The cold rain was unusual for Baton Rouge in December. Yet even in the dark, we pulled the van in to the parking lot at the Alamo Motel. The same motel where drug dealers and hookers are the nicer people you’d meet. Where a 47 year old stabbed his 76 year old cousin to death. Where a serial rapist found refuge until he was arrested.? Where girls under the age of fifteen are raped or sold for sex.
A group from Healing Place Church and I checked in on Miss Ella – a grandmother who was taking care of her six grandkids, and a dog, in a 300 sq ft motel room. If you could even call it that. She had a roof over her head and a few mattresses, but that was about it.
During the time I spent in Baton Rouge with the people at Healing Place Church — one thing was for certain. This church was living out the message of love and Christ in their own backyard. From the places where they were rebuilding from hurricane damage, to Dream Centers that housed anyone from the homeless to the domestically abused to the kid who didn’t have anyone to go home to.? While we were out, we saw another van delivering meals to the widows in this community. We visited strip clubs to give flowers to the dancers and earlier that morning, set up tables full of a warm breakfast for anyone who needed it. And there were several hundred who were fed.
Pastor Dino Rizzo and his team have been friends, encouragers, and champions in my own little ministry. I’m so green and new at this, but they don’t care. They challenge me, love me, pray for me, inspire me, connect me with others I can learn from, and they love to learn from others too. I don’t have much to teach them, but their attitude of openness and servanthood is beyond what I could possibly describe in a blog post.
Pastor Dino has a book out called Servolution. If you could package the DNA of Healing Place Church this book does that. I am not exaggerating when I say every single believer out there needs to read this book. We are called to transform the world with the love of Christ and Dino has been so gifted to share what he has learned along the way.
I have ten copies of Servolution to giveaway (although I highly encourage you to go ahead and just buy it).
Here’s how you win.
Leave a comment about how you have seen the church BE the church lately and you’ll be entered to win. I’m going to throw in something new this time. If you use the “Tweet This” button below and retweet this post, it will count as a double entry so you’ll have a better chance of winning, plus you’ll be spreading an important message that needs to be heard.? Next Thursday I’ll randomly pick ten people and Zondervan will contact the winners to get their mailing information.
Ready? Steady? Go.
Comments
53 responses to “Book Giveaway – SERVOLUTION!”
A little house church can BE the church! After 50+ years in the traditional church, I’m loving curling up on a sofa in my jeans on Saturday night with 20 or so brothers and sisters. No boards. No committees. No agendas. No politics. Just a group of people learning to love and serve each other. Worship and grow in the faith. A group that’s open to all, especially those who are broken and have been hurt by the traditional church.
The Community at Creekside supports counseling services and organizations like Love INC. Inheritance of Hope. Youth Ministry International. Google them and see the beauty of partnering with others around the world …
Openness and servanthood. You’re right, Anne. This is the church in action.
Linda Stoll?s last blog post..22 – 28?
Our church sends about 150 youth and adults to a community in Maine each summer to build and serve this community that supports homeless, skills training, single mothers, out-of-luck people of all types. Showing each of them the love of God by being something for them and not shoving some nice words into them! That is being the Church!!!
Sean?s last blog post..Excitement in the Air!
Bought the book the day it debuted. Loved it. Pastor Rizzo responded to my 5 Q’s on my blog today as part of his blog tour.
Rick Apperson?s last blog post..5 Questions with Dino Rizzo
I saw the church be the the church recently at my church…we had a Single Mothers Day of Pampering. All of the single mothers in the church were able to bring their children to a daycare and then the mothers had a spa day. Fully funded and run by church volunteers.
