ONE STEP
A WEEK
Once a week, we take an active step of love toward someone who doesn’t know Jesus with the hope that we will eventually get to share our faith with them.
WHAT IS ONE STEP A WEEK?
We see a church embracing the call of ambassador with love, passion, and INTENTIONALITY. Our call to represent Jesus’ love to a watching world isn’t always top of mind. Our call to be witnesses and share our hope with those around us can often feel like an “add-on” or even optional in our daily lives.
Because of these realities, we are taking steps this year to actively pursue opportunities to love and be witnesses to those who don’t have a relationship with Jesus. We see a church regularly seeking God's heart for others with questions like “who needs your love this week?” and “how do you want me to show them your love?”
Oakhouse will be bold, authentic, and kind ambassadors of this hope we have been given in Jesus.
WHAT DO I DO?
Once a week, we take an active step of love toward someone who doesn’t know Jesus with the hope that we will eventually get to share our faith with them. This could be a phone call, a prayer, a conversation, an invitation. We are obedient to what God is calling us to do.
RESOURCES
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by Alan J. Roxburgh
Exhausted with trying to “fix” the church? It’s time to turn in a new direction: back to the Holy Spirit. In this insightful book, internationally renowned scholar and leader Alan Roxburgh urges Christians to follow the Spirit into our neighborhoods, re-engage with the mission of God, and re-imagine the whole enterprise of church. Joining God, Remaking Church, and Changing the World can guide any church―large or small, suburban or urban, denomination-level or local parish ― to become a vital center for spirituality and mission.
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by Roger Helland and Leonard Hjalmarson
If all of the earth is God's domain, why are Christians so terribly provincial? We rarely leave our church buildings, and our spirituality rarely takes us beyond ourselves. Veteran church leaders Roger Helland and Leonard Hjalmarson observe that Jesus begins his mission in the temple, where he wows the religious elite and chides his parents by saying, "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" But Jesus doesn't stay in the temple; indeed, in Christ the temple of the Lord is on the move--even to the ends of the earth. In this book the authors helpfully reconnect spirituality and mission, showing you how the spiritual life, when lived properly, follows a similar progression: we "come home" to Christ, loving him from our heart and soul and mind and strength. And then we set forth to love our neighbors as ourself. Discover how through this process you can reclaim the whole of God's kingdom for his glory and the fulfillment of your heart's longing.
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by Alan Roxburgh and M. Scott Boren
Many pastors and church leaders have heard the term "missional" but have only a vague idea of what it means, let alone why it might be important to them. But what does it actually mean? What does a missional church look like and how does it function? Two leading voices in the missional movement here provide an accessible introduction, showing readers how the movement developed, why it's important, and how churches can become more missional.
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by Francis Chan
We’ve strayed so far from what God calls Church. We all know it. We know that what we’re experiencing is radically different from the Church in Scripture. For decades, church leaders like myself have lost sight of the inherent mystery of the Church. We have trained people sitting in the pews to become addicted to lesser things. It’s time for that to change.
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by Clare De Graaf
Do you sometimes feel as if your faith has gone flat? Does your spiritual life feel listless and boring? Perhaps you've unconsciously drifted toward what Clare De Graaf calls beige Christianity. You go to church, attend a Bible study, and even volunteer, but there's no spark anymore--no joy in your spiritual walk. You may not understand what is happening to your faith, but you do know that you long for something more…
BOOKS
QUICK READS
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I love telling people my spiritual story. The testimony of how Christ came into my life and made me a different person is always exciting to share, and pretty easy to do. It’s the story of my restored relationship with God that came to me through no effort of my own, but solely through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ…
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If you’ve ever felt nervous or unsure about sharing your story, here are some tips that can help you take that step of faith.
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Read: How to Prepare Your Personal Testimony
Write: Work page
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Having a physical card in hand to pray over someone can act as a visual reminder.
VIDEOS
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Ali Malaekeh leads an Oakhouse workshop on sharing your testimony, or story of how Jesus has changed your life, in a minute.
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The Gospel explained in four simple truths.
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A random act of kindness for a stranger. Maybe you don’t have $20,000 to give away, but let this video inspire you to do what you can!
THINGS TO TRY
There are lots of “steps of love” that you can take! If you want some inspiration, here are some ideas for a specific person or, if a specific person doesn’t come to mind, ideas you can try out with anyone!
Expand the following for more ideas!
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Pray for them every day this week
Call them
Intentionally encourage that person today
Ask that person if they want to get together and study the bible
Invite that person to a church event
Invite that person to a church service
Invite that person to dinner
Cook a meal for them
Give a certificate good for free bysitting and a card.
Attach a candy bar or a gift card to a card and leave on a co-worker’s desk.
Bake some goodies for them and attach a card.
Perform an act of service for them, and leave a card.
Leave some flowers with a card.
Offer to watch their kids for a few hours.
Rake leaves for them.
Run an errand for them
Buy extra stuff at the store and give it to neighbors
Invite them over for dinner – even better if it’s someone you’ve never invited over before!
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Prayer walk your neighborhood and listen
Learn all of your neighbors’ names and write them down
Join a local club of some kind
Volunteer in a non-Christian organization
When walking into the store, ask the Lord who you are supposed to ask if they need prayer
Social media - encouraging messages or find what people like through social media and surprise them
Cook a meal for a neighbor or co-worker
Pay for someone’s gas at the gas station
Leave a big tip for a waiter or waitress with an encouraging note
Slip a $20/$50/$100 bill to someone whom you know is struggling financially
Bake goodies and take them to the police station, fire station, or hospital
Leave a thank-you note for your garbage collector or mail carrier
Volunteer at a local animal shelter, even if it’s cleaning cages rather than cuddling kittens
Compliment a stranger – be sincere, not suspicious!
When people around you are gossiping about someone, say a kind comment instead
Offer to put someone’s shopping cart away for them at the store. Bonus points if it’s raining!
Donate your talent. Are you a designer? Offer to design someone’s Christmas cards. A pianist?
Play a set at a nursing home. Photographer? Give away a family photo shoot.
Talk to the quiet person who seems lonely or out of place at a party or church service.
Organize a food drive at your work, school, or church.
Find out how you can help adoptive families in your church or community – then help ‘em!
Pay the bill for the people dining in the booth next to you at a restaurant.
Bring doughnuts (or a healthy treat, like cut-up fruit) to work.
Buy someone a cup of coffee
Cook a meal or do a load of laundry for a friend who just had a baby or is going through a difficult time.
Let the person behind you at the supermarket go ahead of you.
Write someone a letter. Like a real letter, on paper. And mail it!
Give someone a book you think they’d like.
Play board games with senior citizens at a nursing home. Sixty percent of them will never have a visitor during their stay.
Babysit for a single mom for free.
Send dessert to another table.
Wash someone’s car.
Hand out a flower to random people as you walk through Spectrum/grocery store/etc
OUR TESTIMONIES
As a part of living out our annual vision, we are asking everyone in our church to share their 1-minute testimony with us.
