But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” (Luke 18:16-17)

As you look for ways to love your neighbors this summer, don’t forget that the children on your block are your neighbors too. They are just as important as the adults, and just as valuable in God’s eyes. They also still have their whole future ahead of them; by hearing the gospel now and learning to live according to God’s Word, they can accomplish a lot of good and avoid a lot of mistakes throughout their lives (Proverbs 22:6).

One way to serve your littlest neighbors during summer break is to host a “Backyard Bible Club.” It’s a weekday children’s ministry that you lead at your home for kids who live in your neighborhood. For five days, through simple activities, crafts, and snacks, kids can learn about God while having fun with friends.

So, how do you host a Backyard Bible Club? To make it easier for you, we’ve put together a leader’s guide with basic instructions. It doesn’t spell out everything you should do or say—you can decide how you want to structure your time together, whether there is anything you want to add to or change, and how the activities might be adjusted based on the ages of the kids in your neighborhood.

Along with that curriculum, here are some tips for how to lead a Backyard Bible Club:

• Partner with others. Don’t go it alone; you should have at least one other adult to help co-lead with you. Invite your community group or other neighbors to help you host. In addition to the adults, if you have kids who feel they are too old to do the activities as participants, they can serve as helpers instead.
• Plan the details. You’ll want to get the craft supplies and snack ingredients (listed in the guide) ahead of time, and it can be helpful to then try making everything yourself before teaching kids how to do it. You’ll also need to decide on a schedule: when you’ll meet, how long you’ll meet for each day, and where you’ll meet (it doesn’t necessarily have to be your backyard).
• Invite your neighbors. If you have kids of your own or kids in your community group, then you probably have a built-in audience you can start with. But don’t neglect to invite your neighbors as well. You might be surprised at who decides to come—and even if they don’t, it gives you a chance to talk with your neighbors and share what your Bible Club is all about.
• Build relationships. This is a great opportunity to build relationships with parents in your neighborhood. If you don’t really know your neighbors, then inviting them to an event gives you an excuse to talk with them and get to know them better. And when kids do attend, their parents might come along or even offer to help lead.
• Make it your own. Want to add an activity or choose a different memory verse? Go right ahead. The curriculum is there as a resource to make it easy for you, but you can always change it or come up with your own creative ideas.
• Give yourself grace. Don’t think that your Backyard Bible Club (or your leadership of it) has to be perfect. They’re kids; they can be both very easy to impress and nearly impossible to please. Just try to be fun and be faithful. Who knows; your efforts may have an impact years down the road that you never get to see.

Ready to get started? Download your Backyard Bible Club Leader’s Guide below.

We are called to love God and love our neighbors. That is really all we have to do; it summarizes “all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40).

But how do we put that into practice? It is a safe bet that none of us love our neighbors perfectly; we could use some help to grow in that area.

Here are some ways you that can become a better neighbor:

Change Your Perspective

Being a good neighbor starts with having the right attitude.

When you see someone in need—or someone who maybe doesn’t technically need help, but who you could still serve in some way—what is your response? It’s natural to feel sympathy (“Gee, that must be hard”) thankfulness (“Glad that’s not me!”), or even numb indifference (“Not my responsibility”). But what if you chose to make it your responsibility?

Seek to have a “host mentality.” If someone is a guest inside your home, you are the host: you try to make them feel welcomed, take care of their needs, and handle any problems that arise. Having a host mentality means that you have that same attitude not only at your house, but throughout your neighborhood, your workplace, or wherever you go. See someone who is hungry? A good host would offer them food. Know a neighbor who is lonely? A host would go talk to them and make sure they feel welcome. It’s a way to live out Philippians 2:3-4, considering other people’s needs ahead of your own.

In the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), the priest and the Levite saw a man lying hurt along the side of the road and just passed on by. They decided that the man’s problems weren’t their responsibility; after all, it wasn’t their ditch he was lying in. The Samaritan, on the other hand, chose to make it his problem. He bound up the hurt man’s wounds and paid for his care. Like a host, he decided, “That’s my ditch. Someone in my ditch needs help, so I’m going to help him.” We are to “go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37). Have a “that’s my ditch” attitude.

Create Margin

Loving your neighbor takes time, which can be difficult in a world where it seems like everyone is busy. For instance, how many times have you seen someone’s car broken down on the side of the road, but just kept driving because you were on a tight schedule and didn’t want to be late?

To be available to love your neighbor, you have to have margin in your life. You’ll probably have to say “No” to some things so that you can say “Yes” to serving others. That extends to your budget, as well; helping people sometimes means giving financially, such as donating to a food bank or buying someone lunch.

Loving God and loving your neighbor is your job description. If you are too busy to do that, you are just too busy.

Pray

Prayer should be the first thing you do, the last thing you do, and what you do in-between.

Selflessly and sacrificially loving your neighbor does not come naturally (Romans 7:18); it is something you can only do with God’s help (John 15:5). Pray for a heart to love others and see them the way God does. Pray for opportunities to share that love with your neighbors. Pray for your neighbors, and offer to pray with them.

If you like to keep your prayer life organized, the free website Bless Every Home can send reminders to pray for specific neighbors and help you keep track of which neighbors you’ve prayed for, cared for, or shared the gospel with.

Ways to Love Your Neighbor

So, what are some practical ways you can love and serve your neighbors?

Sometimes, the opportunity will be obvious. If a storm knocks a tree down on your neighbor’s house, and you have the ability to help, you go over and help.