My wonderful tiny church came along side a woman struggling with drug addiction and her children and have loved them for about 4 years. Currently the mom is unable to care for her children and they are living, LIVING, with a church family. I have been on the sidelines watching and crying as the arms of Jesus have reached out to all of them in very meaningful ways.
our pastor was just telling us that on our church’s anniversary sunday this fall, we are going to show up at 10.30 as usual…and then leave. to the neighborhood, to shut-ins, to do any kind of serving that will share the love of God with our community.
being the church instead of just going to church.
danielle?s last blog post..average
There’s a young grandmother at our church raising her twin almost 2 year old granddaughters, and another woman, recently divorced, who often takes care of the little girls or buys groceries for the family, and it always touches me to hear about it!
Oh, I tweeted it! This book sounds fantastic.
A lady at my church opened up a branch of Safe Families for Children in Indianapolis and dozens of families have gotten involved in being short-term foster families for children in emergency situations. It has been a beautiful thing.
Curtis Honeycutt?s last blog post..Just Because
As a kid growing up in the church, I took alot of things for granted. But just being older now and seeing the fellowship and solid Bible teaching that’s happening is really encouraging and beneficial to the body of Christ, and to me. Getting out into the community and serving without it being a set event is also crucial and something that we do often.
All day, every day, our church strives to be sent out. I’ve never been anywhere that hasn’t had evangelistic “events” and yet grows and grows and grows. In a downtown core where supposedly “no one” wants to be at church. It grows by the people loving their neighbours, making space for one another and space for God. It’s amazing.
Sarah?s last blog post..In which Joseph says his first words
our church, nice and comfy in orange county, has traditionally been a self-serving church. we tithe to missions organizations, but we have not been as service-oriented as i would like.
however, last month our church took a team to the dream center in LA in the heart of the inner city and services the shelters, projects and other needs of the urban community for a Saturday. our team had a chance to minister by giving food, working in their food bank, and then were let loose in a housing project where they talked to a lot of people. they were able to pray with them and just be with them.
the group that went were so touched by the experience that they have decided to do a week long project there this summer.
i love this. our people are getting out of comfort and seeing Jesus work in other communities.
Sarah Markley?s last blog post..Wearing Age Well
I’ve seen the church Be the church from afar for the past few days. It’s been amazing what’s been happening in Austin in response to the St. John’s Fire. They’ve been using twitter and facebook and really giving selflessly to meet the needs of others. Steven Bush (http://stevenbush.com) has been writing and tweeting a lot about how they’ve been helping.
Whit?s last blog post..Boy Love?
http://sharefest.chaseoaks.org/
Our church encourages each Lifegroup to adopt a particular ongoing “bridge” to the community and on top of that, once a year we go out on the same day to meet people’s needs and share with them why we do what we do: because it’s what He would do.
Rob?s last blog post..Wordle envisions this blog
http://blessbackhtc.blogspot.com/ – click and read.
Jason?s last blog post..Fin (French for The End)
My church community does a thing called Servefest every summer and it is awesome to just love on our community by cleaning toilets in public places, cleaning up nursing homes and helping shut-in’s with yard work. Every year so many cool stories come out of it. Serving rules.
Kevin Davis?s last blog post..Bloggin’ Lazy
A bunch of high school students at our church – CCC in Naperville – mobilized after a great JH/HS retreat and raised $14,000 in a few months to work with Feeding Children International to pack almost 100,000 food packets at 2 local high schools to send food to Zambia and Cambodia. They raised the money through tshirt sales, Battle of the Bands, car washes. Tremdously proud of the youth at our church. And thanks for coming to speak there, Anne. Great talk.
Our Student Ministries department has formed teams called “SURV Teams” every month our 6th-8th Grade students head out into the community to 4 different sites. Gleaning For The Word, Salvation Army, a local nursing home, and into the homes of recent visitors to our ministry. They do everything from shipping medical supplies across the ocean, to serving a hot bowl of soup to someone in need. They spend time, and have made friends with our local nursing home residents and head out into the community to be a smiling face to some of our visitors who may not be expecting it. Recently we had to cancel a team date at Gleaning For The World because they simply didn’t have any product for us to pack and ship. Our students were very disappointed and started brainstorming ways on hoe they could stock GFTW’s warehouses!!!! WOW!!!! 6-8th graders living out a kingdom mindset. I love our ministry and our students. Our prayer is that this kingdom mindset will transfer over into their everyday lives now and in the future.
