7 Outreach Ideas for Valentine’s Day
It’s no secret—humans crave love, even to the point of creating a holiday to celebrate it. A holiday where, per the National Retail Federation, American spending soared to 19.7 billion dollars last year!
Just what are we spending our dollars on? Jewelry, an evening out, and flowers are the big-ticket items.
But we don’t just spend money on our significant others. More and more people are spending money on things like appreciation presents for teachers, valentines for class mates, cookies for neighbors, etc.
It’s a truly honorable thing to show appreciation for those closest to us, whether through homemade or store bought items. But this year, I encourage you to consider a few more individuals—specifically those who least expect it, those who may need a little extra encouragement, or those who can’t give anything in return.
It’s often in remembering the forgotten that we have the most opportunities to share the love of Christ!
- Give a flower to a homeless person.
- Visit a nursing home—spend some time listening to widows or widowers share memories of their spouses.
- Spend some time with a friend or family whose husband/father is deployed overseas.
- Ask someone who is divorced/single/widowed over for dinner.
- Take balloons or flowers to a children’s hospital.
- Help kids decorate cookies or cupcakes to give to seniors in your church, a nursing home, a homeless shelter, or perhaps your local fire department.
- Pray with and for those who are grieving during this holiday!
What outreach opportunities have you participated in for Valentine’s Day? What doors, if any, opened for the gospel to be proclaimed?
Sarah Bowler
Sarah is the author of Bathsheba’s Responsibility in Light of Narrative Analysis, contributor to Vindicating the Vixens, and contributing editor for The Evangelism Study Bible. Some of her previous ministry experiences have included teaching and mentoring of adults and children in a wide variety of settings. Her small claim to fame is that she has worked with children of every age range from birth through high school over the past 20 years. She and her husband Ben reside in Richardson, Texas with their four children.
