Local Outreach at Village Church of Bartlett
Serve | Build | Share
Serving Our Neighbors and Growing as Disciples of Jesus
Local Outreach partners with local organizations, schools, and social workers to serve the vulnerable populations in Bartlett and the surrounding area. By mobilizing our church body to serve, our goal is to build bridges in our community through relationships and care, while giving the people in our church opportunities to grow as disciples of Jesus.
Week of Outreach 2024
April 21-27
Community Groups: April 21-27
April 21-27 |Varied Times & Locations
Community Groups will partner with The Ruth Project to make 25 meals for the Dash and Dine event. During this weekly event, The Ruth Project blesses foster families with meals and we will have the chance to make enough meals for an event! Groups will provide the ingredients and prepare the meals. They may choose to do so during their regular meetings or at another time. Contact your Community Group leader for details on your group’s plans.
Perennials: April 18
April 18 | 10:30 a.m. | Village Church of Bartlett
The Perennials Ministry has committed to gathering materials to assemble Journey Bags for The Forgotten Initiative. Some of you might remember the Journey Bags we assembled during Vacation Bible School 2023! These bags are specifically for teenagers as DCFS has expressed a need for more bags for this age group. You can purchase and donate any of the items on the list below so the Perennials can assemble them during their monthly gathering. You may purchase and drop off items at the church between April 15 – May 1 at the church building. The list includes:
- Leggings and T-Shirts for teen girls (adults S-XL)*
- Sweats and T-Shirts for teen boys (adults S-XL)*
- Boy and girl socks
- Boy and girl underwear (S-XL)
- Sport bras (S-XL)
- Razors for girl and boy
- Sanitary napkins/tampons (small packages)
- School spiral notebooks and other school supplies
*Priority Items
There is not a registration for this event. Please attend or donate if you are able!
The 5/6: April 21
April 21 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. | Village Church of Bartlett
The 5/6 will create Journey Bags for the Forgotten Initiative. Like the Perennials’ project on April 18, they will make bags for teens. You can purchase and donate any of the items on the list below so The 5/6 can assemble them during their weekly gathering. You may purchase and bring items to the church on Sunday, April 21. The list includes:
- Leggings and T-Shirts for teen girls (adults S-XL)*
- Sweats and T-Shirts for teen boys (adults S-XL)*
- Boy and girl socks
- Boy and girl underwear (S-XL)
- Sport bras (S-XL)
- Razors for girl and boy
- Sanitary napkins/tampons (small packages)
- School spiral notebooks and other school supplies
*Priority Items
There is not a registration for this event. Please attend or donate if you are able!
Village Kids: April 21
April 21 | Village Church of Bartlett
The Village Kids (Grades 1-4) will serve The Ruth Project. This organization provides ongoing support for foster and adoptive families, and we get to prepare some of the items they need for their ministry!
The Village Kids will do two projects on Sunday morning during their class times at 8:15, 9:45, & 11:15 a.m:
- Decorate cupcake boxes and cards for the Dash and Dine event. The boxes will be filled with cupcakes, and a card will be given to anyone celebrating a birthday at this event.
- Prepare individual feed bags for animals at the Ruth Project Farm. These bags will give visiting children an opportunity to interact with their sweet animals. Village Kids will supply the materials, and the kids will decorate them.
VCYA: April 23
April 23 | 5:30 p.m. | Village Church of Bartlett
Village Church Young Adults will serve Safe Families. This organization is scheduled to host a 20th anniversary conference in Oak Brook during the Week of Outreach. The Young Adults will assemble items for the conference like water bottles, nametags, etc. VCYA will assemble the materials during their regular gathering on the fourth Tuesday of the month, April 23.
Forge: April 25
April 25 | 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. | Village Church of Bartlett
Forge Youth Group will serve the Evangelical Child and Family Agency. Students in grades 7-12 will spend their weekly gathering creating Mother’s Day cards for mothers that ECFA serves. There is no registration for this event.
Village Women: April 26
April 26 | 10:00 a.m. | Village Church of Bartlett
The Village Women are putting together a whole new way to bless social workers and the clients whom they serve! Help us build Car Care Kits to serve the social workers at the Evangelical Child and Family Agency. They have seven agency vehicles that are shared amongst the staff and we want to equip the vehicles with Car Care Kits to prepare the social workers for any situation they may encounter. Sign up to bring specific items here and drop your items off at Village Church. Join in on Friday, April 26 as we pack all donated items, pray over them, then deliver them to ECFA.
All Church Service Project: April 27
April 27 | 9:00 – 1:00 p.m. | ECFA at 1530 N Main St., Wheaton
Sponsored by the Village Men, this project is open to all of Village Church to serve the Evangelical Child and Family Agency at their agency in Wheaton. This is an event planned by and for Village Men, but open to their families! Spend a Saturday morning washing windows and cars, painting, cleaning carpets, and doing kid-friendly projects, and meeting more practical needs. Registration is Required for this event! CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.
Local Outreach Partnerships and Ministries
The Ruth Project
The Ruth Project is a non-profit organization based in Elgin, IL on a mission to end the modern-day orphan crisis. Through donations and volunteering, they abundantly provide resources to foster and adoptive families, setting them up for long-term success.
The Forgotten Initiative
Through The Forgotten Initiative, agency workers directly interact with foster parents, vulnerable adults, and children in foster care. This organization provides support through Journey Bags, Foster Family Support, Social Worker Support, and on-the-ground care for foster families.
Safe Families
Safe Families provide a safe home for children and a supportive community for parents while they get back on their feet. This network of relationships keep children from entering the foster care system, and ultimately, helps keeps families together. The goal is family reunification.
ECFA
Evangelical Child & Family Agency (ECFA) offers compassionate and Christ-centered services to children, families, and individuals through adoption, pregnancy support services, counseling, and intact family services.
Open Hearts Open Homes
Bartlett Community Care Collective
Local Outreach Holiday Initiatives
Easter Eggstravaganza
One of the largest egg hunts in the northwest suburbs! We bring our community together using eggs, games, food, and fun at Bartlett’s Gazebo Park as we prepare to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection.
Thanksgiving Food Drive
Each year, we partner with our local Jewel-Osco and our school district to provide Thanksgiving meals to families in the Bartlett area who are in need.
Christmas Gift Drive
As Thanksgiving morphs into the Christmas season, we continue our support of many of those same families by providing gifts for their children and support for the adults.
Michelle McGrath
Local Outreach Director
Devote Yourself To Good
We help others and devote ourselves to good not because it guarantees us salvation, but for two distinct reasons. First, Jesus tells us to serve others, and He modeled it in His life on earth. Second, because good works naturally flow out of us as an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, who continually works in us to make us more like Christ.