Micah Hasty?s last blog post..The Furious Longing Of God | Pt.2
A few weeks ago, my community participated in our local AIDS Walk+Ride. We managed to get the largest team to sign up and raised the most money for a local organization supporting those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS here in Raleigh.
We also reached out to local businesses to ask them to match a percentage of the money we raised for the local organization. However, the match money did not go to the local organization, but to an orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya that serves children who’s parents have died of HIV/AIDS.
It was a great day. We were able to combine our efforts of loving and caring for the people in our local area with our loving and caring for people on the other side of the globe.
It is often easier for us to care for orphans in foreign countries than it is to care for someone down the street. Getting involved in the lives of someone local can be messy and dirty, but it’s in the midst of that mess that you can really show someone the love of Christ.
We believe that our AIDS ministry must be seamless. If we are going to care about children dying of AIDS in Kenya, we MUST also care about the man down the street dying of the same disease.
Shannon Smith?s last blog post..Making Donations
The youth that I teach at church just decided that they want to tackle a project of building a safe place for kids in foster care to come and hang out. They also are talking about building a new Food Care Center for our community (currently housed at a church with less than adequate space) that will include stock rooms, distribution areas, and rooms for people to receive financial counseling, along with a play room for the kids. They also want to start volunteering to help watch kids for the foster parent association meeting that happens at our church every month. I am blessed to call these kids “mine.”
Our church, and a sister church, helped start a service ministry two years ago called StJoeServe (we live in St. Joseph, MO) – StJoeServe combines 16-20 local churches who take up a cumulative offering which is given to local non-profits who apply for grants, we also collect drives for other local non-profits such as Habitat for Humanity, a local Crisis Pregnancy Center, etc. The biggest effort, however, is when we all get together and partner with the city to help renovate homes and schools all across our city. The city provides addresses for us, and also helps provide resources to us, and we work all day helping repair, beautify and build. We end the day with a combined worship service which includes all the partner churches from various denominations, and streams within evangelicalism.
Spring Break in Florida usually means sunshine, the beach and surfing. This year, however, I saw 150 middle and high school youth from 6 different churches and denominations come together to serve their own community. Painting at a children’s home, yard work at the homes of widows, building a food pantry for the hungry, prayer walking the campuses of their schools and singing in nursing homes. I watched these youth BE the church by living the teachings of Jesus. It was all about making HIM known and making HIM famous. What’s more, even when Project Titusville was over, numerous youth gave up their last couple of days of spring break to go back to the ministry work sites to finish projects on their own (i.e. the adult leaders didn’t have to organize a thing). Now that’s being the church!!!
I participated with a group of students and adults that took time to pray for one another with the pain, issues, and problems each one of them faces during the week. Each person was prayed for within their group and words of wisdom and encouragement spoken. What was amazing was that this was totally impromptu and everyone participated (about 45 people total).
And as we left, each one felt that THIS was the most amazing night for them (THEY DIDN’T SAY A WORD ABOUT THE TALK, WORSHIP, OR GAME for the night!!!)
I loved it.
A church in Mitchell, South Dakota filled a shipping container with meals for a “5 Million Meals” program. These meals cost just 25 cents each! They held their event not in their curch but in the Corn Palace. THE CORN PALACE!!! Hundreds of community people joined in the packing and funding of these meals. We’re looking to do the same in our community this summer.
I recently went through one of the biggest faith crises of my entire life. During that time, I was not an overly kind person and my part of conversations consisted mostly of self-pitying complaints and blasphemous statements. I didn’t want to be responsible for walking away from the church but I figured if I was miserable enough to be around, I could get the church to walk away from me.
I was wrong.
