God is doing some cool things in and through the people of Northshore as we love our local community.  Many of these are quietly going on “behind the scenes” as people simply love their world with Jesus’ great love.  I asked Pastor Dean Osuch, Northshore’s Pastor of Outreach & Local Mission to be a guest blogger and share some stories of Northshore’s impact in our local community.  So here are three God stories of Northshore’s local mission that Pastor Dean shared:

Story #1: God is moving in the Northshore School District

Last August, Northshore along with five other churches ministered to several local schools during CommunitySERVE Day 2009.  The one thousand volunteers that day not only made a huge impact on the local schools that they served, but they also made a huge impact on the principals of the Northshore School District.  In November, Kate Jones and I met with the Assistant Superintendent to Elementary Schools and the Partnership Coordinator at Northshore School District.  In that meeting we looked at CommunitySERVE Day 2010 and the idea of working more in the classroom.  The District was excited about the ideas that we had and we were blessed to find out that the Assistant Superintendent to Elementary Schools had participated as a Principal in Bellevue’s Jubilee Day, which was the structure we are modeling.

Two weeks ago we met with nine principals to give them an overview of CommunitySERVE Day 2010.  At that meeting God gave us much favor in the eyes of the principals.  The principals were fully supportive of our efforts and are truly excited about our church’s willingness to minister to them this summer.  It was so encouraging to see Matthew 5:16 come to life, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”   Please continue to pray for us as we continue to build meaningful relationships with our community and as we continue to make plans for CommunitySERVE Day 2010.  Mark your calendar for August 21^st and come out to serve your community and let your light shine before men.

Story #2: Ministering to our Neighbors

It may be hard to believe that our next door neighbor may be in the middle of a serious crisis.  But the truth is many in our neighborhoods are struggling.  I believe in days like this there is no better time for the church to be the church for our community.  We have partnered with the City of Bothell and the City of Kirkland to find ways to love our neighbors.

Several weeks ago the City of Kirkland approached us with an elderly woman in need.  She needed to clean up her yard that is in total disrepair or be forced to leave her home.  The Outreach Pastors of Northshore, Eastside Foursquare, and Overlake Christian Church approached this woman with an offer to help.  Not sure whether she would accept our offer of help we prayed that God will allow us to help her.  The Compliance Officer and Police Officer assigned to the case shared with us that our offer to help and pray was nice, but that it would take a miracle for this lady to accept our offer to help.  Well, we serve a God of miracles.  A few days later this elderly homeowner met with us and allowed us to minister to her.  She was amazed that a church would do something like this for her, even though she doesn’t attend church…yet.  It will take months to complete this home project, but the city has allowed her to stay in her home because of the church.  And even though this lady isn’t a church attender, it is nice to know that the church will come to her.   1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?  For you have been bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.”

Story #3: Small Groups do Big Things

Several months ago Dorene Minton’s small group wanted to bless those in need in the Northshore body.  They held a clothing drive/exchange for the families of Northshore.  People had been so generous in their donations that after the event Dorene was left with bags and bags and bags of children’s clothing.  Dorene decided that they wanted to be more intentional about reaching out to their community with Christ’s love.   So they decided to donate the left over donations to the Northshore Family Center.  They blessed many families in our community who had no other way to get clothes for their children. This act of kindness energized this small group so much that they decided to help with the Family Center’s tutor program.  It is amazing to see what happens in the life of a small group when they decide to become missional.  Not only do they become a blessing to others, but they get blessed in return.

The story continues.  There is a monthly meeting of community organizations that get together to try to find ways to partner with each other to better serve our community.  The big talk at the last monthly meeting was what this small group From Northshore Baptist Church did at the Family Center.  The community leaders in our area are starting to realize that Northshore is serious about making a difference in our community.  My prayer is that more small groups, like Dorene’s small group, will look at our community as their mission field.

For more information on ways that you, your family, or your small group can serve our local community, please contact Pastor Dean at deano@nsb.org or www.nsb.org/serve/local

Remember to mark your calendars for August 21, 2010 for our Community Serve Day!