That's a Clean Looking Van
I love a good van. I have had 2 VW kombi's myself. But this van is possibly the cleanest one I have EVER seen. Two mates from Brisbane have come up with a novel idea that has transformed a humble white van into a portable laundry for homeless people.
According to Buzzfeed, these young guys have found a great way to help people in need. They call it Orange Sky. The boys were motivated to find a solution to a problem that is often overlooked.
"We got started as a result of seeing the fantastic work that food vans and the like do for homeless people. Food, healthcare and support are all readily available yet there is minimal affordable access to hygiene services and we feel it is an area that is overlooked."Â Buzzfeed reports
The mates currently have 2 washers and 2 dryers, that can wash the clothes of up to 10 homeless people per hour. Their idea has inspired others to get involved too. They are yet to use volunteers, but to date there are already 100 applicants who have registered to help.Â
The Australian Government has reported that volunteerism amongst Australian young people is generally lower than the national average.Â
Young people tend to volunteer less (27%) than the Australian average (36%). This may be a concern for the future of volunteering and may effect an array of different organisations that provide important services in our community, including churches. United States research shows that in 2013, volunteering there reached new lows. According to Christianity Today, the majority of volunteers in the States are involved in the church. This decline in volunteerism is impacting on local church communities across the USA.
What is the picture for Australian churches? Christians in our local churches are often busy and time poor. Yet all churches rely on the enthusiasm and energy of gifted volunteers. They say that '20% of the people do 80% of the work.' If this is even partly true, then the trend of falling volunteerism may be putting some already committed church goers under more stress. Church leaders may also unwittingly put pressure on their most active members to keep filling their weekly rosters. But is there an alternative.
What can churches learn from a story like Orange Sky?
The first lesson I see is that not all new ideas come from the top. Orange Sky was started by a couple of young blokes from Brissy. New ideas that are practical, simple and effective can come from everyday people. It may be tempting for a Christian Pastor to feel that he or his core team have to initiate all the new ministry ideas at church. But sometimes the best ideas can come from the church members who are actually at the coal face of ministry. New ways of doing things can make church ministry easier and more fun too. A new idea from a church member may inspire others to get involved at church for the first time. And we should not just look to adults for ideas either. Young people can come up with fun new initiatives too. Just ask any youth leader.
The second lesson from Orange Sky is that sometimes it takes a while for an idea to get traction. The mobile laundry van was initially viewed with suspicion by homeless people in Brisbane. But after they saw that the guys were really trying to help them, they embraced the idea. We should not give up on a good initiative just because it does not work straight away. It is easy for us to complain when new things don't work and it is tempting to say 'I told you so'. We might view untried young people with suspicion and see their mistakes as validation for our conservatism toward change. It easy for older Christians to ask 'why should we?' rather than 'why not give it a go?' It is good to be optimistic and try new things. Some things fail and that is ok as long as no one gets hurt. Sometimes a positive initiative needs a positive attitude and the will to see it through, because all new ideas start a little messy.
Jesus is the model servant (Phil 2:6-8). Jesus changed everything when He conquered sin and death for us on the cross (John 3:16). This was the ultimate act of love and service. Christians are called to imitate Christ's attitude and "in humility value others above ourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." (Phil 2:3-4). I am excited that despite the broader trends in volunteerism, there are still a lot of Christians excited about serving Jesus and others in local churches across Australia. Serving can be as simple as volunteering to pack up chairs after church, or as big as deciding to move overseas to tell people about Jesus who have not heard about Him yet. It may be that there is another new idea in ministry just round the corner and you might even be the one who thinks of it.












