It seems that one of the most common questions we have heard since we have been on the road is “How do you find places to serve on the road?’ I often get messages from other full-time RV families that have the desire to serve, but don’t know where to start. Since my answer is always the same, I decided it was time to put in all in one post with links.
When we first went on the road, we had no idea how God would lead us to serving opportunities. It was really a journey of blind faith, hoping and praying that He would lay opportunities at our feet. Although He definitely did guide us in many ways, we also had to actively seek out opportunities.
There are three primary ways to find places and people to serve, Organic Opportunities, Organized Ministries and Orchestrated Appointments.
Organic Opportunities:
These are opportunities that the Lord seems to put directly in our path on any given day. They are immediate needs or divine appointments that lead us to the opportunity to serve someone Here are a few examples:
- Frank was feeling desperate to do something useful for someone and he prayed for an opportunity. Within 30 minutes of his prayer, while working out in the campground gym, an opportunity presented itself. An older man Mike was two machines away from Frank in tears, as he told his friend that not one RV shop could help him fix his murphy bed. He was distraught, as this meant he would probably have to sell his rig because he couldn’t lift the bed due to his disabilities. Frank walked over and offered assistance. Within a few hours, he was able to take most of the weight off the bed for easier lifting and adjusted the springs that was making lifting difficult. Something so simple, but yet life changing for this random (or not so random) man in a campground.
- Campgrounds do seem to present many opportunities. Someone is always having issues with their RVs. So far in our two years on the road, we have assisted in: building bunk beds, removing beds, removing and replacing toilets, building shelves, replacing batteries, laying laminate floors, fixing roof leaks and so much more.
If you are really looking to serve others, your neighborhood is probably the easiest place to start. I can guarantee there is someone close by RIGHT NOW that could use a helping hand. Just open your eyes and your heart, the opportunities will be there if you look.
Organized Ministries:
Probably the easiest way that we have found to serve others both here in the USA and around the world is through already firmly established organizations. Someone else has already done the ground work, so there is no need to reinvent the wheel. All you have to do is call and let them know that you are available to serve. I assure you, no organized ministry will turn down a volunteer. These are some of our go to places.
RV specific serving organizations: Almost every faith denomination seems to have their own RV missionary group. There are also many secular organizations always looking for volunteers. My focus will be on the faith based organizations, as that is our primary goal as a family. Here are some links for you to explore: www.rvsonamission.org https://campersonmission.net/ rvoutreach.org www.nomadsumc.org www.missionbuilders.org sojourning.orgwww.agm-ffci.org/becomeamissionary.asp
Established organizations in the USA that need volunteers.
This is a very short list to give you some examples of organizations we have found on the road. While some of these organizations do have accommodations, the majority of these opportunities do not have RV sites available to utilize. We will typically find an organization that we would like to serve with and then locate a campground near by.
Samaritans Purse: Disaster Relief and Rebuild Projects
GLOBAL AID INTERNATIONAL NETWORK
O
Orchestrated Appointments
On occasion, we find ourselves sitting in a campground without any obvious places or people to serve. As Frank gets a little antsy sitting still for too long, we often need to actively search out opportunities to serve. We have discovered a few methods to go about this.
Typically, if we are in an area for more than a few days, we will attend a local church. So far in our travels, every church has been very open to giving us local ministries or people in their congregation that could use help.
When we do not have any clear direction from the local church, we turn to technology and apps on our phones. We have been very successful in finding opportunities through several apps by typing in our zip code. Local organizations (both Christian and Secular) will place volunteer ads within each of the following apps.
You can join www.iamsecond.com/livingsecond and direct access to two volunteer apps TAKL and VOMO.
Another excellent app and website is www.justserve.org
So if you feel called to serve while you are on the road or even in your own hometown, I hope remembering the three O’s of serving will help connect you. If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below. We have a few detailed blog posts about our experiences, feel free to take a look around!
A job is your choice;
A ministry is at Christ’s call.
In a job you expect to receive;
In a ministry you expect to give.
In a job you give something to get something;
In a ministry you return something that has already been given to you.
A job depends on your abilities;
A ministry depends on your availability to God.
A job done well brings you praise;
A ministry done well brings honor to Christ.
This version attributed to James N. Spurgeon.)