Mission Service Activity of the Month

August 2022: Collecting Arch Books for Church or School Libraries 

Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, directs His people many times in Scripture to care for each other. He reminds us in Proverbs 22:6 to care for and train children. Training a child in God’s Word is no easy task. Arch Books, available at Concordia Publishing House (CPH), St. Louis, are a good way to share Bible stories in a simplified way. As these stories are read to children, they can grow in knowledge, seek clarification and guidance, and ask questions. If you are blessed to read these stories to children, you can ask questions. These Bible stories can create a foundation for future years of reading and learning from the Bible.

Preparations for the Activity:

• Contact Lutheran churches and schools in your area to find out if they would be interested in receiving Arch Books for their libraries or classrooms.
• Contact your church elders for permission to take a door offering to purchase Arch Books.
• If a member, apply for a Thrivent Action Team grant ($250) to further fund this project. 
• If approved, set up a display of Arch Books at church/school so people can learn about Arch Books.
• Check the Concordia Publishing House (CPH) website to order Arch Books.
• Deliver Arch Books to church/school libraries.
• As an extension of this activity, set up a time at school when you could read an Arch Book to a class.

Extra credit: Take pictures of this service activity and submit them to share on your district website or in your district newsletter. Get permission to take and share pictures.

Gospel Focus

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6).

Devotion as You Plan:

As you plan this service activity, you may want to share this devotion, The Parenting Profession.

Prayer as You Plan and Prepare: 

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us Your Holy Word. You have given us the command to train up a child in the way he should go. Please help us to teach Your words to our children. As they grow, may it strengthen and nurture them. Let us all daily rely on Scripture for guidance and instruction. In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Download the printable PDF of this Mission Service Activity

Collecting Arch Books for Church or School Libraries

The Gospel Outreach Committee would love to hear about, and share, your mission service activities! Please contact the Vice President of Gospel Outreach here. Thank you!

View past Mission Service Activities

Mission Service Activity of the Month

July 2022: “Going Off to College” Care Packages

Going off to college is an exciting adventure. It may also be lonely and overwhelming. Care packages may be prepared to support:

• New college students from your congregation
• Graduating students from a local high school or Christian school
• Local college students who may need support

Knowing someone is praying for them or just receiving an extra snack can brighten the day of a college student. A care package can help strengthen a student’s lasting connection with their church and their faith. 

College care package items: 

• Drawstring backpack/sports bag
• Cookies
• Granola bars
• Reusable water bottle
• Powdered drink mix
• Pens/pencils
• Post-it notes/highlighters
• Single-use laundry soap
• Lip balm
• Starbucks or Amazon gift cards
• Restaurant gift cards
• Silly game (like suction cup darts, basketball, or paddleball)
• Optional: College 101 A Christian Survival Guide or other devotional books.

You may include a personal note of encouragement. If students attend a local school, consider inviting them to attend your church service, a young adult event, or Bible study group.

Gospel Focus

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths (Proverbs 3:6). 

Devotion as You Plan:

Share the devotion God’s Family when you or your group are putting together these care packages. 

Prayer as You Plan and Prepare: 

Dear Heavenly Father, please watch over these beloved students that are going out into the world. Give them strength as they experience growth and seek education. May the knowledge of Your great mercy and love guide them as they strive to meet new challenges. Lord, in Your name we pray. Amen.

Download the printable PDF of this Mission Service Activity

“Going Off to College” Care Packages

The Gospel Outreach Committee would love to hear about, and share, your mission service activities! Please contact the Vice President of Gospel Outreach here. Thank you!

View past Mission Service Activities

Mission Service Activity of the Month

June 2022: Plant a Resident Community Garden

Do you have a rehabilitation center, nursing home, or group home in your community that would enjoy the blessing of a resident community garden? They can be as small or as large as the space will allow. It could simply be tomatoes or herbs growing in 5-gallon buckets on a patio, flowers growing in window boxes, or flowers and vegetables growing in a raised garden. What a blessing it would be for the residents to get involved in a community garden activity, as well as the friendships that may be cultivated. Seeds sown and grown, all blessed by God.

