Sunday, April 12, 2009

Servolution In Helena on CBS



On Good Friday, April 10, KXLH aired our interview about Servolution in Helena on the local CBS News. You can find the online CBS article and photos here as long as they keep them available. While I was originally disappointed with the interview, I have come to realize that the main idea of "Servolution" came across. We are very grateful to KXLH for helping us get the word out. There were just a couple of details we wanted to clarify:
  • Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana is the originator of the global Servolution.
  • Encounter Church organized the effort here in Helena, Montana.
  • We collected donations and assembled gift baskets for the workers and volunteers of Elhorn, St. Peter's Hospital, and Broadwater Elementary. We didn't exactly volunteer at these organizations as mentioned in the report.
  • I'm also pretty sure I never used the phrase "Pay It Forward" :-)

Thursday, April 09, 2009

7 Days of Servolution In Helena

Thousands and thousands of people all over the world been reached through Servolution this past week. At Encounter Church, we are proud to be a part of it, by organizing the effort here in Helena.

CHANGING LIVES — ONE PERSON AT A TIME
Whether we handed out free lollipops, delivered gift baskets, or washed storefronts downtown, the response was often the same — disbelief. It was hard for people to grasp that we were serving them for free with no strings attached. At the same time, once people understood and heard about the idea behind Servolution, they were receptive.

SERVOLUTION ON CBS IN HELENA
One business owner was so excited, she called the local TV news. As a result, we were interviewed about the 7 Days of Servolution in Helena today at the walking mall. You can look for the news cast this Good Friday, April 10 at 5:30 and 10:00pm on the CBS News in Helena. (View the news clip here.)

WHAT ARE THE NUMBERS?
While numbers are not the goal of the Servolution in Helena, they certainly do tell a story. We had 21 volunteers participate in Servolution and directly reached a minimum of 212 people, but I suspect we reached many more indirectly — all while sharing God's love through simple acts of kindness.

There were 5 organized efforts. Three gift baskets were delivered to workers and volunteers who serve our community. Downtown, we served our community as windows were washed, trash was cleaned up, and 115 Tootsie Pops were given out for free.

All in all, we gave away nearly 800 free items that were donated by Servolution volunteers. What an awesome way to bless individuals in our community! We just want to say thank you to all who donated and served this week.

THE HEART OF JESUS
As you may know, we at Encounter Church want to free people to encounter Jesus. The most important way people can do that is through us as we reflect His heart and passion in our own lives. As my friend David Timms recently wrote, Jesus has a passion for serving others and encouraging them to do the same...

In the middle of that first Holy Week — as the cross loomed — Jesus gathered His disciples together, took up a towel and basin, and washed their feet. Then he urged them to do likewise, not just for each other but for the blistered, bruised, deformed, and dirty feet of the world. They would serve the broken and the beaten, the disillusioned and the defeated, the hurt and the humbled, not to demonstrate obedience but to define their life’s vocation and purpose.

VIEW MORE PHOTOS
View a slideshow of Servolution photos here.