The Well Community Church in Fresno, CA is my home church, it is also a fantastic church, but that is beside the point. This last Sunday (3.18.13) was Serve Dei. "Dei" is a reference to the Latin word "Deus" meaning God. So it is a day of service and it is also an opportunity to serve God. Clever. The day started out with a large gathering at Fresno State University where our head pastor, Brad Bell, gave us our commissioning and pump-up talk before we scattered around the city to help others. Do not leaders give hope and courage to their troops before battle? Then why would a church need anything different when fighting against the forces of evil and despair? We were sufficiently encouraged, ready to change the world. We went to our site where my wife and I, along with 3 others, were painting the outside of a huge building. I think it was the kitchen/dining area. We loved every minute of it. The day started out cold, but quickly became hot, especially at the top of the enormous ladders in the direct sunlight. In no time at all we were sweating bullets and I was getting a beautiful sunburn on the back of my neck! YAY. It was a rewarding and successful job and at the end of the day we could see our hard work had paid off. We had completed the south wall and it looked good if I do say so myself. :) Then my wife and I went home and crashed for a 2.5 hour nap! We were dead. But I would do it again in a heartbeat because serving others in practical, physical ways is, for me, the easiest and most worthwhile manner of serving others.
If you participated in Serve Dei, what did you get out of the experience? If you didn't participate, what do you think about city-wide service projects, directed by churches, that spread the love of Christ through giving of our time and energy?
If you participated in Serve Dei, what did you get out of the experience? If you didn't participate, what do you think about city-wide service projects, directed by churches, that spread the love of Christ through giving of our time and energy?