What you need to prepare: 

• Contact your local residential community’s administration to gain permission to start such an activity. Upon receiving approval, ask about the location, size, and type of an appropriate garden.
• Agree on garden rules with the administration.  (When can residents work in their garden, do they need worker supervision along with your volunteers, where does the harvest of the garden go (if vegetables, do they go to the residential kitchen)?
• Make sure you have willing residents and LWML members to prepare and tend the garden.
• Ask the residents for help in designing the garden. Work together to decide what should be grown:  flowers, vegetables, herbs, or a mixture.
• Determine the supplies you will need: containers, planters, soil, seeds & plants, trowels, spades, garden gloves for all workers, watering cans.
• Share with each other the joy of working in God’s creation.

Gospel Focus

The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good (Genesis 1:12).

Devotion as You Plan:

As you plan this service activity, share this Bible study: Never Stop Growing. 

Prayer as You Plan and Prepare: 

Heavenly Father, LWML groups are planting and growing gardens in new places in Your name. We pray that these gardens flourish for the residents; we pray that as the gardens are planted, seeds of faith are sown and cultivated. Lord, as we plant, we ask that You make our seeds of faith grow strong so that our lives would be a blessing to others as we grow in spiritual maturity. In Your Name, we pray. Amen. 

Download the printable PDF of this Mission Service Activity

Plant a Resident Community Garden

The Gospel Outreach Committee would love to hear about, and share, your mission service activities! Please contact the Vice President of Gospel Outreach here. Thank you!

View past Mission Service Activities

Mission Service Activity of the Month

May 2022:  Calming Care Kits for Mothers, Expectant Mothers, or Pregnancy Shelters

As we observe Mother’s Day in May, let’s look around and show God’s love to as many mothers and expectant mothers as we can. We want to share with them that they are loved and are being lifted up in prayer. 

What you need to prepare:

• Gather supplies for each mother you want to acknowledge. Items may include coloring pages or bookmarks from the LWML website, markers, lotion, bath bombs, tea bags, a lavender or vanilla candle, and a gift bag to hold the items.
• Include Mustard Seed Devotions or a personal note or prayer for each bag.
• Choose mothers in your congregation or community who will receive these Calming Care kits. What a blessing it will be for a mother to receive heartfelt messages and prayers with these personal calming items.

Extra credit: Take photos of this service activity and submit them to share on your district website or in your district newsletter.

Gospel Focus

Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these (Luke 12:27).

Devotion as You Plan:

As you plan this service activity, you may want to share this devotion: www.lwml.org/posts/devotion/as-a-mother-comforts-her-child

Prayer as You Plan and Prepare: 

Thank you, Jesus, for hearing our cries. Thank you for being with us when we feel alone, bringing us comfort when we are hurt, and bringing us peace when we are troubled. Help us to show love and comfort to others, especially to young mothers and expectant mothers. Guide us to be Your loving hands where love is needed most. In Jesus’ precious name we pray. Amen.

Download the printable PDF of this Mission Service Activity

Calming Care Kits for Mothers, Expectant Mothers, or Pregnancy Shelters

The Gospel Outreach Committee would love to hear about, and share, your mission service activities! Please contact the Vice President of Gospel Outreach here. Thank you!

View past Mission Service Activities

Mission Service Activity of the Month

April 2022:  Fruit Baskets for Seniors

Being connected to Jesus, the Vine, is a wonderful comfort. You have an opportunity to share that comfort with those who might feel left out or alone. Bringing a small basket of fruit to a homebound individual or a person in a nursing home will help them to remember they are a precious part of the vine and belong to Jesus. Take a moment to sit with them, read a devotion, and share time in prayer. It can be a wonderful time of fellowship, connected to the True Vine, Jesus.

Ask the church secretary or pastor for a list of congregational members who are homebound or in a nursing home. Call the individual or nursing home to arrange a time to visit. There may be restrictions; please be sensitive to regulations or requirements. If you cannot spend time with the individual, make sure you insert a personal note with a message of encouragement, letting them know you are praying for them.

For each gift basket, you will need the following:

• small basket or container
• assortment of fruit
• plastic wrap
• Mustard Seed devotion (see below)
• beautiful bow or decoration

If you are doing this activity in your LWML group, take photos of the activity in progress. Seek permission from the individual to see if they are willing to have their photo taken with their basket. Submit the photos to share on your district website or in your district newsletter.

Gospel Focus

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:5).

Devotion as You Plan

Use the Mustard Seed devotion, “Living in the Spirit … Help me be Fruitful”.  This devotion may be used both in the preparation of the activity and included in the gift basket. 

Prayer as You Plan and Prepare

Heavenly Father, Creator of all, thank you for sending Your Son, Jesus, to be our True Vine. Help us to serve You by serving others, letting them know they belong to You and sharing in the joy of being attached to Jesus. Let these gifts nurture their bodies as Your Word strengthens their souls. Keep us all attached to Jesus, for without Him we are nothing. In His most holy name we pray. Amen.

