Posted on: July 10, 2012

5 Places You and Your Kids Can Serve Others

5 places you and your kids can serve others_thumb

 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. told us what greatness is all about when he said, “Everyone can be great because everyone can serve.” One of our jobs as parents is to talk to our kids about the significance of serving others and show them how to do it. Here are 5 places you and your kids can serve others.

Serve in your home. You don’t have to look any farther than the four walls of your home to serve others. Doing chores together around the house, like washing dishes, vacuuming, and taking the garbage out, even when it isn’t your job, will teach your child how to serve.

Serve in your neighborhood. Do you have a widow living next door? Mow her yard. Is there an overwhelmed single mom or dad nearby? Babysit his or her child for free.

Serve in your community. Most communities have facilities to feed the hungry and house the poor. Offer to help. There are many lonely elderly people in nursing homes who would cherish a visit from you and your child.

Serve in your country. There are people in need all over your state and nation. Children in the foster care system need nurturing families. There are many children awaiting adoption who need a permanent place to lay their heads, be hugged, and be loved. Find a way to show soldiers from your area that you appreciate their sacrifice.

Serve in your world. Many Americans don’t understand extreme poverty. There are countries where people are searching for clean water to drink and food to sustain their lives. Perhaps you are able to travel abroad to help those who hurt, or financially support an organization that addresses some of these needs.

Please share with me how you and your family are serving others.

(Portions of the foregoing were excerpted from All Pro Dad: Seven Essentials to Be a Hero to Your Kids by Mark Merrill, Thomas Nelson publishers, 2012; available at www.AllProDadBook.com)

  • Kristin

    I started a blanket ministry for the homeless in our community three years ago.  It has led my sons to helping as well as my church.  As I started spending time with the homeless, my heart enlarged for them and I started listening to their stories and writing them down for a  book.  Just that simple act of listening and treating them like a normal human being does so much for them.  God has blessed me so through this ministry.

  • http://sandysandmeyer.wordpress.com/ Sandy

    My son volunteers at church helping with the lights and sound during services.  He volunteers at our church’s food pantry during all of his breaks from school.  He had the highest number of volunteer hours of his senior class and we didn’t even report them all.  Lots of kids go to the food pantry to help lug groceries, do computer entry, pick up donations, and assist the mostly older volunteers.  It’s been a great way for him to learn how to have a work ethic, to work with others, to learn the value of a hard day’s work, and to work with different kinds of people.  What started out as helping his grandfather run the pantry has now become something that he was rewarded and publicly acknowledge for and something that he can put on his resume.

  • http://www.FamilyMinute.com/ Mark Merrill

    Kristin, that is so encouraging.

  • http://www.FamilyMinute.com/ Mark Merrill

    Sandy, that’s great that your son has such a servant’s heart.

  • Kim

    We have a neighbor who is only 39 and has been struggling with an undiagnosed illness since January.   He and his wife asked my 15 year-old daughter to babysit their young daughter while they went to yet another specialist.  When the mom handed Hallie $40 for 6 hours of babysitting, she refused to accept and said, “No thank you, this time’s on me.”  My neighbor called me right away and told me she was so touched by what Hallie had done.  I was so thankful that Hallie was able to learn for herself how rewarding it is to be able to give in such a way.

  • Jarrod

    Thanks for including the comment about including the single dad in the ways to serve in your neighborhood. Society tends to automatically seek the single mom to help and the single dad who is often times in the same circumstance gets forgot about. Thanks for the attention!

  • Michael Tooker

    Our family has been involved in a service project in which our church and Neighborhood Ministries partner to provide a new pair of shoes to over 600 inner city children.  It was a powerful thing to watch our 10-year old son measure a little boy’s feet for new shoes.  My son announced, “Your foot is a size 6.”  The boy’s response was, “No, I wear a size 4.” My son’s jaw dropped when he realized this boy was wearing hand-me-down shoes that were 2 sizes too small.  Not only did this build in him a servant’s heart…it also helped to plant the seeds for a grateful heart.  You gotta go for your kids’ hearts…and the most powerful way to do that is serve others.  Great blog Mark.  Love your heart for family!

  • http://www.FamilyMinute.com/ Mark Merrill

    Wow! Kim, what an encouragement that must be to you.

  • http://www.FamilyMinute.com/ Mark Merrill

    You are so welcome, Jarrod.

  • http://www.FamilyMinute.com/ Mark Merrill

    Michael, thanks for sharing that moving story.