On Good Friday, April 10, KXLH aired our interview about Servolution in Helena on the local CBS News. You can find the online CBS article and photos here. While I was originally disappointed with the interview, I have come to realize that the main idea of "Servolution" came across. We are very grateful to KXLH for helping us get the word out.

There were just a couple of details we wanted to clarify:

– Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge, Georgia is the originator of the global Servolution.

– Encounter Church organized the effort here in Helena, Montana.

– We collected donations and assembled gift baskets for the workers and volunteers of Elhorn, St. Peter's Hospital, and Broadwater Elementary. We didn't exactly volunteer at these organizations as mentioned in the report.

– I'm also pretty sure I never used the phrase "Pay It Forward" :-)

Thousands and thousands of people all over the world been reached through Servolution this past week. At Encounter Church, we are proud that we were are part of it, by organizing the effort here in Helena.

Whether we handed out free lollipops, delivered gift baskets, or washed storefronts downtown, the response was often the same – disbelief. It was hard for people to grasp that we were serving them for free with no strings attached. At the same time, once people understood and heard about the idea behind Servolution, they were receptive.

SERVOLUTION ON CBS IN HELENA
One business owner was so excited, she called the local TV news. As a result, we were interviewed about the 7 Days of Servolution in Helena today at the walking mall. You can look for the news cast this Good Friday, April 10 at 5:30 and 10:00pm on the CBS News in Helena.

WHAT ARE THE NUMBERS?
While numbers are not the goal of the Servolution in Helena, they certainly do tell a story. We had 21 volunteers participate in Servolution and directly reached a minimum of 212 people, but I suspect we reached many more indirectly – all while sharing God's love through simple acts of kindness.

There were 5 organized efforts. Three gift baskets were delivered to workers and volunteers who serve our community. Downtown, we served our community as windows were washed, trash was cleaned up, and 115 lollipops were given out for free.

All in all, we gave away nearly 800 free items that were donated by Servolution volunteers. What an awesome way to bless individuals in our community! We just want to say thank you to all who donated and served this week.

VIEW MORE PHOTOS
View a slideshow of Servolution photos here.

Just wanted to mention one more way to serve during the 7 Days of Servolution. Big Sky Fellowship  (here or here) in Helena is hosting an big Easter Egg Hunt & Spring Carnival at Jim Darcy Elementary School. They've been doing this for several years and last year was an absolute hit. They had over 500 people show up, which is awesome for the North Valley.

In additional to the egg hunt, there will be some carnival-type games, 2 jumpers, 150 gift bags with give-aways, 5000 eggs and candy, and a rock climbing wall. Here are some photos from last year.

Come hunt and play on Easter Sunday from 3:45-6:00pm at Jim Darcy Elementary or come to serve this week as we help them make preparations for the event. You are invited to help!

THURSDAY, APRIL 9 @ 10am
Prayer, Flyer Distribution, Stuff Eggs, Make Gift Bags, Meet at Big Sky.

SATURDAY, APRIL 11 @ 10am
More Prayer, Flyer Distribution, Stuff Eggs, Make Gift Bags, Meet at Big Sky.

SUNDAY, APRIL 12 @ 2pm
Prayer, Setup at Jim Darcy Elementary.

At the least, please join with us in prayer. In the heart of the Servolution, we pray that we would be a blessing to the community. Here are some specific to pray for:

— Pray that the community would be aware of the event.
— Pray that we will be a great blessing to our community.
— Pray for good weather and for provision of need items.
— Pray for new relationships to form.
— Pray that God's love is shared.

Contact us if you can help this Thursday, Saturday, and/or Sunday.

On Tuesday, April 7, we "Served Our Community" at the Helena walking mall from 10am-3pm. We arrived at the walking mall early, but forgot our ladder. So we waited while Andrea went back to get it. We had about 9 people show up to wash throughout the day and washed over a dozen storefront windows. We also handed out nearly 60 Tootsie Roll Pops to kids and picked up trash and cigarettes.

It was really cool when we asked permission from business to clean their windows and told them about the 7 Days of Servolution. People didn't expect it and didn't understand why we were doing for free. One lady thought Servolution was so cool, she called the TV stations. It was an awesome day and a blessing to many!

View all the photos on Facebook here.

We went to St. Peter's Hospital to drop off a gift basket for those who serve. The nurses in OB had a busy & difficult day. It was great timing for the third and final '7 Days' gift basket. Here are some photos...

Here are some photos from when we delivered the gift basket to the workers/volunteers at Elkhorn Rehabilitation...

We've had a great response on donations for the baskets! We are so excited to have the first two ready. Here is a quick photo of the basket for Elkhorn to be delivered today, April 2 - and the basket for Broadwater Elementary to be delivered tomorrow. We are so excited!

A fortune cookie we got at Jade Garden. It says "Let the light of your soul shine forth for others to benefit." Long live the Servolution!

It looks like we'll be able to deliver three baskets total. Wow! Thanks to everyone who is contributing to the Servolution. We will deliver the basket to Broadwater Elementary on Friday, April 3. We will deliver the basket to St. Peter's Hospital ER on Monday, April 6.

Thanks everyone!

We spent a good part of today collecting donations (both items and cash) for the gift basket(s). As we had hoped, we had enough response that we can make up at least another basket.

Our first basket of items will be delivered to the workers/volunteers of Elkhorn Health Care Rehabilitation (formerly Evergreen Health & Rehabilitation) on Thursday, April 2. If you want to be a part of that delivery, let us know.

Tonight we can decide whether the second basket of items will go to the St. Peter's Hospital ER nursing staff or to Broadwater Elementary School teaching staff. We will plan that delivery for Monday, April 7. Again, let us know if you have some items to donate or want to be part of that delivery.

Tomorrow will be a day to purchase additional items and assemble at least the first basket. If you want to know more, click here.