Download the printable PDF of this Mission Service Activity

Fruit Baskets for Seniors

The Gospel Outreach Committee would love to hear about, and share, your mission service activities! Please contact the Vice President of Gospel Outreach here. Thank you!

View past Mission Service Activities

Mission Service Activity of the Month

March 2022:  Pack the Pantry with a Drive-Through FOOD DRIVE

As missionaries, we feed the body and then we can offer spiritual food, by God’s grace. Let’s help others be physically fed by packing a local food pantry or food bank with a Drive-Through FOOD DRIVE event. Food pantries get many donations during the holidays, but the months in-between may find donations inadequate. Working together we can bless local food pantries with an abundance of food and prayer. 

Does your church have a food pantry? If not, locate a local food panty or food bank. Ask for a list of their most needed items and share it with your group and congregation. Set a goal or challenge to encourage participation. Make a banner and cheer as donations come in. Make it an event to remember. 

Often, the most requested food pantry items include: 

• Canned meat or fish
• Soup
• Canned fruits and vegetables
• Peanut butter
• Pasta
• Powdered milk
• Boxed puddings
• Heat and eat meal kits
• Rice
• Boxed cereal
• Oatmeal
• Spaghetti sauce

Be creative, make signs, and cheer as people drive up to drop off items. Make a banner or an arch for cars to drive under. Take pictures and share the story with your district newsletter editor and your local newspaper. These photos could also be sent in to be posted on the LWML Facebook page or submitted as an article for the Lutheran Woman’s Quarterly. 

Gospel Focus

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). 

Devotion as You Plan

As you plan your event, begin by reading the devotion Sharing the Bread of Life. Check with the food bank to see if a devotion and/or encouragement card could be sent with the donations.

Prayer as You Plan and Prepare

Heavenly Father, it is difficult to realize many families suffer from hunger. We pray as Jesus taught us Give us this day our daily bread (Matthew 6:11). We trust and believe You will provide the food that hungry families need to grow and thrive. Pour out Your grace upon these families, especially parents straining to feed their children with dwindling resources. In Your name we pray. Amen.   

Download the printable PDF of this Mission Service Activity

Pack the Pantry with a Drive-Through FOOD DRIVE

The Gospel Outreach Committee would love to hear about, and share, your mission service activities! Please contact the Vice President of Gospel Outreach here. Thank you!

View past Mission Service Activities

Mission Service Activity of the Month

February 2022:  Make a Prayer Flip Notebook

Prayer lists grow longer with each passing day. There are many people and circumstances we lay before God. We are blessed to be able to thank our loving Father, give Him praise, and ask for forgiveness. But sometimes prayer notes that have been written or received fall out of Bibles. A Prayer Flip Notebook assists in keeping your prayer list focused and serves as a reminder of answered prayer.  

Prayer Flip Notebooks are easy to make and easy to customize. Categorize the different pages with a prayer theme or a person’s name. Add or delete pages as needed. 

When making a notebook you may want to include a list of the 2021–2023 LWML Mission Grants. You may also want to include a card for your district’s mission grants, a card for your church prayer list, and cards for your personal prayer list.

For each Prayer Flip Notebook, you will need:

• 10–12 (3 inch by 5 inch) note cards, white or multi colored
• a 1-inch metal key ring
• a hole punch
• markers, pictures, and/or LWML stickers to decorate the cover of the Notebook

As you complete your Prayer Flip Notebook, we encourage you to take pictures, write an article for your district webpage, your district newsletter, or the Lutheran Woman’s Quarterly so you can share with other LWML women. We love seeing posts to the LWML Facebook page as well.

Gospel Focus: UNCEASING PRAYER

 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God (Colossians 1:9–10).

Devotion as You Plan

Before making the Prayer Flip Notebook, read the devotion, From Him All My Labor.  Click here for the pdf link.

Prayer as You Plan and Prepare

Heavenly Father, please bless all the hands that will be creating these prayer notebooks. We pray for all the names and circumstances that are on our hearts that will be placed on the pages of each one. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Download the printable PDF of this Mission Service Activity

Make a Prayer Flip Notebook

The Gospel Outreach Committee would love to hear about, and share, your mission service activities! Please contact the Vice President of Gospel Outreach here. Thank you!

View past Mission Service Activities