Get your church involved.

If your church hasn’t yet committed to a course of action for Texas Hope 2010, be a motivating force. If your church would like a prayer ministry, please let us know. Include an email link to Jane Wilson. Consider the strengths and talents in your congregation, and review the greatest needs of your local community. Then look to the following to help you focus your efforts:

Ideas for Praying

These are simply ideas—the task is for you to find what God wants your church to do

  • Start a prayer team at your church, school, organization or even home that people will come to know Christ by Easter 2010.
  • Lead participation in the Texas Hope 2010 prayer guide. Order form and downloadable prayer guides will be available in late September.
  • Commit, as a church to pray that people will come to know Christ through Texas Hope 2010 efforts and sign online commitment form and Texas Hope 2010 poster on or before January 4, 2009—Church Commitment Sunday.
  • Conduct a prayer walk through a hunger ministry.
  • Conduct a prayer walk through a government agency that is involved in various types of hunger ministries such as Local Meals on Wheels, Baptist Center, Food Bank, Children’s Home, Crisis Pregnancy Center.

Ideas for Caring

These are simply ideas – the task is for you to find what God wants your church to do

  • Start a Hunger Ministry: Lead your church in establishing a hunger ministry such as a food pantry or soup kitchen. For information on how your church can begin a hunger ministry visit www.namb.net/hunger
  • Dine In, Not Out For World Hunger Night: Plan and promote a church-wide Dine at Home for World Hunger Night Campaign. This event involves your church family’s willingness to give the amount it normally would cost for their family to dine out at your favorite restaurant to the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger. Dine at home instead.
  • Hunger Awareness Meal: Plan, promote and conduct a church-wide Hunger Awareness meal. A simple yet effective plan is to substitute pinto beans and cornbread in place of a church’s regular Wednesday night meal. Diners are asked to pay the regular Wednesday night meal price with proceeds going to the SBC Hunger Fund. During the meal various facts and other presentations regarding World Hunger Issue can be shared. If your church does not have a regular Wednesday night meal, then plan a special Wednesday night Hunger Awareness.
  • Brown Bag Lunch Campaign: Plan, promote and conduct a Brown Bag Lunch Campaign. This campaign involves leading members of your church family to pack and take a brown bag lunch to work or school for one week and donating their savings to the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger.
  • DIME A DAY Cards: Dime A Day Cards are coin folders that hold 30 dimes and are designed for leading individuals or families in setting aside 10 cents per day for world hunger. Dime-A-Day Cards are ordered through the ERLC. They can call 1-800-475-9127, or e-mail to: orders [at] erlc (dot) com. Dime A Day Cards are also available from NAMB by E-mailing swood [at] namb (dot) net. The cards are 10 in a pack for $5.00.
  • Hunger Walk/Run: Conduct a Hunger Walk/Run with proceeds going to the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger.
  • Hunger Car Wash: Conduct a hunger car was with proceeds going to the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger.
  • Garage Sales: Plan, promote and conduct churchwide garage sales. Donate the proceeds to Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger.
  • Conduct A Food Drive: Lead your church in conducting a food drive for local food bank or other type of hunger ministry in your community. Remember to contact the food bank and ask for a list of foods they need.
  • Local Food Bank Volunteers: Contact a local food bank and ask what types of volunteers their agency utilizes. Lead members of your church in serving as regular volunteers with a local hunger ministry in your community.
  • Meals On Wheels: Lead individuals/families of your church in serving as volunteers with Meals on Wheels. For information on Meals on Wheels visit www.mowaa.org
  • Summer Lunch Program: Lead your church family in supporting a Summer Lunch Program in your community by providing food and/or volunteers. For general information regarding summer lunch programs visit www.summerfood.usda.gov
  • Assist a Crisis Pregnancy Center: Assist a local crisis pregnancy center or local health agency, with baby food/formula/vitamins
  • Hunters/Fishermen Against World Hunger: Lead hunters and fishermen of your church family in creating a strategy for sharing their fish/game with the hungry of your community
  • Beat Hunger Weekend: Plan, promote and conduct a Beat Hunger Weekend
  • Jerusalem Projects: Lead your church family, small groups, etc. in adopting Jerusalem projects. Jerusalem Projects are a select number of ministries throughout the United States which use North American Mission Board Domestic Hunger Funds to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ by ministering to persons through hunger ministry. For information about Jerusalem Projects visit www.namb.net/hunger
  • Relief Packets: Provide Relief Packets for homeless (bottled water, nutritious snacks, power bar, granola bar, canned meat, tract, etc.)
  • Youth Hunger Scavenger: Contact a local food bank or other ministry that distributes food to the hungry. Ask them for specific types of food they need. Then plan, promote and conduct a youth scavenger hunt for food items in your community.
  • Food for Multi-housing and Manufactured Communities: Work with a farmer’s market to get a deal on a truckload of watermelons/cantaloupe/pumpkins—whatever is in season; work with a bakery, and distribute loaves of bread.
  • Distribute “one item” of food to a housing project/mobile home park/ community in need.
  • Hunger Fund Offerings : Lead your church or specific group of your church in gathering an offering. Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger Donate online
  • Options are available to give to the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger. For information regarding World Hunger visit www.namb.net/hunger (national) and www.imb.org/worldhunger (international). Promotional items

Ideas for Sharing

These are simply ideas—the task is for you to find what God wants your church to do

  • Lead in corporate prayers for people’s hearts to be opened to Christ’s message of Hope and for the courage to share it with people you meet.
  • Lead your church or group in various types of event evangelism like block parties, picnics, soccer/sport tournaments, etc. Other ideas and examples.
  • Train your congregation on personal evangelism and other sharing means.
  • Reading resource is Oscar Thompson’s book Concentric Circles of Concern.
  • Find resources, commercials and evangelistic website at www.needhim.org.