Changing Oil, Changing Lives: Christ Community Church in Nebraska

Christ Community Church in Omaha, Neb., connects with single mothers by providing free oil changes and basic car maintenance.

The ministry serves the general community by networking with other agencies that serve single moms and not turning away anyone who comes for help, says Nick Kelly, the church’s former communications director.

Volunteers who work on the cars must have experience as mechanics, but others help by visiting with people as they wait for repairs to be completed.

One Saturday, women volunteers gathered around and prayed for a single mom who felt overwhelmed because her husband had just left her. She could not believe how much the volunteers cared for her, and she gave her life to Jesus, recalls Ian Vickers, the church’s former director of community and international relations.

“The men and women that reach out to the single moms or widows are fantastic,” Vickers says. “They bring hope to many who are very discouraged about life.”

Find more ways to serve your community »

Outreach Magazine
Outreach Magazinehttp://outreachmagazine.com

Outreach magazine publishes ideas, innovations, resources and stories to help church leaders reach their communities and change the world. Founded in January 2003 by church communications company Outreach Inc., Outreach is an award-winning, bimonthly periodical for church leadership and is available by subscription and on Amazon.com. Find out more at outreachmagazine.com

Fight Church: A Fighting Chance

“Here was a people group that wasn’t being served by any form of chaplaincy like many major sports have,” says Pastor Joshua Boyd, of the local MMA community. “And they needed care just like anyone else.”

Perfectly Imperfect Churches

Most of the great breakthroughs and innovative ideas are a result of problems being viewed not as a problem to solve, but an opportunity to make things better.

Nigerian Church Promotes a Deeper Christian Life

A. Larry Ross, who traveled the world for nearly 34 years as personal media spokesman for evangelist Billy Graham, says the new epicenter for evangelism is the Global South and Nigerian evangelist William Kumuyi as the pastor of “the largest church of which most American Christians have never heard.”