Time is drawing near for the upcoming Iris Festival. You've seen and heard our promotion for your participation. You don't want to miss out on this opportunity to serve. For this week's installment of my Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I'll succinctly answer two questions about what we are doing.

First, why? Some of what we will be doing will be seemingly mundane, picking up trash, giving directions, smiling, and so on. Why do we want to serve people in our community? The ultimate answer is as simple as it is solid; we serve people to serve God. It is all about giving him the glory he deserves. Jesus said that doing simple things to meet needs is like serving him. When we follow in Christ's footsteps, putting others above ourselves, we honor God our Maker. Besides that, it is especially important in this skeptical generation to build bridges for evangelism by demonstrating humility and concern. This is one way.

Now for another question: how? I'll give you the macro answer. The specifics will be sorted out at the training next weekend. The question of how ministry takes place is answered by Zech. 4:6, which says that it is "not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord." The power is not in what we can do, but in what God does in and through us. When our motivation is really God's glory, it is amazing what the power of God's Holy Spirit can accomplish through us - more than we could ever do by our own effort. The initial step in sacrifice is surrender, and then God can do his supernatural work.

You can learn more about the specific ways to get involved by visiting the Iris Festival display in the lobby.