Fall Service Projects

Fall is the best of all the seasons (just my personal opinion). The color orange, Pumpkin everything, sweaters, crisp-cool walks in the morning. Raking leaves. Blowing leaves. Bagging leaves. Jumping in leaves. Unclogging gutters filled with leaves. Ah! It’s the best. We’ll maybe not the unclogging part.

The month of October is when most student ministries begin to throttle up. You’ve placed all your students in small groups, completed registrations, and finally collected and gone after that handful of students who simply will not turn in their emergency contact card. And October for many ministries is a terrific month to get out and do something before snow and the cold of winter arrives.

In most of the churches that I served in October was always a heavy service/missions month. We always seemed to have missionaries come in and share about their work and service projects planned for this time of year. What service projects are you planning during this beautiful and transitional time of year? Don’t have one? Here are three classic Fall service projects that you can do with your students.

Raking Leaves

This is a classic youth ministry service project. Gather some students together along with a list of all the elderly and shut-in’s of your church. Enlist some youth to come with rakes, bags, and anything else you’ll need to eradicate leaves from their yards. It’s simple but it will be such a blessing to those who cannot get out to do this type of work because of a variety of reasons. Also, don’t just work and leave. Visit with them. Bring some food. Have some refreshments and spend time visiting with these people who might not have an opportunity to be around the rest of the body. Clean their lawns and fill their hearts.

Home cooked meal and a warm coat for the homeless

Have your students assemble simple brown bag meals. A meal can include a sandwich, piece of fruit, a drink, and a yummy dessert. Throw in a travel sized toothbrush & paste. Once the meals have been assembled and packed up, have your students along with some leaders go distribute those meals. Continue to do this on a regular basis and develop relationships with those that you serve. Invite them to church. Run a collection at your church or in your community for warm coats and boots. Have your students pass out these items to the homeless before the cold bite of winter comes to your community.

Trunk or Treat

This is a classic. Have your students invite members of the church to decorate the trunk of their cars with a Fall Harvest or Halloween theme. I’ve seen some good ones over the year and they can get pretty elaborate. The best one I’ve seen is a recreation of the Battle on Hoth from Star Wars Empire Strikes Back. The entire scene was complete with sound effects playing through the car’s sound system. It was very cool. Invite those who participate to pass out candy, a healthy snack, or something practical. Keep in mind that 1 in 10 children these days have a food related allergy. So add something fun or practical to your candy mix so that all students can enjoy and participate. Invite your community to come and participate as the children walk through the rows of cars gathering treats and seeing the trunks all decorated. If it’s warm enough, cap the night off with a bonfire and have one or a couple of your students share the Gospel with the crowd of children and parents.

Fall is a great time of year. What kinds of service projects are your groups doing to spread and share the love of Jesus Christ with this world?