Redeemer 40-day Challenge

 During Lent, it’s common for Christians to give something up in order to focus on Jesus’ sacrifice. This Lent, the congregation of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Chesterfield, Va., gave up some services, and replaced them with service.

For five weeks, congregants participated in the Red Letter Serving Challenge, an initiative encouraging people to serve others in ways that reflect Jesus’ ministry. Becky Wade, Redeemer’s Director of Community Engagement, said the challenge was a natural fit.

“People at Redeemer have a culture of serving and missions,” Wade said. “We’re building a community-based church.”

With the exception of Ash Wednesday, Redeemer replaced its Lenten evening worship services with hands-on service projects each Wednesday.

Week 1: Members worked around the church campus and wrote cards to homebound members.

Week 2: They made peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches to be distributed to the unsheltered through Backpacks for the Homeless, a local nonprofit.

Week 3: Wade said they wanted to “send a little bit of encouragement from Richmond to California.” Members made bookmarks to place inside 100 bibles that they collected for churches in Southern California that lost bibles in the wildfires.

Week 4: Redeemer supported its missionary, J.P. Cima, who serves with the Cambodia Lutheran Church. Members created bookmarks and wrote cards to encourage Cima and his family.

Week 5: The congregation gathered to share a meal, reflect on the experience, and discuss ways to continue serving.

The Serving Challenge was well received, Wade said. Some members suggested combining the challenge with traditional worship services in the future. Wade noted that participation numbers were similar to the attendance at Lenten services from previous years, but the demographics shifted.

“We had younger people with children,” she said.

The biggest takeaway? A growing desire to serve beyond the season of Lent.

“One of the things we realized is that we want to serve all year,” Wade said. “We want to keep building teams and find ways to keep serving. The people want to serve and be engaged.”

These outreach spotlights are designed to encourage congregations to serve and love those God has placed in their community. Got a story to share about what God is doing through your congregation? Please email Robin Domeier