Serving from a Distance

This next week was supposed to be Week of Service on my campus, when students would take missions trips or maybe just volunteer at their home church or the local food pantry.  Due to concerns about spreading illness, missions trips have been cancelled, and we are disappointed.  We think a week off will be a good thing for everyone, and it will give us a time to rest, recuperate, and disinfect the campus.

However, we should not be excused from serving others because the world is under quarantine.  We are called to serve others, and there are many ways to do that without being in their physical presence. While this list is written for my own college students, it can easily be adapted for general use.

Here is a list of 25 ways to serve without social contact:

1. Clean out your closets and donate your abundance to a charity.
2. Write encouraging notes to Christian brothers and sisters. Email works if you don’t have the address.
3. Help your mom spring clean your house.
4. Make soup and deliver it to someone who is sick (call them first, and leave the soup on the porch).
5. Plan a youth event to take place later.
6. Prep a series of Bible lessons.
7. Call your grandparents. After that, call your aunts and uncles.
8. Get a list of visitors from the church office and call them or write a note inviting them to come back.
9. Organize the kitchen cabinets.
10. Make a prayer list and pray diligently.
11. Read a kid’s book or two aloud and record it. Put it on YouTube.
12. If you are crafty, make items for charity.
13. Post uplifting messages on social media. Leave positive comments.
14. Practice a musical instrument.
15. Detail your parents’ car(s).
16. Plan and cook dinner for your family.
17. Lead a devotional time for your family; use what you’ve learned.
18. Help a sibling with homework.
19. Write a poem or worship song.
20. Read a good book and write a review on Goodreads or Amazon.
21. Do an art project.
22. Plan meals for a month and make the shopping list.
23. Bake brownies or cookies and share with your neighbors. (Again, call first and leave them on the porch.)
24. Bathe the dog.
25. Work on your homework. (It will bless you and also bless your professors.)