Involve Your Christian Community
Involve a group of 6-10 people from your church, Bible study, House church, or another faith community.
NEIGHBORING: the act of being like Jesus to a neighbor in need. (check out Luke 10: 27)
Neighboring Volunteers walk alongside the Family Facing Homelessness to fill in the gaps, and help the Family get back on their feet.
As a Neighboring Volunteer, you will…
Open your Heart
Give support, encouragement and build a relationship.
Open your Hands
- Offer tangible, practical support, such as help looking for housing, childcare, transportation, or household furnishings. Host a dinner at your home or drop off an occasional meal when needed.
Open Doors
Use your personal and professional networks to help a family find housing, medical providers, employment, job training or other resources to support a family’s long-term success.
Open Your Eyes
As a faith community, your eyes will be opened – to the pain, trauma and resiliency of families facing homelessness, the brokenness in all of us, the significance of mutual relationships with others, and the importance of Neighboring as followers of Jesus. It’s all about making a true difference in the lives of others.
To sign up as a Christian faith community to be Neighboring Volunteers, please complete the Contact form and someone will be in touch.
Who makes up a group of Neighboring Volunteers?
- 6 to 10 people from a church (or other Christian Faith Community, such as a Bible Study group)
- Both men and women, married and single, any age
- Committed to the Bridge of Hope Neighborhood for 12 to 24 months while the family is working toward financial stability in the Bridge of Hope program
What is the time commitment for a Neighboring Volunteer?
- Bridge of Hope Strangers to Neighbors® Training (online course and in-person group session)
- Individual time: providing tangible and practical support, networking on behalf of the Neighboring Family based on their specific goals and desires, and offering encouragement and emotional support via phone calls, one-on-one get-togethers, etc.
- Neighborhood Gatherings: monthly or quarterly gatherings for the purpose of relationship building, celebrations, or ongoing training.
- Neighboring is relationship building and as with all relationships, the more time that is given, the stronger the relationship that may emerge.
How are Neighboring Volunteers supported?
- Neighborhood Resource Specialist facilitates a Neighborhood Launch, introducing the Neighboring Volunteers and the Neighboring Family, thus forming the Bridge of Hope Neighborhood
- Regular contact from Neighborhood Resource Specialist via emails and/or phone calls, and group or individual meetings
- Continued education opportunities for Neighboring Volunteers through presentations at Neighborhood Gatherings, a copy of Strangers to Neighbors®: A Guide to Neighboring Families Facing Homelessness, and access to the Bridge of Hope online video library
Love your Neighbor as Yourself (Luke 10:27)
“There are so many facets of this experience that, as a pastor, are gratifying. It is indeed a holy privilege to have this very particular way of being ‘in the gap’ between what is God’s best desire for families and what is reality. We do it with a certain ache…and yet, also with hope, that our mutual futures will be something closer to what God intends because we are doing this together.”
– Pastor Jane Roeschley
from Mennonite Church of Normal, IL