Join a NOMAP!
by Tom Goodman
February 3, 2011
To God be the glory!
We now have seven NOMAPs, and I'm thrilled to see people signing up as team members!
What's a NOMAP, you ask?
It's a brainstorm of Herb Ingram designed to get us reaching out to the neighborhoods surrounding our church facility. A NOMAP is a "Neighborhood Outreach Mission Action Point." (Can you guess that Herb was in the military?)
Wherever you live in the Greater Austin area, you need to be building relationships with your neighbors in hopes of involving them with your church family. But in addition, we need to open our eyes to the neighborhoods immediately surrounding the
church facility. The neighborhoods surrounding our campus are not just designed for us to drive through on the way to our activities. No, we need to see what God sees in these ZIP code areas, and he sees people precious to him.
NOMAPs will help us to this end.
NOMAPs are mission teams formed to do ministry/mission projects in neighborhoods around our church campus, utilizing member's homes as a base of operations. This is intentional ministry outside the walls of our church facility as we engage in periodic
mission action projects in neighborhoods. Mission teams will decide on their own the scope and frequency of what they want to do in the neighborhood. I've added some suggested NOMAP projects at the end of this article.
Our seven NOMAP sites are currently recruiting team members to do mission projects based at their home during 2011. Here are the names:
I've already received a report from Dan and Pat Stivers that 16 people have signed up for their team! Thanks to Lisa Livingston, Mike & Kathy Wiederkehr, Katie Cline, Mike & Margaret Miller, Curtis & Michelle Roberts, Sheila Foster, Jennifer Adams,
Jennifer Moreno, Barbara Fowler, Karen & Dan Raulie, Gayla Raulie, and Emily Slaughter! I look forward to enlistment reports from the other teams, too!
For more information, or to join one of the NOMAP teams, contact one of the NOMAP leaders by phone or email (listed above) or visit the NOMAP leaders in the gym following this Sunday's worship service. You can also sign up this Sunday using the
communication card. NOMAP teams will be holding planning meetings soon, so don't delay!
What a great way to get to know other church members and serve the city God loves at the same time!
--Tom
P.S. I asked Herb to give us some ideas of possible NOMAP projects. His reply:
Pretty much anything we do at Hillcrest could be downsized and imported into a branch location. For example: If we do a musical production, smaller groups from that production could be enlisted to do a version of it at a neighborhood event. If we do
a children's sports camp, a version of that could be done in a neighborhood, or at a park. Instead of a churchwide picnic with games, we could hold neighborhood picnics and games. If we have a live nativity, we could have a mini-nativity at our NOMAP
sites. If we have a pumpkin party at the church, we could also have neighborhood pumpkin parties. The list goes on. Parenting classes, financial manangement classes, Beth Moore studies....
Meet and Treat Boxes (Halloween)... The church hands out boxes that fold up from a sheet with printed info all over them. Church members take them, assemble and put candy in them, and drop them in treat bags.
Grill hotdogs on the driveway and pass out to neighbors as they come along with children getting treats (Halloween)
National Night out hosting. Provide refreshments and enlist special guests (police or fire personnel(
Neighborhood food drive for the Austin Food Bank (Anytime)
Neighborhood bbq (Anytime)
Life needs classes on parenting, finances, marriage (Anytime)
Fire pit gatherings on the driveway (Fall/Winter)
Neighborhood directory creation (Anytime)
Children's party (Anytime)
Neighborhood car wash (Anytime)
Yardwork for neighbors who have surgery or become physically unable for a time
Help fix up or do odd jobs for elderly neighbors
Extreme Bakeover (Anytime) Make stuff and give to neighbors with a message about Hillcrest
Musical Groups from Hillcrest (Bells, Praise Band, Orchestra, Choir, Herb & Spices) doing concerts in front yard, or at local park/pavilion (Anytime)
Backyard Bible Clubs/Sport Camps (Summer)
Neighborhood Anchor Course Study (Anytime)
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