A.O.K’s

Acts of Kindness are a tremendous blessing not only for the recipients but also for the givers. We encourage people in our church to try and do an Act of Kindness (we call them A.O.K.’s) every day. I tell our folks that if everyone would just do one act of kindness a day, seven acts of kindness a week, we can change our community significantly. We do a lot of things to get people involved. I try and include a personal account of one of my own experiences as often as I can in my messages. We regularly put together A.O.K. kits consisting of 7 ready to go acts of kindness (we use different type of candy, etc, taped to an AOK card). We include forms in the bulletins that people can fill out and share their own experiences.

The Church that Gives Stuff Away

If you are consistent with your Acts of Kindness you will become known as the church that gives stuff away. If you want to a have a healthy, growing church with lots of visitors, this is the reputation you want to establish. You need to get creative with your Acts of Kindness opportunities. We do all sorts of things from free car washes, water and soda give aways, candy give aways, and any special projects we can think of. Recently, we made a deal with a small local restaurant and we paid for all the breakfast and lunch meals that day. We had an idea of what the daily receipts were so we knew that it would probably cost us between $1200.00. and $1500.00 We didn’t advertise because we didn’t want people to take advantage and we didn’t tell people until they were ready to pay their checks so they couldn’t pile on. The wait staff just gave their customers a card from the church at the end of the meal saying that the church had paid for it. They were happy with the deal because most people tipped big. The local restaurant is a favorite hangout of people in our community. That day is still being talked about around town. We had quite a few people visit the church as well. It was worth every penny. While we are not in a situation where we could do that scale of a project all the time, we are always thinking of ways to bless people. Like most things you want to establish in your church, it has to be fully supported by the pastors and leaders. If you want a church with a reputation for being kind and loving, it starts with you. I began doing acts of kindness on a regular basis before I brought the idea to the church. Because they knew I was doing it the idea was accepted quite readily. Start thinking about ways you can impact your community with kindness!

Category: Church Growth Ideas