I was overwhelmed with the love and care I received from those who had the most reason to walk away. My voicemail box overflowed with messages filled with statements of truth and prayers spoken through tears. The church fought for me when I wasn’t even fighting for myself. They served me in tangible and intangible ways too numerous to count.
two times a month our church provides groceries for over 500 families in a county that has an unemployment rate of 18%. our food pantry is making a difference. thank you to a church that gives to make this happen and thanks to lynn branch for managing this part of our organization.
About 2 months ago our youth started gathering every Tuesday night at our elementary school to share testimonies, exercise, walk and run. We call it TNT (Tuesday Night Testimonies). They put their healthier bodies to work in the Relay for Life campaign last week by raising $2,800 for the cause. They were led by their youth pastor’s example. He pledged to run a half marathon in support which he completed around 3:30 AM with one of his students. I am blessed to fill in for him and run with these young Christians when he is overwhelmed. They are AWESOME examples to the younger kids in the Church.
Billy?s last blog post..The Insane Church
BE the church is a group of people getting together on Saturday mornings to set up a table in a community where violence, drugs, prostitution and homeless people roam the streets. Taking the time to love them and share the gospel with them. Listening to the problems and then if allowed praying for them at that very moment as well as pray for them throughout the week. They have put together bags of food and personal items for them to take with them when they leave the tables. They even had people donate bikes or pieces for the bikes to fix. Giving peoples rides that dont have vehicles and helping them get jobs. It is amazing to see the lives that are being changed because of this ministry that is going on on the street corner.
Jenny?s last blog post..Mission Trip
My Jr. High Youth Leaders knew the family of a young man that was shot because he refused to join a gang. Sense the shooting they have taken the young man’s brother into there home and three of the friends plus raising their own child. They have provide for this boys and taken them and other family member about 3 hours round trip to see the young man that was shot.
Our church as given need items to support these guys like money, food, and furniture. It has been awesome to see and be a part of such support in the deep south.
I am blessed to be part of an amazing church that has refocused it’s people from “me” Christians and what they can get out of church, to Missional Christians who live out th call of Jesus each day. One way that this is happening is by a big community event we are hosting this weekend. It is called the “Great Giveaway”, where members of the church have donated extra belongs to give out freely to the community around us. We are giving out couches, washers and dryers, beds, TV’s, food, and clothing. We are also providing free carwashes, haircuts, and massages as well. Also local business like Walmart, Krispy Kreme, Starbucks and more have all donated items or food for the event. The greatest thing about this is that it is not to promote our church, rather it is to simply BE the church to our community. I don’t know if you can get a more authentic event out there! This is BEING the Church.
I am the family pastor for our faith community in Muskegon Michigan, which has the highest unemployment rate in the COUNTRY! Seven months ago a young lady showed up at one of our Sunday gatherings, she was homeless and desiring to get off drugs. We got her into a women’s housing facility that is for addicts, and then walked with her through a court hearing she had scheduled. She was sentenced to 30 days in jail, in which we had several form our church visit and encourage her while in jail. Fast forward six months and she has a job, just moved into her own apartment, and has been singing on our music team for the last three months. The church has rallied around her and her life has done a 180 degree turn. God is moving and the church has listened and followed, and one life has been dramatically changed!
Wally Harrison?s last blog post..Exponential Conference
I recently saw the Church be the Church in Duress, Albania where Christ-followers are living in the Kenet (literally means “swamp”) to reach out to the poverty-stricken families that live in this place with and atrocious sewage system and undrinkable water. Truly, incarnational living!
Gwen Jackson?s last blog post..SOLD!!!
I’ve heard about this book. It looks very interesting.
Great post Anne!
