It has been five years since we moved to our current address on Bonnell Road. On this important anniversary, we think it’s important to look back and celebrate all that God has done through our church. That’s why we’ve decided to propose a challenge. We would like to celebrate by giving back this week, and we’d like your help.

Each day we are going to give you a challenge. We will offer suggestions for ways you can give back in five specific areas of your life.

We want this to be fun, as well as impactful to us as individuals and as a church. Our hope is that we can all look back and remember this as a moment in time when we were intentional about loving our community better.

That’s what it’s all about. If we’re going to do whatever it takes to reach our community for Christ, we have to be intentional about building relationships with the people around us. And, those relationships start at home. So, it’s no coincidence that “family” is the first group we’re asking you to serve this week.

How can you serve your family this week?

Time is one of the most precious gifts we can give to someone we love. This week, set aside extra time for your family and give back to them by making memories.

If your family is local, we challenge you to carve out a device/phone-free time when everyone can focus on being together. If your family lives far away, schedule some time for a phone call or video chat.

Here are some creative ways to better serve members of your family:

• Write a letter or send a card to a family member you haven’t connected with in a while.
• Host a family game night.
• Invite your family over for a meal.
• Step out of your comfort zone and participate in a hobby of a family member.
• Tell a family member you haven’t connected with in a while that you love them.
• Visit a park and have a picnic.
• Bake something together.
• Cheer on one of your family members at a sporting event.
• Volunteer in our community together as a family.

Once you’ve decided how you want to give back to your family, we’d love to see pictures of our Ridge families spending time together or hear stories about how being intentional in serving your family has impacted your week.

Use hashtag #Ridge5Challenge, and we will share some of our favorites.

Stay tuned for tomorrow when we post our second challenge.