02 Nov, 2023 Invercargill’s Community Service Day – a unity story
Invercargill’s Community Service Day
(Credits for photo – Stuff NZ)
With a vision to engage more widely in the community, Ps Keith Harrington of Invercargill Central Baptist proposed a day given to serving the community in practical hands-on ways. Having many practical skills himself, this was also something he knew he could bring a lead to.
It takes time
There wasn’t a lot of interst intiially. The first year had one church – his – with 100 volunteers. The second year he had 150 volunteers. The third year another church joined – a brethren church. That was this year – 2023, and they had 250 volunteers. The impact is now so clear that a number of other churches are considering joining.
Next year he is thinking to plan service projects suiting 500 volunteers, from 5 churches.
Sunday
He decided early on to have it on a Sunday. For one – church members are available, rather than running their kids to sports events. This seemed strange to many at first – but has worked. They meet 8am for tea/coffee a briefing and prayer. Eveyone serves 9am to 12pm – carrying their own water bottle and morning tea with them.
18 projects – one one day
The 2023 effort included 18 different community service projects, including partnerships with 5 schools, a neighbourhood, a regeneration group, an environmental group, the council, local marae, and 3 other charities.
As examples
- A partnership council and a local environmental trust planted 2500 trees. In fact, there were 3 planting projects in the one day.
- At a new Marae a team helped demolish an old building with sledge hammers. The local hapu has a lack of manpower – so this was a blessing.
- At one of the schools they painted the picnic tables and all hand rails – giving them new life. They also barked (put bark on) the playground and weeded the gardens.
- At another school they did cleaning, barking, cleaned the foyer and painted lines on concrete for ball games.
- Partnering with the Red Cross who work with refugees in Invercargill, they build picnic tables and sorted donated bedding in a warehouse.
- With ‘Jubilee Budgeting Services’ they went out to do some garden make-overs for their clients.
- Other teams helped at a preschool, did a beach clean-up, and one team went to put on a special morning tea to thank the crews of the local fire, police and ambulance services.
In total, there were 18 concurrent projects.
In this Keith has leveraged the many contacts he’s built over the years in Invercargill – while finding team leaders to connect with each project. For some projects the partnering charity manage it – like with the environmental trust – so it’s just a case of providing manpower (which was 15 volunteers in that instance).
Publicity – not the goal – while maybe a byproduct
A notable dynamic is that Keith wanted the integrity of this to be pure. With this in mind he hasn’t sought media engagement around the efforts. He instead chose to let that take care of itself – if ever. However, with their reputation having grown considerably through these efforts, that is taking place – and is likely to do so even more-so in to the future.
Keith commented on how the Council sometimes seems to have different people in some roles each year – and yet the reputation of what they were doing had filtered through to each new staff.
As one charity group has commented, “How on Earth do you find 250 volunteers like that?”
Keith predicts that this effort will naturally expand their connections and reputation. But he’s clear that this reputation was not their motive. They engaged to help. They engaged because that is what we’re supposed to do as churches. Instead of sitting ‘safely’ in our walls – what if we gave just one day to all going out to make a difference?
In summary
We – God’s Church – have an amazing resource in our hands. It is God’s people – and they have considerably servant-hearts because their characters have been shaped by the work of God’s Spirit within them!
It’s an amazing model.
There are maybe 40 or more churches in Invercargill – and with only two involved thus far this effort already has the attention of, and favour from, Council, Iwi and various other social service groups and charities.
The way we engage in our communities matters.
This is certainly an idea and approach that could be duplicated!
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For other articles by Dave on the same topic of – CHURCH UNITY
2024 – The LID of our unity is in what we can SEE
2024 – To further unity there is a needed context
2024 – SLT Leadership statement – Nest areas we intend to innovate within
2024 – Attitudes that sustain unity
2024 – How is the strength of unity to be measured?
2024 – Application from the Bible Society’s new data
2023 – A unity reflection: What if we were more strategic in our PRAYER
2023 – Roy Crowne – A voice for unity – Unity finding its voice in the CITY
2023 – Fresh vision for local Church unity
2023 – Invercargill’s Community Service Day – a unity story
2023 – Family relationships – an under-utilised gateway
2023 – The election is over – so WHAT NOW? (A specific strategic proposal)
2023 – For a united Church – there are leaders we cannot see
2023 – “Mistaken” – An offensive comical parable? Why?
2023 – “Mistaken” – A comical parable about unity
2023 – Four characteristics of leaders who take city-wide unity from talk to action
2023 – The quiet before the storm (Perspectives that shape how we lead)
2023 – STORY: How Gisborne churches united to serve their flood-affected region
2023 – STORY: NZ churches can shine when it counts (Napier flood report)
2022 – One Church? FIVE factors that enable pastors’ groups to turn theory into practice
2022 – A SWOT Analysis of the NZ Church in relation to its outreach
2022 – Four national goals that can be easy ‘wins’ together
2022 – A vocabulary we can agree on (This one is a particularly important FOUNDATION if coherent national discussions on unity are to one day take place)
2022 – Principles for managing necessary agenda in pastors’ groups
2022 – Introducing ‘HeLP Project’ (for pastors’ groups) – the what and the why
2022 – Key pulpit themes in view of the global reset (Finding direction in changing times)
2020 – It’s time to take responsibility to educate our own children and youth again (On united direction and strategy – for city change)
2020 – Kingdom minded – It’s more radical than many think
2020 – STORY – The Auckland delivery
2020 – A need for new media platforms – not more voices (How do we address the increasingly left-leaning and also anti-faith bias of public media?)
2020 – A vision for national Church unity (What might REALISTICALLY be within our reach to achiEve – if we merely thought differently?)
2019 – ‘In One Spirit’ – The purpose of the book (Written at the time of the book launch and press release)
2019 ‘In One Spirit’ – full book FREE online
2019 – United we stand (A blog just prior to the release of the above book, ‘In One Spirit’)
2017 – Pastors’ groups – a home visitation idea (best suiting smaller towns)
2017 – The call to influence culture (It’s about the way we think)
DAVE MANN. Dave is a networker and creative communicator with a vision to see an understanding of the Christian faith continuing and also being valued in the public square in Aotearoa-New Zealand. He has innovated numerous conversational resources for churches, and has coordinated various national nationwide multimedia Easter efforts purposed to open up conversations between church and non-church people about the Christian faith and its significance to our nation’s history and values. Dave is the Producer of the ‘Chronicles of Paki’ illustrated NZ history series created for educational purposes, and the author of various other books and booklets including “Because we care”, “That Leaders might last” and “The Elephant in the Room”. Married to Heather, they have four boys and reside in Tauranga, New Zealand.