Serving the Sermon
Several years ago, while in pastoral ministry in Missouri, Rick Cochran, pastor of Living Hope Church in Merrillville, Indiana, read an impactful book on serving. The book’s challenge to show the love of Christ through authentic acts of service impacted the way Cochran viewed ministry; and after becoming pastor at Living Hope, he led the church in implementing a “Love Week” during which members focused on intentionally serving the community.
Participation during the week of service averaged about 20% of the congregation. Hoping to increase that number, the Living Hope leadership team decided in 2022 to try something revolutionary to the usual idea of how to spend Sunday: church attendees would meet briefly for prayer, and then, instead of hearing a sermon, they would head out to “become the sermon” to their neighbors. Some creativity and advance planning created dozens of opportunities—paying for people’s groceries at a local store and their laundry at local laundromats, maintenance and repairs at a domestic violence shelter, and various projects for local schools were just a few of the projects.
Participation numbers increased, and after a second well-attended event in 2023, Cochran reached out to Orlando Soler of Life Point Church in Hammond, Indiana. Soler serves as the Northwest presbyter for the Indiana District Assemblies of God, and unbeknownst to Cochran, had already been thinking and praying about possible ways to bring Northwest Indiana churches together in community. The idea of an area-wide Serve Indiana Day grew from that conversation.
“This was a way to encourage our people to hit the streets and promote the gospel through community interaction,” says Soler. “We could unify our congregations while helping each church tailor projects to fit their communities’ needs.”
Area AG pastors were invited to an informational dinner event, and 13 church campuses, representing ten churches throughout Lake and Porter counties, got involved. The Sunday following the Fourth of July was designated as “Serve Day.”
Taking the project to an expanded level meant more logistical details, drawing the group together for the basics while empowering each church to reach their community in the best ways. A partner council was developed to promote unity and help find resources, including some grant funding, and a T-shirt was designed with a QR code leading to a basic gospel presentation in answer to the question, “Why are you doing this?”
Demographics vary greatly among participating churches, and some communities reflect the urban flight to more affluent suburbs, leaving others without a strong church presence. The population concentration in Northwest Indiana is the state’s second-highest, following Indianapolis, and the varied ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds call for diversity in the acts of service. However, that in itself is an opportunity to show unity among the body of Christ, badly needed in such divisive times, says Soler.
A tailgate wrap-up party and fireworks display, hosted by Living Hope, brings all the participating churches together to share their varied experiences. Some larger churches send team members to assist smaller churches, to ensure every community being impacted. Some Indiana-based missionaries have also gotten involved, helping build connection between their work and that of local churches; one missionary provides the use of a mobile shower unit for a community with a large homeless population. Other projects have included free car washes, clean-up of parks and city property, and worship teams going to visit nursing homes, where one team also did hair, nails, and “glamour shot” photos for the ladies.
Soler received a slightly humorous response from the Life Point congregation when he shared the concept of Serve Day replacing the regular Sunday service. “Oh, so you’re not going to preach?” His response was, “Well, no, actually, you all are!” Not only did the congregation support the idea, but attendance that day was higher than average!
Harvest Ridge Church in St. John, Indiana, learned about the Serve Day concept at the vision dinner and immediately thought it would be a good fit.
“We have always loved the idea of servant evangelism,” says Kelly Johnson, who serves at the church with her husband, lead pastor Regin Johnson, and is also a member of the district women’s ministry leadership council.
In 2024, Harvest Ridge hosted a picnic for their local fire and police departments and then joined Living Hope for the evening fireworks display. The event was well-received, and the church added more projects in 2025. Teams passed out cold water at a local grocery store while helping customers load their cars, took blankets and cards to an area nonprofit helping cancer patients, prepared goody baskets for local nurses, and more.
One Harvest Ridge project was to provide each church household with a bouquet to share with someone, encouraging families to pray about whom to give it to. Congregation members reported comments like, “I don’t deserve this,” from recipients, creating openings for conversation, and many participants said their confidence about sharing their faith grew as well. Teams have prayed with the lonely, connected people to needed resources, and experienced “God moments” while showing compassion for someone who was hurting.
Serve Day has allowed participating churches to build a positive presence in their communities, including St. John which is a heavily Catholic bedroom community for the manufacturing industry of Chicago, Illinois, and Gary, Indiana.
“What’s the catch?” was a frequent question, allowing teams to explain that they were not there to promote any one church but simply to promote Jesus.
And community members have taken notice, including favorable coverage in the Northwest Indiana Times. One Life Point team encountered people who said, “Oh, you’re more of the people with the red shirts!” referring to a team they saw at work in another community while dining out.
Another point of unity is that entire families can serve together, as opposed to the age-divisions of school and many church activities. One large extended family “adopted” a local laundromat, helping people carry laundry and paying for the use of the machines.
Even persons with limited mobility or who cannot do heavy work are involved, gathering to write letters to veterans and legislators, do small repairs or crafts, or prepare food.
Leaders say the project is continuing to grow, as an article in the Indiana district’s “Envoy” publication led to more church inquiries about getting involved. Non-AG pastors in some communities have expressed interest as well, and there is discussion about possibly adding more event dates per year. Serve Indiana leaders hope to continue shining the light of Christ into their corner of the state and to inspire other groups to come together in unity and service, fulfilling the scriptural promise that people will know we are Christians by our love.
