HopeWhat a week! I had the awesome opportunity to see many people in action serving this week, and providing hope.

Our Couple’s Bible Study Group spent a day serving at a Homeless Shelter on Wednesday, and then on Thursday I attended a Teen Challenge Banquet 

At the Homeless Shelter we worked with the residents on framing up their personal purpose, and then discussed with them steps that they might take on moving towards the fulfillment of their purpose. We wanted to provide them hope, letting them know how important they are, and that by being intentional about living on purpose that they will make a positive impact on society and those within their platform.

 It was inspiring hearing them make commitments to each other on how they were going to serve others and themselves by making significant efforts to improve their current situations. You could see each of the residents gaining confidence and they saw hope in their future.

The Teen Challenge Banquet was all about raising money to enable the amazing staff at Teen Challenge to work with people struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, helping them to understand the love that Jesus has for them, and provide them hope for their future. There were many testimonials from past addicts who now had hope for their future due to their time spent at Teen Challenge.

I love learning from great servant leaders from the past. Jesus is my favorite to learn from. Jesus was the ultimate provider of hope. People look to their leaders to provide hope.

The following are ways I feel a servant leader provides hope:

  • Acceptance – there is no better way to give a person hope than by accepting them for who they are, not what they do
  • Love – truly care for people
  • Appreciation – expressing thanks and praise for accomplishments
  • Comfort – show compassion
  • Encouragement – urge people to hang in during tough times, and persist in achieving their goals
  • Connection – there is no substitute for spending time with people, listening
  • Respect – honor and regard people as important
  • Protection – insure an atmosphere of “No fear”
  • Support – walk alongside people, be there for them

I saw live examples this week on these ways to provide hope, and I saw people’s spirits being lifted due to a new feeling of hope in their lives. It is an awesome sight!! 

Mark Deterding 

“Those who forget God have no hope.”  Job 8:11