It can be really difficult to figure out how to help another human being. What do they need? What do we have to offer? Will what we offer actually be helpful or will it be annoying or unhelpful?
And what about me? What do I need? And how do I get what I need?
Helping Each Other: How to Serve Spiritual Needs is a program designed to help us wrestle with these questions and practice helping each other in specific ways.
This program is built around an ancient approach to serving people’s spiritual needs which involves working with 6 basic categories for people’s needs: the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned. (You can see all these needs together in the parable of the goats and sheep in Matthew 25.)
First, we learn to identify our own needs using this approach. Then we learn to identify other people’s needs. And then we try to help. It’s a simple but surprisingly powerful and effective approach. You can do the program on your own but attending a “Helping Each Other” group is where you’ll really get the full benefit of the program.
There is no cost to attend the program. Email us or call us (031 262 2342) if you have any questions.
Download Resources to Use with a Group or as an Individual
- Resource Book and Small Group Guide
- Everything you need to do this program is in this short book. Download it as a PDF for viewing on a computer or phone or as a booklet for printing. Print the booklet landscape, double-sided.
- Worksheet for Asking “What Do I Need?” and “How Can We Help Each Other Right Now?”
- These worksheets are the core of the program. They are in the resource book in more complete form but you may find that you need additional copies of these worksheets as you do the program for a couple of weeks or you may find you like the simplicity of using just these two pages.
- Additional Resources
- This program was originally developed by the Rev. John Odhner. You can find additional resources for this program and topic on his website – newchurchteachings.org/how-to-help-each-other.
Sermons
We preached 3 sermons to go along with this program in August and September 2017. You can listen to them or read them using the following links:
- Helping Each Other, Part 1: Challenges and Opportunities
- Helping Each Other, Part 2: Getting Spiritual Support
- Helping Each Other, Part 3: Offering Spiritual Support
Register to Join a Group
We can’t guarantee that we’ll be able to find you a group that exactly meets your preferences but we’ll do the best we can.