So last week we received our first Neighbour2Neighbour (N2N) request. An individual in our community asked for a hand with some gardening. Within minutes, some amazing human in our community responded and said they could help meet the need. And so they did. And the need was met. And it’s really that simple! Cool right?

Perhaps this is the first time you’re hearing of this or perhaps you’ve got a few more questions. Here are a few questions that you might have:

1. Why did we start this ministry anyway? From a purely practical standpoint, it comes down to streamlined communication. Over the years, all sorts of needs arise that oftentimes fall through the cracks because the right person(s) didn’t happen to hear of it in time. N2N at its most basic is simply a tool for ensuring anyone that wants to know about needs that exist, can know. At the same time, people often are unsure of who they can speak to should a need in their neighbourhood or their own lives arise. Now they can connect via N2N and let the network handle the rest.
2. What happens if a need isn’t responded to in a timely fashion? The goal of N2N is awareness. Once people become aware of a need, they can then determine if they can meet the need. The larger our N2N network becomes, the higher the chances of a need being met becomes. However, it’s important that anyone who submits a request understands that there is a possibility the need might NOT be met. If that’s the case, we can try again in a few days time. 
3. What kinds of needs could I submit? A few examples might include making a dump run, gardening help, a ride to an appointment, fix some stairs, pick-up/return a library book, grab some groceries, stack some wood for winter, build a house, you name it. 😉 It is NOT a place to request financial assistance or help with political efforts of any form.
4. Couldn’t someone take advantage of this? Yes, unfortunately. We’re hoping that people won’t, of course, but we can’t guarantee it. It’s part of the messiness of ministry and is something that we want to be paying attention to along the way. This will be up to the coordinator (i.e. first point of contact for N2N requests) to determine if someone is taking advantage of the program.
5. Is this ministry? 100%. Oftentimes we talk about being the hands and feet of Jesus in our community in order to show God’s love and the hope within us. I’m not sure if there is a more on-the-nose way of showing this than using our hands and feet to lend a hand to those in need. It’s beautiful!
6. How will I know if a need has been met? All communications will come into a central “hub” and then be sent out to the larger network. So if someone indicates they can meet a need, they’ll inform the central hub (i.e. the coordinator) who will in turn send word to the rest of the network that the need has been taken care of. 
7. How can I sign up to be a part of this? I thought you’d never ask! You can send an email to n2n@grassroots.church or text 1-833-285-5368 (Pro tip: add this # to your contacts as “Neighbour to Neighbour”) and let us know you want to be a part of this! You can also fill out a form at the back of the church on Sunday morning and put it in the offering box.

To date, we’ve got 25 members of our community signed up to be a part of this network, which is fantastic but I’d love to see even more of you join because, as noted above, the more people who are part of this network, the better the chance of a need being met. Please keep in mind that this fall we are treating this as a pilot project which means we will be tweaking things as we go along and making adjustments as need be.

If you have any other questions, send an email to n2n@grassroots.church or find me after the service one of these days. Also, be sure to check out grassroots.church/n2n.