At Exponential Church we believe that the church is not a building; rather it's a collection of people together on a mission to make a difference in people's lives. Our You Matter Ministry is our way of saying to the people of Harrisburg and beyond...You Matter to God and You Matter to me!
Don't just come to church...
be the church
Group projects
Each month we provide a new way for you to team up with others in the church to partner with existing organizations that are making a difference in Harrisburg. Over the past few years we've done everything from food, clothing and back-to-school supply drives, to renovating homes for single moms, to feeding the homeless, to providing teams to help with natural disasters, to hosting an appreciation for first responders to working with special needs kids to...well you get the idea. These group activities are an easy way for you to begin seeing what needs exist in the community and how you might be a help.
daily acts of kindness
Our hope is that every day you would be looking for practical ways to show the love of Jesus to others. Small ways to communicate through your actions that "You Matter to God and You Matter to me".
This could mean raking a neighbors leaves, helping someone load a big item into their car at the store, buying the coffee for the person behind you in line at the coffee shop, giving a few dollars to someone in need. The ideas are endless!
Many people will ask you why you're doing this, so Exponential Church has made it simple for you by providing you with "You Matter" business size cards that you can hand to the person explaining why you just did what you did.
Individual projects
As you participate in both group projects and daily acts of kindness, it's our hope that something will really disturb you...something that makes you say, "That's just not right and someone should do something about that!" Well guess what? That someone is you! Our goal at Exponential Church is for every person to have an issue that so deeply resonates within them that you decide it's not the governments job to solve this. It's not the church's job to solve this. It's my job. How you go about this, how much time and money you spend will all be up to you. Our job as the church will be to come alongside you and equip you to carry out your unique ministry to Harrisburg or the world.
Meet karen
Karen, her husband Mike and their family began attending Exponential Church and quickly began taking next steps in their journey towards God. Karen decided to do a group project with You Matter serving the homeless of Harrisburg and her heart was gripped by the many needs people had.
On a bitter cold day in February of 2014, Karen was driving when she saw a man outside begging without a jacket on. She called a few friends from her Life Group and said, "Come meet me and we'll give him a jacket I have here in the car".
They did and communicated to the man that You Matter to God and You Matter to us.
This experience so resonated with Karen that she decided to keep on doing the same thing for others. Now as a side note, Karen can be shy and sometimes struggles with confidence that God can use her. So she named her new ministry, "iCan". It is based off of Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength".
iCan began collecting clothing donations and distributing them in downtown Harrisburg once per quarter. As donations flooded in and the demand grew larger, they began going downtown once per month. Karen and her team are a tremendous example that all of us are called to make a difference in our own unique way.