One of my favorite things about HighPoint Church is our heart of service. The intrinsic desire to jump in and help one another is woven into the fabric of who we are. I believe this is the case, in part, due to the way the desire to serve was woven into the fabric of who Keith and I are.
Who knew that packing boxes could be a generational experience.
Who knew that packing boxes could be a generational experience.
One of our family’s favorite Christmas traditions is joining with our HighPoint Church community and packing boxes of food for those in need in our area. Our daughters were 5 and 6 years old when we began this tradition, and we’ve done it together for almost 15 years. Looking back, I was about that same age when my mom brought me to Our Lady of Charity to pack boxes for homeless teens that were in the care of these nuns. Serving with my parents was part of the fabric of my family then, and it’s in the fabric of my family now. Even with our kids grown and living in other cities, on their own they have jumped in to serve even without our direction. I see how serving together makes serving a part of who you are.
It no longer is a placeholder on your calendar but a core value.
Hebrews 10:24 tells us, “Let us spur each other on toward love and good deeds”. This is what my mom did when she brought me along with her. She could have left me at home with a sitter, she could have brought me but let me color or draw (no devices back then!) in the corner. Instead she had me engage in serving even if it was very basic at first. Her approach was “of course we’re going to do this together” and that’s now the case into a third generation. She spurred me on, and we all can do that same.
Each time we serve, we have the opportunity to not only do a good deed, but we also have the opportunity to weave the thread of service into another person. To the parents reading this blog, don’t wait to engage your kids in serving. From simple deeds towards family members, to joining with your church community, begin to weave that thread. It brings me joy, and I imagine even more so to our Heavenly Father, to see HighPoint first graders picking up trash at Blue Jay Way. And I know it will be those kids who in a few years, will be the ones to serve with our teen crew at Summer Quest (VBS). And years after that, I know I’ll see pics of them helping others on their Instagram feeds. The thread was woven, they were spurred on.
This verse isn’t limited to families, each of us can spur someone else on. When you answer the call to serve, bring someone with you. Invite them to deliver boxes with you when we serve with Bread of Life. Load up your car with your family, or call a friend to ride with you - even if you wear a mask while together in the car. If you join the Connections Team on Sunday, ask a friend to sign up with you and serve alongside each other. Should you answer the call to travel on a local or global mission trip, why not ask someone else to see if God might also be calling them to go?
Being a part of both a natural and spiritual family that loves to serve, in some ways comes naturally because Jesus came to serve.
But the love to serve is also woven in the earlier, and more often, that we serve together. Continue to watch the ways in which HP serves and together let’s spur each other on toward love and good deeds.
Jennifer Tower
It no longer is a placeholder on your calendar but a core value.
Hebrews 10:24 tells us, “Let us spur each other on toward love and good deeds”. This is what my mom did when she brought me along with her. She could have left me at home with a sitter, she could have brought me but let me color or draw (no devices back then!) in the corner. Instead she had me engage in serving even if it was very basic at first. Her approach was “of course we’re going to do this together” and that’s now the case into a third generation. She spurred me on, and we all can do that same.
Each time we serve, we have the opportunity to not only do a good deed, but we also have the opportunity to weave the thread of service into another person. To the parents reading this blog, don’t wait to engage your kids in serving. From simple deeds towards family members, to joining with your church community, begin to weave that thread. It brings me joy, and I imagine even more so to our Heavenly Father, to see HighPoint first graders picking up trash at Blue Jay Way. And I know it will be those kids who in a few years, will be the ones to serve with our teen crew at Summer Quest (VBS). And years after that, I know I’ll see pics of them helping others on their Instagram feeds. The thread was woven, they were spurred on.
This verse isn’t limited to families, each of us can spur someone else on. When you answer the call to serve, bring someone with you. Invite them to deliver boxes with you when we serve with Bread of Life. Load up your car with your family, or call a friend to ride with you - even if you wear a mask while together in the car. If you join the Connections Team on Sunday, ask a friend to sign up with you and serve alongside each other. Should you answer the call to travel on a local or global mission trip, why not ask someone else to see if God might also be calling them to go?
Being a part of both a natural and spiritual family that loves to serve, in some ways comes naturally because Jesus came to serve.
But the love to serve is also woven in the earlier, and more often, that we serve together. Continue to watch the ways in which HP serves and together let’s spur each other on toward love and good deeds.
Jennifer Tower
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