by sbowen

A guy on a swing.

Revive Ohio. Their foundation for reaching people is founded upon the principles found in the Gospels. They believe Jesus is the best example to follow when sharing the good news.

Love: Love looks like something. Love may look like an act of kindness or a caring hug. Love could look like a bottle of water on a hot day or a sandwich to a hungry homeless person. Love is expressed by both our attitudes and by our actions. Love is patient and love is kind. 1 Cor:13:4

Love: Love looks like something. Love may look like an act of kindness or a caring hug. Love could look like a bottle of water on a hot day or a sandwich to a hungry homeless person.


Listen: To listen means slowing down on the inside to really listen with your ears and with your heart. Listening to the person you are talking to and listening to the Holy Spirit upon and within you.


Discern: Asking questions, what does this person need to know about Jesus? What’s is their spiritual address? Where is this person on their journey toward faith? Are they far away? Are they thinking about Jesus? Are they close to entering the Kingdom? Are they jaded by church and religion? Are they open or closed?


Respond: Appropriately responding to the person by being kind, helpful, interested, caring and loving. Share the Good News appealing to who they are and where they are. Asking them to respond to the Good News.


It’s the love component that stirred my heart. Love enables us to listen, discern and respond. Love is both an attitude of our hearts and an action.

Love is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1Cor 13 NASB

Love enalble us have focused listening… an ear toward heaven, and an ear actively listening to the person we are speaking to.

Learning to be a person who loves well, takes time and practice. This is the greatest challenge for every person who trains others to reach their world.

Methods are easier to learn than being a person who loves well from the heart. People using a method, rather than loving and interacting with a person is a personal frustration.

Jesus was probably just a little frustrated. He had two disciples who wanted to call fire down from heaven and nuke a town. Wrong attitude. Wrong response. Honoring a person’s space, and honoring their right to end the conversation at any time is part of loving a person.


Questions to ask ourselves. Am I being kind? Am I being patient? Am I seeking my own success? Am I just going through the process of this method, or do I genuinely care about the person I am talking to.

In my book, Go. Sow. My Forward states:

“The people we reach are not projects, nor are they targets. They are human beings who are fearfully and wonderfully made. They are created in the image of God and are deeply loved by God.
Every person on earth has a life story which filters their world-view. People are complex, and most have a God history. Their experiences and their pursuit or non-pursuit of spirituality is unique; no two people are alike.

This understanding is the beginning place. We must ground ourselves in this truth as we seek to share who we are and what we have received with others.
How well people are listened to, understood, spoken to, and loved by you and me is all important.

Jesus came to seek and to save. His life reflected genuine love. It’s my hope we too will be reflections and expressions of His love as we reach out to our world.”

A guy on a swing.                                 

Our Revive team had a powerful encounter with a man on a swing. When we headed out we had a map. The map helped guide us. One of the ladies said, “I think we need to go to the green area, a local park.”

When we arrived there was a man on a swing. He was the only person in the park. We walked up and started a conversation. As the conversation continued we discovered his life was a train wreck… not of his making or choosing.

He mentioned three different tragic relational, and health issues. He was sitting on the swing pondering the shattering events of his life. Any One of the issues he was facing would have destroyed most people.

He needed hope. That day, this one man on a swing, was the day he encountered the God of all Hope. He decided to follow Jesus.

The Bible and wristband Revive use to share the Gospel were a great help to communicate the good news in a way he could understand. We prayed with him and for him.

When we left he was sitting on the swing reading the Bible we had just given him. The hour and a half encounter became one of the most radical encounters I’ve ever had in my life. I still have the map.

Reaching out effectively requires us to love in attitude and in action. Practicing Love, Listen, Discern and Respond are great attitudes and life skills to practice. You can use the four steps with your family, friends, people you meet or with the people you are reaching. 

by sbowen

Serving Tips: Helpful Encouragement.


We want help people to serve well…

Serving Tips.
How to serve others more effectively.

If you have signed up to serve, you might be excited, nervous, or feeling a bit like a fish out of water. Good news!… it’s normal. Here are some tips to help you develop confidence as you serve.

