A Great $25 Thanksgiving Bridge Idea

A Great $25 Thanksgiving Bridge Idea From servecoach.com

For about $25.00 you can really touch a family in your community in a very dramatic way. This is an easy outreach to do--just add prayer.

Go to the store with this:

BASIC SHOPPING LIST:

10-15 lbs Turkey

2 boxes of mashed potatoes

2 cans of sweet potatoes

2 cans of green beans

2 cans of cream of mushroom soup

2 cans of French's dried onion topping

2 cans corn

2 boxes of Stove Top dressing mix

1 lbs of butter or margarine

2 jars or cans of gravy

1 package of dinner rolls or Corn Muffin Mix

1 can Cranberry Sauce

Don't forget to add a pumpkin pie or other traditional favorites of your region!

While at the store, buy a large grocery box or an inexpensive wicker basket that you can decorate with autumn themes. Fill the box with the goodies. Make sure you double or triple bag the frozen turkey and it may be a nice touch to even purchase a single use aluminum pan that will help keep the turkey from leaking all over your box as it thaws; even better it can be used to bake the bird in. Keep in mind some folks do not have the hardware to bake a turkey so you should probably just go ahead and buy the pan.

While whole turkeys are traditional, you may be better off with just breast cutlets and turkey legs since some folks that struggle to make ends meet may have a very small stove or just a hot plate to work with. These are all important considerations.

IMPORTANT TIP: Do not wait until Thursday to deliver the goodies. Turkey's need time to thaw and a frozen Turkey on Thanksgiving day is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine!

How should you pick the family to bless? There are two camps of thought on this. You can randomly select families, or you can network with social service agencies and schools for referrals. My church does a huge coordinated outreach where we each member does their own shopping from a standard list, but we all regather and meet at the church for a time of fun, worship and to get logistics and assignments. This outreach has evolved into a huge event that feeds over 1,500 families each year. It is very organized and well thought out. It is efficient and nearly seamless. You are given contact information that includes GPS information. You actually have an appointment and the people are waiting on you. I can't say enough kudos about the folks that put this large scale event together--it has come a long way from when it was just me and a couple of guys with pick up trucks handing out frozen turkeys with TEFAP pantry food a few decades ago.

It is amazing what a team of folks with great administrative and organizational skill can pull off. That is another tip I want you take from here. You need to involve others--especially if you decide to allow this to grow into a large church event. Do not make it too comfortable for folks in the pews. That may sound strange, but you will reach a certain level of momentum where your church members are more than willing to do a food drive and supply the resources, but can forget this is about creating Kingdom connections. You want people to shop for the food, deliver the food, and meet and pray with new people. Take care not to make the outreach so easy that you end up with a pile of food and money, but have no volunteers that want to connect with people by delivering the food.

With that said, it is important not to make this so organized that it is no longer fun. Make room for folks gifted at freelance ministry and adaptation. I sometimes miss the wild and woolly days of impromptu ministry. In other words both ideas are good. If you don't have large resources or a team, that is okay. All you need is an open heart and a few bucks. Go to the store and buy your favorite Thanksgiving feast--not for you or your family--a complete stranger. I promise you will have more fun than is legal. Don't be scared. God is with you. Go into a neighborhood and drive around and ask God to show you a home to go to. He is always faithful to this approach--just dial down your thoughts and then look and listen. You will know when he draws your attention to a home. It may sound funny, but when I do blank slate ministry like this, sometimes God shows me the home to go to by something as simple as a flickering porch light. Some of my most intense divine appointments have come from just getting quiet and looking to and fro for God to show me where to go. These are good skills to practice no matter what your experience level is.

I participate in big church event because it is important to support the vision of my local church, and well these folks are depending on us showing up. I also think it is important to do this as a way of life. During this season I indulge my nostalgia and do an extra one a few days later. I have found the real power encounters happen when we step out and let God push our comfort zone. There is something about the dynamic of unexpected grace that introduces people to kingdom of God with a divine appointment. I dare you to try it!