When You Work for the Church

The church where I now serve as resident author has supported Inner Hope Youth Ministries for years—with prayers and through the church budget—well before I arrived on the scene. Then two years ago, when I first met executive director Jenny Shantz and heard about Inner Hope’s Ride for Refuge fundraiser, I said, “I don’t see why we couldn’t have a team to help raise funds.” A couple of church members were part of the same conversation, and immediately said, “I would do it with you.”

Since then, I’ve grown in appreciation for the work of Inner Hope and have also learned a few things about fundraising and building community. Here’s what I’ve learned about building community so far.

Start with the community you already have

For the first time last year, we had a team of four walkers, and this year instead of going to the main event in Vancouver, I thought we could increase engagement by hosting our own event closer to home. We could still raise funds for Inner Hope. We could still have a walk or ride option. We could still have a chili supper afterward. All without the long commute to and from the city. With everyone so busy, saving that driving time could help encourage participation.

We could build community by starting with our existing relationship with Inner Hope. By starting with those in the church who were already familiar with their good work.

Have a common purpose

Instead of focusing on our lack, we focused on what we could do. As a small church, we don’t have a large membership, but we have big hearts. We don’t run a youth program, but we can still do youth ministry by supporting the work that Inner Hope does with youth and their families.

Inner Hope and the Ride for Refuge organization made it easy for us to enter a team. Our church newsletter and Sunday morning announcements made it easy to get the word out. We invited people to pray, to give, to walk, or ride, all with the common purpose of supporting the work of Inner Hope.

Be open to new friends you haven’t met yet

One couple in the church interested in participating thought they might invite a friend. Although I had never met her before, she had come to worship a few times, and she was very interested in donating and walking with us. And when she told one of her friends what she was doing, her friend wanted to donate and walk with us too! I was delighted when they both joined us for the supper and conversation that followed. It was wonderful to see our community expand with new friends.

Welcome the gifts of others

I don’t bike, but I was glad to welcome those who do to our team. One of the cyclists was willing to plan and test the bike route. One of our walkers offered to bring home-made buns enough for everyone. Another offered the use of her crock pot. Many contributed food. One said, I’m not able to walk or bike, but I’d like to help, so she helped with the t-shirts, brought food, and worked at setting things up for supper. She and others helped clean up after the meal. Others donated, and together we raised $4,225 for Inner Hope!

I couldn’t have done all of that by myself in the time and resources I had available—and even if I could, I wouldn’t have done it all by myself. Instead, welcoming the gifts of others invited people to participate in a genuine and meaningful way. It allowed us to work together and to grow in appreciation for one another. It helped build community.

Have fun together

We had great fall weather for our walk and ride. We enjoyed being outdoors together, seeing the sights along the way, sharing stories, laughing, and getting to know one another. We raised money for a good cause, and we had fun doing it!

Share a meal

“I don’t see why we couldn’t have a chili supper at my place after the walk and ride,” I said. That’s when I thought I might be hosting ten people—but when our numbers swelled to twice that, I wondered whether I’d have room for everyone, and how could I possibly make that much chili. (As you can tell, my “I don’t see why . . . ” can sometimes get me into trouble!)

But my dining room table with its four extra leaves can seat twelve, I could set up another smaller table for six, and there was more seating on the couches in the living room. A friend had already offered to bring her vegetarian chili, and then I found “Chili for Twenty” by Janie Steele in my Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook by Dawn J. Ranck and Phyllis Pellman Good.

I didn’t have all of the listed ingredients, and the sizes of the cans were in ounces instead of millilitres, so I made a number of adjustments, and the chili turned out so well that I was even asked to share the recipe. So here is my version of chili for twenty, along with a few additional notes.

Chili for Twenty

Ingredients:

4 pounds ground beef

3 onions, finely chopped

3 green peppers, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 – 796 ml cans diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning

4 – 540 ml cans kidney beans

2 – 156 ml cans tomato paste

1 cup water

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons salt

a bit of freshly ground pepper

Instructions: Brown the ground beef, drain, and continue to cook for a few minutes with the green pepper, onion, and garlic. Mix together with the rest of the ingredients. Divide into as many slow cooker crock pots as needed. Cook on low for 3-4 hours.

Additional Notes:

1. Since none of my bowls were large enough to accommodate the whole recipe, I divided it in half, and made two batches of chili for ten.
2. Since I had the use of two large crock pots that could each accommodate chili for ten, I could mix each batch directly in each crock pot.
3. This makes a very meaty chili, so next time I might cut down on the ground beef. I might also add corn which I like in the vegetarian chili I usually make.
4. From the ingredients, I knew this would be a very mild chili, but I decided to make it that way for those who might prefer mild, and had a bottle of sriracha available for those who would like to spice it up.

As you can tell, this year’s walk and ride was a great fundraiser and a great community-building event. I’m already saving the date for next year: Ride for Refuge, Saturday, October 4, 2025.