At the beginning of a new year, I like to celebrate what is old as well as what is new. The things that make Galilee special to me are the established rhythms of our church life, which are connected to ancient practices rooted in the life of Jesus.

One such practice is serving others.

You may remember Jesus saying: “I have come not to be served, but to serve.” Now, that’s shocking. We have no right to expect the King of Kings, the Son of God, to assume the role of an ordinary person with the heart of a servant. But then, so much of that Jesus did was shocking.

Since Christ’s life and mission, his followers have been distinguished by their service to others. This was true even in times of pandemic! For instance the Plague of Cyprian was a disease that devastated the Roman Empire from 249 to 262 AD. It was named for the Christian bishop Cyprian, whose writings and sermons told Christians not to grieve for the dead (who are in God’s care), but to strive mightily in care of the living. His fellow bishop Dionysius described how Christians “took charge of the sick, attending to their every need.”

Christians in service is as old as Rome and as new as tomorrow. 

You don’t have to take the bishop’s word for it. Even non-Christians noted the selflessness that defined Christian service. The 4th century Emperor Julian, a pagan and no friend of Christians, noted cynically but honestly how “the Galileans” would care for people of all classes and faiths.

All through history, people of faith have followed in Jesus’ footsteps by showing compassion to others—especially those in need. And as today’s “Galileans,” we do the same.

Our commitment to serving others is embodied by programs like our award-winning Backpack Buddies feeding mission. Backpack Buddies and other programs gathered together under the Serve Ministries banner support those in need. Serve Ministry volunteers have made Galilee known in the community as “a church that helps people.”

Our Serve teams exceed expectations.

Rebecca Makowski is our Director of Serve Ministries. I asked her, what does “serving” mean to her?

“I often don’t care to define serving as much as I just do it! I’m not alone among our volunteers: we want to go mission trips, or get food collected and distributed, or help repair damaged houses. Yet as important as “doing” is, perhaps the action comes secondary for me. At its heart, Serve Ministries is relationship-building for the Kingdom of Christ. It is loving your neighbor as yourself.” 

“Are the works important? Of course. But the relationships within our own congregation, community, and wider world are far more important. Showing others that Jesus is love and modeling our lives after what He did—THAT is what changes the world.”

Galilee, we’re still going through a pandemic ourselves. You can be confident that despite health worries, your church is serving in the trenches in the fights against hunger, poverty, loneliness, and despair. I appreciate your support—it cannot be in person as much as we’d like—and I want you to know that when we’re over this hurdle, there will be much work that we can do in serving others and, as Rebecca says, building relationships for the Kingdom.