Anthony?s last blog post..Secrets of Success: Performance
this past spring break, our students at switch had the opportunity to serve at an growing organization in edmond, ok, called ‘all things baby.’ its founder desires to combat abortion in the most kingdom-minded manner: to lovingly address the reasons why women in crisis pregnancies decide to abort and meet their needs. she’s also in the process of organizing bible studies for women who have experienced past abortions. i’m so passionate about this ministry because it demonstrates how the church can best be pro-life. it doesn’t include picketing a clinic or promoting a radical overturning of legislation; it includes love, mercy, and justice, the very goals of the reign of God!
taylor?s last blog post..pricetags & provision.
Anne, just last night we were meeting with our multi-site pastor and talking about the works that are going to be happening soon at our multi-site and how we as the church can attract the unchurched. Things are going to start rocking real soon, and God is going to work through us in amazing ways!
Shawn?s last blog post..Blessed?
We’re gearing up for the second year of SPLASH Bartow, a multi-generational, multi-denominational local mission trip. Last year for the first year of the event, we mobilized 160 students and 100 adults to serve the community. SPLASH stands for “Show People Love and Share Him”. We’re investing in generations to be the church in the community. We also have our church mission effort (Tabernacle Has Left the Building), where we leave the church to provide block parties in local subdivisions. We’re learning more about how to effectively reach our community by loving them intentionally!
Anne, we’re not doing anything that is going to get us on the cover of Time magazine or win a Nobel prize, but we are doing our best at spreading the love of Jesus where we can. Many members of our church have made 2 trips a year for the past couple of years to Mississippi (from South Carolina) to help rebuild homes destroyed by hurricanes. We are the “home church” for the Presbyterian Village (retirement home) in our part of the state. We minister to and fellowship with the residents whether they can make out to the church or not. Our members are regular volunteers for the local Habitat projects and for a local shelter.
Again, nothing that will change the world over night. But maybe some things that will “infect” the world with love…
Thanks,
Bubba
Bubba?s last blog post..Book review: Christianity in Crisis 21st Century
There is this lady that I have never met that impacts my life on a monthly basis. She is passionate about quilting. You wouldn’t think that a quilt lady or ladies would change the world, but they do. I live in a place where people don’t really have many clothes, let alone food…so a warm, cozy blanket for them or for their babies is something spectacular indeed. So this woman is passionate for quilting and started sending quilts (baby blankets and some for adults) and I get the benefit of passing them out. We pray about who would best get the use of them, then we distribute. I don’t know a whole lot, but somebody who puts their talent to use like that and then takes the time and energy to send them across the world makes me want to go to church.
http://kristiapplesauce.typepad.com/kristi/2008/12/patched-up.html
kristiapplesauce?s last blog post..Back in the swing
Just met with a pastor here in town who is helping organize a group of men and women to set up a chaplaincy program at our local waterparks… just so that the staff can be blessed by these ministers serving there staff and community in there parks. go… serve… live
6 mission trips this summer, stateside and overseas is one way. But a more personal way? When the church showed that value of being the body to minister to my family and me when I was diagnosed with and went through treatment for Stage III breast cancer AND a thyroid cancer recurrence. Daily childcare for my 3 small children. Meals 4 days a week. For 9 months!
Angie?s last blog post..The Best Mother?s Day Ever!
our church goes after the young and poor just north of us. we bus them in on Wednesday, give ’em Jesus in the form of cool youth programs, and send them back into the projects.
we do what we can, for who we can, when we can… I’d love to feed them dinner, but I think I’m the only one with that idea so far. ;)
Monica?s last blog post..One car, two days, four kids. New definition of insanity?
I am a high school pastor at a church in Long Beach. We have a lot of people in our church losing jobs and their homes. We set up the EBAY project where we encouraged everyone to sacrifice something meaningful ($50 value or more) to be sold on EBAY. It was the church sharing their possessions and giving the money to those who were in need. It was awesome to hear people auctioning off motorcycles and electronics and an antique chair amongst other items…To date the projet has raised close to $15,000 and all of that will go to people in need. Its a beautiful picture to me of the church being the church!
