WHAT IS YOUR MISSION?
If you have found your way to this page, it isn’t an accident! You are here because God has written you into His story! We believe that God has a mission in the world and that he has allowed us to participate in that mission. Heritage Church’s mission is to help people find and follow God. If you are here, you are probably looking to discover what exactly your mission is! We are all about helping you discover your God-given mission. Chances are, there is a perfect opportunity for you to go beyond attending a service to serving the people outside the walls of the church. This page is meant to help you do just that!
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUTREACH
LOCAL OUTREACH
The church is an international and supernatural organization. But it is next to meaningless to talk about a church being "universal and invisible" if at the end of it all, it isn’t local! Whatever it means to be the church, it means to be the church right here where we are in our towns, neighborhoods, and backyards. This is why any attempt to find our God-given mission starts right here in our town. God is at work in Lake Zurich and we want to join Him with the awesome things He is doing!
LOCAL OPPORTUNITIES
Living out your God-given mission is not an event we tack onto our already busy lives. In actuality, IT IS OUR LIVES. Mission should be the way we live, not something we add onto life. We can be missional in everyday ways without overloading our schedules. Here are a few suggestions:
We all eat three meals a day. Why not make a habit of sharing one of those meals? Go to lunch with a co-worker, not by yourself. Invite the neighbors over for family dinner. If it’s too much work to cook a big dinner, just order pizza and put the focus on conversation. When you go out for a meal invite others. Or take your family to family- style restaurants where you can sit at the table with strangers and strike up conversation. Flee the Church subculture.
If you live in a walkable area, make a practice of getting out and walking around your neighborhood, apartment complex, or campus. Instead of driving to the mailbox, convenience store, or apartment office, walk to get mail, groceries, and stuff. Be deliberate in your walk. Say hello to people you don’t know. Strike up conversations. Attract attention by walking the dog, bringing the kids. Make friends. Get out of your house! Take interest in your neighbors. Ask questions. Pray as you go. Save some gas, the planet, and some people.
Instead of hopping all over the city for gas, groceries, haircuts, eating out, and coffee, go to the same places. Get to know the staff. Go to the same places at the same times. Smile. Ask questions. Be a regular. Build relationships. People matter. If you walk with someone long enough, you will get the opportunity to walk them past the cross.
Pick a hobby that you can share. Get out and do something you enjoy with others. Try the park district. Try the YMCA. Local running and cycling teams. Share your hobby by teaching lessons. Teach sewing lessons, piano lessons, violin, guitar, knitting, tennis lessons. Be prayerful. Be intentional. Be winsome. Have fun. Be yourself.
Talk to the people you work with. How hard is that? Take your breaks with intentionality. Go out with your team or task force after work. Show interest in your co-workers. Work on mission.
Find a non-profit in your part of the city and take Saturday a month to serve your city. Bring your neighbors, your friends, or your small group. Spend time with your church serving your city once a month. You can do it!
Instead of playing Fortnite, watching TV, or surfing the net, participate in city events. Go to fundraisers, festivals, clean-ups, summer shows, and concerts. Participate missionally. Strike up conversation. Study the culture. Reflect on what you see and hear. Pray for the city. Love the city. Participate with the city.
Help a neighbor by weeding, mowing, building a cabinet, fixing a car. Stop by the neighborhood association or apartment office and ask if there is anything you can do to help improve things. Ask your local Police and Fire Stations if there is anything you can do to help them. There is power in asking, “HOW CAN I HELP?” Get creative. Just serve!
Don’t make your God-given mission another thing to add to your schedule. Instead, make your existing schedule missional for God.
Community Opportunities | Lake Zurich
Village event volunteers
Alpine Parade
Backpack drive
Operation Christmas Child
Noel Giving Tree
Email: Andrew Wilson
REGIONAL OUTREACH
The Great Commission calls Christians to go into the world to make disciples of all people. In the book of Acts, Jesus makes this call specific. We are to be eye-witnesses of what God has done for us “In Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” The idea is that we start where we are locally and then we proceed outward from there. The mission God is sending us on is bound by time and geography. We take Jesus to the tangible places where people are hurting in our world.
One of the gifts that Heritage Church has been given is the proximity to a world-class city. The Chicagoland Metro area has 9.5 million people who call our city home. This many people from hundreds of nations and a wide variety of socio-economic backgrounds bring with them the suffering and pain of the whole world. That suffering and pain allows us the opportunity to serve the least of these. Heritage Church seeks to partner with organizations who are making a difference not just somewhere far from here, but right here in our backyard. Check out these serving opportunities.
REGIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
Informed Choices Thrift Stores | LEARN MORE
Based out of Grayslake, Informed Choices exists to help families going through a crisis pregnancy. There are many ways to serve. Thrift store volunteers, furniture delivery, crisis counselors. Contact Sarah Vanderlip to find out more!
Shepherd's Hope • Serve Englewood | SIGN UP
Shepherd's Hope is all about helping meet the needs of our neighbors who live in the Englewood community. Heritage Church partners with Shepherd's Hope financially, but also by joining them 5-6 times a year in real hands-on ministry. We would love for you to lend a helping hand and a caring heart some time soon!
GLOBAL OUTREACH
Our world is growing smaller every day. Globalization has taken a firm root in the world's culture. As the Internet brings information to the now globally ubiquitous smartphone, and local economies are dependent on global production; we are seeing some of the most powerful transformations the world has ever known. These transformations are not only found in the areas of technology and production, but also with religion. Christianity is so global that there is now no single continent or region that can indisputably claim to be the center of global Christianity!
So what do we do about this Spirit-led movement of Jesus happening all around us? Well, we join in! Often we join in the work by partnering with others who are already doing it. Whether it is Brazil, Haiti, India, or an island in the Philippines our partners are reaching their neighborhoods for Jesus! In addition to partnerships, we also have periodic opportunities to join in this Global effort labor through short-term outreach experiences.
GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES
We are so excited to partner with a team traveling to Honduras this summer with World Gospel Outreach. They will be facilitating several improvement projects as well as teaching sewing skills. Please join us in praying for their trip July 6th - July 13th. If you would like any additional information, or would like to know how you can help by going above and beyond, please reach out to Pastor Andrew.
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