for men to reach out to women in this setting. Leave $20.00 for next person who has fines. Leave card in envelope for that person to see why the fine was paid. Carry a Crossroads Church Pen with you. When someone needs a pen, offer your pen. It can be a great way to start a spiritual conversation. (Requires dry ice, and takes several days to freeze solidly) Works well in county parks on hot summer days. The Mr. Freeze push up kind are the easiest to distribute and the least messy. Drivers in some areas of town probably won t go for popsicles. Blue-collar areas and college campus areas are more likely to take one. Try talking to the local ice cream truck driver and purchase ice cream for kids in your neighborhood. Marigolds and Impatiens can be purchased affordably in numbers. Give them out to neighbors you don't know. Some small groups meet regularly at the mall for their group. Buy lunch for a stranger at the mall. You will need some ladders, trash bags and gloves. Messy work but very appreciated by homeowners. This would come by referrals. Work with shut-ins to get a list of needs, shop and deliver. All older and some newer detectors use 9-volt batteries. These should be replaced yearly. Go to neighborhoods and offer to replace the batteries in the smoke detector. They just stand by the mail drop boxes and ask customers if they need any stamps. 1 high 2 free

6 Steaks and Salmon for Fire fighters Sunday Morning Paper and Coffee Giveaways Tree Limb Trimming Tulip Bulbs Umbrella Escorts Weed Spraying Since 9/11, the public has been aware of the tremendous job that fire fighters do for us. Show a little kindness by providing some steaks or salmon to grill. Let them know in advance that you are coming so they can have the grill fired up. Fire fighters are a great group to serve Ð they talk in the community. Purchase a number of Sunday papers, brew excellent coffee and visit your neighbors. Look for the houses that don t have a paper in the driveway but be sure you don t knock on the door too early. Purchase an extending trimmer with a saw and pulley clipper. Beware of electric lines. Before trimming any limbs, get approval from the home owner. A handful of bulbs is affordable. It s also a great reminder of your generosity for years to come. Moms and the elderly find it tough to make it from stores to their cars in the rain. Use huge golf umbrellas to help them to their car with as little wetness as possible. Spray for weeds in cracks in the sidewalk and areas where weeds thrive. Wear rubber gloves. 4 moderate 3 free