St. John’s practices
‘servant evangelism’

“The church has left the building!”
That’s the focus of a Servant Saturday series that St. John’s UMC, Corpus Christi, has in place over the coming months. The goal is to demonstrate the kindness of God by offering to do some act of humble service with no strings attached. Servant evangelism in action!
Five teams of church members of all ages (about 45 people in all) participated in the first Servant Saturday Feb. 25. The teams met at the church for prayer, then left for their designated ministry area.
They returned to the church two hours later to share their experiences and note any changes needed for the next Servant Saturday March 25.
One St. John’s team worked on a Habitat for Humanity house under construction in Corpus Christi. Another went to a local nursing home to sing to elderly residents.
A third team performed yard cleanup service in the residential area surrounding the church. A fourth group cleaned windshields of cars parked at a nearby shopping center.
The fifth team walked a residential area and gave homeowners a packet of flower seeds to plant. The specific neighborhood was chosen because it is where St. John’s members built a Habitat for Humanity house last fall as part of the church’s 50th anniversary. A special treat for the seed-packet team was visiting with the Bernals, the family selected to own the Habitat house.
All teams used the same message: “We are doing this to show you God’s love in a practical way.” Through a series of sermons at the church council’s January retreat, St. John’s pastors, the Revs. John and Linda Elford, had spoken about the importance of servant evangelism. Their message was that deeds of love can establish a relationship that leads to faith-sharing.
“Servant evangelism is based on genuine love for God’s children where they are, instead of conditional love that might be based on joining our church or changing their behavior,” Elford said.