Gain knowledge…be sure you have the information you need and that you have an understanding about your assignment. It’s ok to ask questions, and to ask for a simple job description before your time of service. Be sure to attend any training sessions before the event. Smart leaders will attempt to over communicate, what, where, why and how.

Exercise…confidence grows through our experience of loving and serving others. Simply put…the more you serve…the better you serve.

Find a place…there may be an event when volunteers just show up, or arrive late; the instructions may seem sketchy; people are rushing to meet timelines; setting things up, moving here and there the energy is high.

The show up events can feel a little like being out of control, chaos. We prefer to call it organized excitement. Flexibility is  the name of the game. Leaders do have a plan, and usually know what they are doing. (note:be patient with new leaders they are learning to lead and are in process.)

The key to press through this stage of the event is to actively seek to find a place of service.

Step back, look around, and begin to ask yourself, “Is there anything needing done that’s not being done? Is there any equipment which needs to be moved, or set up. Is there trash needing picked up? Are there any volunteers who seem over-whelmed whom you could help?”
Step back, take a wide look at what’s going on, then take a deep breath, step forward and begin to serve.

People focused…remember people are always much more important than the task at hand. In the midst of serving… remember… it’s all about building relationships and revealing Jesus to the people we serve.

Attitude…have you ever been served by an uptight aggressive person? I have.

I’ve wonder why they are serving in the first place? Sometimes I’ll have a conversation to bring encouragement. Sometimes I’ll move the person to another location away from people.
Having a positive attitude toward the people you are serving is all important. People are usually pretty perceptive and can sense when we are uptight, having a bad day, or when we are full of encouragement and are genuinely seeking to love and serve.

Tip: before the event it is important for you to do some personal prayer prep, to pause and think… Why did I signed up? Ask God to help you care for others, and to help you to serve with a good heart. Chose to wear a smile, and to allow your love to be real.

Paul writing in Philippians chapter 2 talks about having a proper serving attitude. He says, in your serving:

Don’t be selfish…as you serve don’t be focused on your feelings and your needs, but choose to focus on the needs of others.

Be humble…begin to think how you can effectively express Gold’s love and grace toward the people you are serving. Perhaps your expression of humility will be a kind smile, a calm voice toward and aggressive stressed out person, or a warm look toward someone who looks out-of-place. Sometimes it looks like a gentile hug to affirm a kid, or an informative answer given to a nervous question.

Bottom line…How do you learn to serve? By serving. Serving others generates a healthy other-centered-ness. Consistently serving others is one of the ways God brings health and healing into our lives.

Love does. Love looks like something. Love is patient and kind.
Featured by sbowen

Kindness-To-Go.com

My other website Eyesoutward.com Ongoing encouraging stories. Eyesoutward reveals who we are and how you can contact us. We enjoy meeting new people, traveling to new places, and great coffee.

My book Go. Sow. Practical tips, stories and helps toward outward-focused living is available on Amazon.com.

Kindness-to-Go is a simple, quick, and fun way to move people into the outreach arena. People pick up items during or after a service. Simple instructions are attached to the outreach item. People follow the instructions and reach out to their community.

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For example: Gift Bag Outreach

Packed gift bags are placed near exits or on the stage. During the announcements people are informed, Today is Kindnesstogo weekend. As you leave the service today pick up a gift bag or two and follow the instructions on the bag.  (Usually, the announcement contains a story of how someone was impacted by the outreach.)

Here are the instructions.

Kindness Kwik Tips: Gift Bags

  • Be friendly.
  • Be loving.
  • Be yourself.

Take the gift bags to stores, drive-thru fast-food locations, or give to your server at a restaurant at the end of your meal. Tip Big!

Say, “This gift is for you / your team. We just wanted to show you God’s love—no strings attached.“

Sometimes a conversation will emerge as people ask questions. Follow the conversation as long as you are enabled.

Sometimes there are prayer opportunities after a great conversation. Offer to pray a short 10-second prayer. “Could I pray a short prayer for you?” Hold out your hand. Most of the time people will hold your hand. Pray with your eyes open. You will be able to see their expressions and you will be able to love with your eyes as they usually keep their eyes open.

Remove this note after you’ve read the instructions.
(it won’t self-destruct in 5 seconds)