Rachel?s last blog post..Car Woes
There is a group in our area who teaches Christ centered yoga called “Holy Yoga” that is giving those who may be uncomfortable with church another venue to hear about Jesus.
We joined “advent conspiracy” this past Christmas and raised $50 000 (about $200 per person) to provide clean drinking water to people in developing countries. This is the work we are doing far away, but a little closer to home our youth are helping out the elderly in our community with some gardening and home maintenance.
pastor chad?s last blog post..the deity formerly known as God: a review
a couple weeks ago my 1 month old was in the hospital, and i had some great friends who stayed with my other child while my husband and i were at the hospital, and one even stayed through the whole night with me at the ER, even though she herself is 7 months pregnant. we had people come to visit, praying for us, offering to take care of our other one, and just be there for us to hang out. many people dropped everything so that they could minister to us- physically and emotionally. it was awesome. i felt the Lord’s presence through our community.
tiffany?s last blog post..A Mother’s Intuition?
Teenagers can BE the Church too. We set up the difficult task of teach 20 to 30 Jr. High and High School students the truth about abortion. Then, we challenged them to collect change and donations so we could supply our local crisis pregnancy center with more diapers than they’ll know what to do with (which, I’m told, is impossible).
THEN, we took it a step further and called around town to talk to other youth pastors. Two were game (how sad is that?) and together, our three small student ministries collected about $400 in two short weeks that became a jaw-dropping pile of diapers for the pregnancy center across town.
Lex?s last blog post..Sometimes they just don?t grow
For Mother’s Day our church Newspring was an example of Christ’s extravagant love by giving two single moms homes, a car, paid off debts and gave scholarship funds. It was awesome!
Erika Chapman?s last blog post..Mother?s Day Books
It is hard to name one moment lately where I have seen our church be the church as I am very fortunate to be in a church that is the church so very often. We are blessed with so many that have a heart for the hurting, the poor, the needy, and the lost. We have a clothing bank for those that need clothes. We have a food bank for those that need food. My husband and I are involved in a group that goes out into the streets and serves up food and gives away clothes and stuff to anyone that wants to come and get it.
I am blessed to be among such an awesome body of believers. :)
Angel?s last blog post..I’m So Excited!
Friday before last a few of the older women in my church got together and made baskets for inner-city widows for Mother’s Day. I didn’t know anything about it till after the fact, and is wasn’t from them. Not only did these ladies help those less fortunate, they asked for no praise for it. They’re getting it, and as their pastor I’m proud.
This weekend our church ( http://www.livingstones.cc ) gave away 100 bags of groceries to the folks who live in a nearby Section 8 apartment complex. We are not a big church, but it was a BIG deal for us to make a move like that to serve others in our community.
Just yesterday we canceled our regular church services and went out and served the community. It was an awesome day in so many ways. We look forward to doing it many more times!
Pictures are just starting to roll in, but some are available here: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=591919444
Mud Puppy?s last blog post..Losing Our Religion
Recently, I saw students stand up courageously and display their talents in front of hundreds of people. We included students with mental disabilities as well. In each case, as each “talent” was displayed, the other students and audience members would stand in ovation for the displays of courage. It was a kingdom-advancing sight to see so many students overcome fear and share love with people despite how truly TALENTED they were. This is the church “BEING” the church.
John Alexander?s last blog post..Tribes
Our church did an extreme makeover on three families homes in a nearby area. The three families were selected because of particular needs they had. We installed new kitchen cabinets, put in new appliances, painted, put down new carpets and flooring, installed new bathroom fixtures including new tubs and showers. We put in new furniture in several rooms of each home and decorated the whole home. We even spruced up the yard with new grass where needed and planted flower gardens and put in shrubs. Everything turned out beautiful.
Liz?s last blog post..The Kingdom of God Is At Hand
I heard Dino speak last November in Abundant Life, Bradford, England UK and he was simply terrific.
Have you any spare books left?
N
BigNorm?s last blog post..Twittering Narcissists