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Who are the people who are on the other side of social lines in your local community? Who would it be easier to walk around rather than to engage with? As we reflect on Jesus’ heart for “the least of these” and our neighbors in need, let us prayerfully consider, “Who is in our modern day Samaria, and how can we relationally connect with them?”

Preparation

Time: 90+ min.

We have a more detailed process available in The Activation Starter Kit to define, understand, and explore the Samaria of your city. For this activation, we will recommend connecting with a Person of Peace to create a relational way to connect.

Step by step:

Find Persons of Peace. These are individuals who are already working with groups of people in need and can open doors for you to serve them. They are the experts who know how to navigate some of the more complex areas of connecting with specific groups of people in need. 

Examples:

• Someone who works at a refugee center and is willing to help you connect with people there. 
• Someone who is already involved with serving the homeless community who would know how to wisely, relationally, and meaningfully serve.
• Someone who works with the elderly who can help navigate appropriate ideas to connect.
• Someone serving families and children with needs who can create safe spaces for fun and healthy connections.

Make a list of the groups of people you can serve in your Samaria. Discuss with your Jesus Community and any Persons of Peace, simple actions to connect and the locations you can use. Please note, it is important to have at least one leader in each group prepared and connected to the location and Person of Peace ahead of time to make the best plan for the time.

People in need	Person of Peace/Group Leader	Simple Connection	Location

Activation Day

1. Before you leave, cast vision about what Samaria Mission means. Don’t forget the forgotten. Matthew 25 may be a helpful passage to reference. Remind everyone that we’re taking small steps together towards a larger vision of attention, care, and relationship.
2. Have every group connect with their group leader for a short briefing about their particular place, people group, and actions. Head off to different locations to serve. 
3. When you arrive, learn about the location and context from the Person of Peace. 
4. Relationally serve and connect. Love out of the overflow of the family of God practices. Listen, ask questions, speak life, and celebrate how God uniquely knows them.
5. After the time of serving and connecting, reflect as a group. Example questions to ask: What did you learn? What did you feel? Were you uncomfortable at any point? Did you have a sense of God’s love for the person you connected with? How can we continue to build deeper relationships with the people here? 

Note: Make a feedback plan for church leaders to hear about the experiences of the church community. This feedback will help to discern what next steps the Lord may be highlighting for your church community to continue to develop a culture of mission to your Samaria.