Blessing Our Community

AN ALL DISTRICT INITATIVE FOR 2024

Our goal is for churches/ministries to host an event before
the end of 2024 designed to bless their community!

We are called to bless the community.

That means this event is not an evangelistic campaign. It is not a new program or ministry, it is not a discipleship program, though those are good things! This is a one time event with the sole purpose of blessing our neighbors and being God’s love and light!

Blessing your community will look different in every church’s context and community - so we have compiled some resources to help you discover the best way to bless your community.

The Best Way to Start:

  • Who is your community? Who are your neighbors? you may not be able to help the whole city but you can bless your neighbors wholly. 

    Be specific, not general. Specify a school, organization, neighborhood, group (elderly, homeless, refugees, etc.) that you will focus your event on. 

    Identify a geographical area to concentrate your efforts. This helps to manage tangible expectations and measure outcomes. 


  • Know that you know who and where you need to listen. 

    Ask: Don’t assume you know what the needs are.  listen to what the group/community needs. Listen also for what is not said. 

    Find out the needs of the community, not what you think the needs are.

    Example: There are plenty of places kids can get free backpacks and supplies…. Find out what is missing. But is the real need new shoes or school uniforms? Don’t give what’s not a need or replicate what others are already doing. 

  • Ask the same community members that you plan to bless to be actively engaged in the event. Give them the opportunity to serve and find joy working alongside you to bless others. People want to be a part of their own solution. 

    Find out who you can partner with in your community. Tap other resources that can help you to bless others. 

Check out a powerpoint summary of this concept below.

Here are some questions to help you get started.

1. Can you identify your target geographical area?

2. Do you know the demographics and data of your target area? (Share Tools, websites, etc.)

3. What are the institutions, organizations, businesses in that area you can partner with?

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get help blessing my community?

Ask for resources or help from others on NEI district!

Invite others to participate in your event (if needed): This builds relationships, helps foster community among churches/clergy, provides support, and helps you feel you are not alone.

Both the Church of the Nazarene and your NEI CoRE team have compiled resources designed to help you Bless Your Community. Check them out!

Organizations To Work With

  • Habitat for Humanity

  • Shelters (serve for a day/clean/cook/etc.)

  • Rescue mission

  • Halfway house

  • Veteran’s services

  • Salvation Army

  • Neighbor-link (connects neighbors with volunteers who can help them with needs/projects they can’t do themselves)

  • Food bank

  • School district, local PTA, school

  • Catholic charities

  • Blessings in a backpack

  • Local library

  • Local neighborhood association near church

  • Youth for Christ

  • Local afterschool program

  • SCAN (Stop Child Abuse and Neglect) or similar advocacy/resource group

  • YWCA (helping women and children)

  • Police Department/Fire Department

  • Senior living centers

  • Community health fair

  • Pregnancy crisis centers

  • WIC/community health organizations

  • Other local churches who have community outreach ministries

  • Host an event for a charity/non-profit

  • Nazarene disaster relief packets

  • Another local church that you can partner with to bless your community

How do I pay for what it takes to bless my community?

Applications for small grants from NEI District are open throughout the end of the year. These grants, given to us by the Church of the Nazarene, are available for $500/$1000. Apply now!

What kind of events can I do?

The possibilities are nearly endless! You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. There are many ways to partner with existing organizations that have systems and programming in place who would love volunteers or space to operate. From these lists of tried and successful service projects, new ongoing ways of loving the community will be birthed. You can bless your community!

One-Time Events

  • Prayer walk

  • Summer Block party

  • Fall festival

  • Christmas event for community

  • Blue Christmas/longest night worship service

  • Neighborhood clean-up day/beautification project

  • Offer a free event/service: sports day clinic/camp

  • Bike repair

  • Mother/daughter day (father/son) etc.

  • Family movie night

  • Parents’ night out

  • Childcare night

  • Local school (gifts for teachers/meal for staff/volunteer at school event/donate items they request.

Ongoing Ministry

  • Neighborhood revitalization/beautification ministry: “Adopt A Block” – trash/litter clean up through summer months

  • Tutoring/mentoring ministry

  • Healthy Cooking classes/any kind of skill classes you have people willing and capable to sharing.

  • Hosting a support group or resource group in your building (recovery, neighborhood association, a non profit that needs space to operate or to have events)