by Carla Williams
We’re in a blog series navigating some ideas on how to use this Thanksgiving season to be intentionally missional. And I’m going to be really honest – this one is probably the most difficult. It’s relatively easy to invite some people over, pray new prayers, or write a missionary.
But this suggestion involves some real sacrifice.
Let me be clear: there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with celebrating Thanksgiving the traditional way. There’s good in joining with family and friends, embracing delicious food, and collectively reaching toward gratitude.
But there’s also good in stepping beyond tradition and experiencing something bigger than your moment.
So if you’re ready for a really big change, this suggestion is for you: Serve instead.
Homeless shelters, nursing homes, and other ministries always need volunteers on Thanksgiving.
Ways to Serve Instead
You’re open to the idea: this year, in a total break of tradition, you’ll find a way to serve rather than feast. But where do you serve?
There are many places desperate for volunteers on the holidays. Homeless shelters, nursing homes, hospitals, community centers, churches, international ministries, prisons, and youth homes are all good options.
Someone somewhere in your area needs Thanksgiving help. Finding the right place is part of the process!
Instead, not in Addition
Sometimes our sacrifice needs to cost us something.
Many families find ways to volunteer or donate during the Thanksgiving season. The holidays tend to bring out our charitable side, which is great.
But for most people, there’s not really a sacrifice in our gifts. We donate food or we drop a few dollars in a red bucket, but we still celebrate our holiday exactly as we always would have.
And this suggestion is about sacrifice.
It’s about giving something to God and not keeping it for yourself.
Once, King David needed to give God an offering. He immediately secured the necessary location, animals, and wood – and the man he got them from wanted to give them to the king as a gift.
But David was insistent: He would not offer to God that which cost him nothing.
Sometimes we need the same determination. Sometimes our sacrifice needs to cost us something.
Note: it’s still better to serve AND have your intact Thanksgiving tradition than to not serve at all. I’m suggesting that you serve instead to experience the full extent of the sacrifice. But you know yourself and your family. Do what you need to do.
And … how is this missional?
Serving instead of a normal holiday will give us a new kind of gratitude.
I’m glad you asked.
This is the simplest application of biblical principles. It’s worthwhile and valuable and missional to give up yourself for the poor, the downcast, the broken, the oppressed. (See Isaiah 58)
Serving will give you the opportunity to speak grace, truth, love, and hope into the lives of those who don’t know it. What is missions if not that?
Furthermore, serving instead of a normal holiday will give us a new kind of gratitude, a new source of thanksgiving, and a new appreciation for what we’ve always taken for granted.
Our understanding of the world will change. Our hearts will change. And our prayers will change. We’ll pray less about ourselves and more about the needs of others – especially their spiritual needs.
And that’s pretty missional, too.
Find more suggestions for making your Thanksgiving more missional: Include Outsiders | Grateful Prayers | Write a Missionary
