When she retired after 30 years as a buyer for a furniture manufacturer, Lillie Janice McGregory wanted to stay involved in volunteer church ministry and give back to the community.

She found her opportunity through Grand Rapids First, the growing Assemblies of God church McGregory attends in Wyoming, Michigan, just southwest of Grand Rapids.

McGregory signed up to be part of the church’s GR1 Serve ministry, the brainchild of lead pastors Sam and Brenda Rijfkogel. Through GR1 Serve, church volunteers known as “HEROs” respond to material needs of people they encounter in the community.

Two years ago, McGregory became a licensed hospitality teacher at a Grand Rapids high school attended by many impoverished youths.

“Some of the kids don’t even have homes,” McGregory says. “Some of them have babies.”

McGregory takes time to find out about the needs of students who confide in her. Through GR1 Serve, she is able to provide a little comfort and relief.

For instance, last year McGregory discovered a student had to rent a lawnmower whenever he needed to mow the grass at his home, headed by his single mom. McGregory, as a GR1 HERO, learned the church had a new lawnmower available for the family. Subsequently, GR1 Serve provided a weed trimmer, too.

In other efforts, McGregory obtained four heaters to alleviate winter discomfort for teachers in school classrooms, plus underwear and personal hygiene products for female students.

“The HEROs program is the greatest thing since sliced bread,” McGregory says. “I’m glad to be part of a church that meets people’s needs.”

Since the Rijfkogels arrived at Grand Rapids First in 2006, the church has been a beacon for meeting a plethora of community needs, including painting public school classrooms, furnishing apartments for homeless veterans, and paying off medical debts of local residents.

The church occasionally holds major community evangelism and compassion events. But when COVID-19 hit in 2020, Sam Rijfkogel realized the congregation needed an alternative to large-scale outreaches. The GR1 Serve ministry provides a personal way for volunteers to minister to their neighbors and co-workers.

“We’re trying to encourage our people to be more engaged in one-on-one evangelism with those they already have a relationship with,” says Brenda Rijfkogel. “This is an evangelism tool to reach the lost.”

Through its 731 screened HEROs, the church has delivered 16,000 gifts, from an electric toothbrush to a garden hose.

Upon learning of a need, each participant uses an app to see whether that product is available from the church’s inventory. If so, the HERO arranges to pick it up Sunday morning or Wednesday night at church, then delivers it later to the recipient.

“For most churchgoers, confrontational evangelism is difficult. But this takes away that fear and the excuse of that fear.”
— Sam Rijfkogel

A HERO can place only one order at a time and must respond to a series of questions on the app (such as whether they prayed with or invited the recipient to church) before the transaction closes. The church receives 20 pallets monthly to stock.

No general church funds are involved in distributing the gifts. Instead, large retailers such as Costco, Walgreens, and Amazon donate all the products. Many of these items were returns from paying customers that cannot be resold. Nevertheless, they are new. Since its first year, GoServe (a nonprofit the church created to manage the donations) has distributed $10.3 million worth of goods.

“This is not secondhand stuff,” Brenda says. “We are trying to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Everyone knows somebody who has a need.”

While most churches, including Grand Rapids First, have volunteers meeting on-site church needs, GR1 Serve is outward-focused. None of the donations occurs on church grounds, although a card accompanying each gift indicates it is provided through Grand Rapids First.

The gifts naturally enhance relationships that already exist, and often stir interest in Christianity. As a result of the program, 211 people have made salvation decisions and 637 have been invited to the church over the past four years.

Sam notes it is a much more comfortable evangelism effort for members than knocking on the doors of strangers.

“For most churchgoers, confrontational evangelism is difficult,” he says. “But this takes away that fear and the excuse of that fear.”

The acts of kindness don’t have to be expensive. Volunteer Tori Marie Meo simply took a snow shovel to a neighbor who recently moved from California and was unprepared for Michigan winters.

“It’s about blessing people in times of need so they don’t have to spend a dime,” Meo says. “We just want to make a small difference in the lives of those around us who are hurting.”

Some participants know discomfort from experience. Michael Carrasco’s parents split up soon after his birth. At 24, he is now a wrestling coach at the same public middle school he attended.

Only one of Carrasco’s 15 wrestlers lives with biological parents. He has blessed families with such commodities as a bed frame, recliner, and diapers.

“GoServe gives me the extra step to influence kids’ lives,” says Carrasco, who notes that despite being a three-sport athlete during his youth, no coach ever inquired about his personal needs.

The ministry is designed to be a witness for the Lord at whatever level the recipient is open to, according to Michael Wayne Daniels, a program committee member working with staff to obtain donations from multiple sources.

“The idea is to provide a gift from Jesus with no strings attached,” says Daniels, whose full-time job is working with a nonprofit involved in child protective abuse and neglect cases.

“This is a great way to plant and water in the community,” says Trent Roberts, president of Northpoint College, a school affiliated with Grand Rapids First. “It creates opportunities for conversations to let people know we care, with no agenda.”

The son and grandson of Assemblies of God missionaries, Roberts spent 17 years as a missionary associate and appointed AG world missionary in Northern Asia. Thanks to GR1 Serve, he has been able to donate everything from diapers to ceiling fans to his neighbors.

Grand Rapids First has trained 111 other churches, mostly in Michigan, to participate in HERO programs of their own at some level, even if that congregation only has a closet available to store items.

This article appears in the Summer 2024 issue of Influence magazine.