Page 30 - Digital Church in a Lonely World

FREQUENCY OF LOCAL VOLUNTEERISM
When was the last time you volunteered locally?

Within the last week Within the last month Within the last year Within the last five years Less often Never

All U.S. adults
26%
7% 9% 16% 15% 16% 36%

Practicing Christians

15% 14% 23% 14% 14% 22%

n=2,007 U.S. adults; April 23–May 5, 2021.

There are two important practical expressions of inconvenient hospitality.

The first is volunteering. Volunteering in or through a local church changes a person’s relationship to
that community. Ninety-five percent of people who volunteer say that it enriches their sense of purpose
in life. 13

Instead of asking, “What did I get from church today?” volunteering shifts that question to, “How did I
contribute to someone else’s life today?” It is the difference between consumerism and contribution. It’s
for this reason that I have encouraged my own kids to volunteer in our church from a young age. When
we drive home from church, I ask them, “Whose life did you make a difference in today?” I like that
narrative better than, “What did you get out of the preaching today?” One is focused on giving away;
the other is focused on what we get. The paradox is that the more we give away of our own humanity,
the more we grow, and the deeper we experience community.

The potential pain of being in community is not simply an unwanted
by-product; it is a key part of the purpose of community

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