Usually, though, you’ll have to be a bit more proactive. You can seek out or create ways to serve others in your neighborhood, workplace, city, and world.

• In your neighborhood: Although loving your neighbor doesn’t have to mean the person who literally lives next door to you, your neighborhood is still the best place to start. These are people you see all the time. If they need help, you can be there in a moment. There are endless possibilities for how you can serve your neighbor; here is a list of ideas to help spark your imagination.
• In your workplace: Loving people at work starts with being a godly worker (or a godly employer). It’s been said that corporate America is one of the darkest mission fields anywhere, and you get to be a light there (Matthew 5:14-16). Instead of paying money to travel overseas and share the gospel through an interpreter, you can get paid to show up at work and share the gospel with people who speak the same language. Check out our resources on how to live out your faith at work, and check back here in a couple of weeks for advice on how to host a workplace Bible study.
• In your city: You don’t have to reinvent the wheel when there are already trusted ministry partners that you can serve with or support financially. Here are some examples of how you can help feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, and visit those who are sick or in prison (Matthew 25:35-40).
• In your world: Whether it means traveling overseas or investing in the people who live there, there are multiple opportunities to engage with the world outside our home.

Don’t get overwhelmed by the options or think you have to do it perfectly; just get the ball rolling by doing something. You can love your neighbor in ways big or small; by getting creative or by faithfully serving in a very uncreative, obvious way. When you do, you help demonstrate God’s love to them, and demonstrate to them that you are one of God’s people (John 13:34-35).

What are your plans for the summer?

Maybe summer is a time of rest for you, offering a break from school or time off for vacation. Perhaps it is your busy season, or a time when you take a “summer job.”

Wherever you find yourself and whatever you might be doing this summer, know that you can make a real impact, every day, on the people around you. Whatever your schedule or your role, as a follower of Christ, your real “job” laid out by Scripture is to love God and love your neighbor.

The Main Thing

Loving God and loving your neighbor is really all you have to do in life. For anyone who thinks that the Bible is a long list of rules, Scripture actually makes it clear that all of God’s commandments can be summed up with those two laws of love (Matthew 22:37-40; Romans 13:9-10; Galatians 5:14). Loving your neighbor as yourself—which means treating them the way you want to be treated—is known as the “Golden Rule” (Matthew 7:12) and the “royal law” (James 2:8).

Of course, there are a lot of different tasks that can fit under the broad umbrella of loving your neighbor. Maybe loving your neighbor right now looks like buying someone lunch, sharing the gospel, or serving your employer and colleagues at work. You have to decide what to do each day in order to live that out, and we will all fail to do it perfectly at times. But if you are wondering whether you should do a certain thing, asking “Does this somehow help me love God or love my neighbor?” is a good place to start.

Your main job is to love God and love your neighbor. But who is your neighbor?

You Are the Neighbor

The exact question “Who is my neighbor?” was asked to Jesus. He answered by turning the question around. He told the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) and asked, “Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” In other words, it wasn’t about figuring out who counts as your neighbor, but whether you count as a neighbor to others. You can “prove to be a neighbor” to anyone you choose, but you can also prove to not be a neighbor when you fail to love and serve others.

You can live right next to someone for years and not be their neighbor at all. Conversely, you can be a neighbor to someone you’ve never even met.

It’s clear that Jesus wants us to serve as a neighbor to others, because He said to “Go, and do likewise.” Be like the Good Samaritan, who saw a stranger in a ditch and decided to help him out. Instead of asking whether someone is your neighbor, ask how you can be a neighbor to them.

It’s Not Easy

There’s a reason why we have to be reminded to love our neighbors, and why we often fail to make it a priority. It’s because being a good neighbor is costly. Just like in the story of the Good Samaritan, serving other people always costs time and/or resources. It is not always fun, and not always well-received. We are all naturally selfish, and it is easier to focus on what you want rather than humbly considering other people’s interests ahead of your own (Philippians 2:3-4).

However, that is also what makes loving your neighbor such a powerful act. It shows that you are one of God’s people (John 13:34-35) as you demonstrate His love to all people. In loving your neighbor, you follow the example of Jesus (John 13:12-15), who humbly chose to serve and sacrifice His own comfort in order to save us (Matthew 20:25-28; Philippians 2:5-8).

Make a Difference

Although it is not always easy, it is worthwhile. Sometimes a simple invite can lead to tears of joy. Or a contentious coworker will finally be open to the truth. Going out of your way to love a neighbor can impact more than just the person you are trying to serve, as others may want to know the source of such selflessness (1 John 4:19).

This summer (and every season), seek to share God’s love by loving your neighbor. For ideas on how to do so, check back here next week.

The greatest commandment is to love God and love your neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40). And the greatest way to love your neighbor is to share with them the good news.

But, here’s a question: have you shared the gospel with your neighbors? In fact, do you even know your neighbors? The people who live closest to you—so close that you can hear their dog barking, smell their food cooking, and see when they take down their Christmas tree—do you know their names? Know where they are from? When is the last time you had a conversation with them?

If those questions are convicting, remember that God is not asking you to check those boxes or complete a task list. He is interested in the condition of your heart. The motivation for being a good neighbor is to love them and show them God’s love.

So how can you love your neighbors by sharing the gospel with them?

Who Is My Neighbor?

If your goal is to share the gospel with your neighbors, one obvious question would be, “Who is my neighbor?”

Jesus answers that exact question in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). The answer is, essentially, that anyone God places in your path is a “neighbor” to love. That does include your literal neighbors; God has placed them in your path for a reason. But the call to love people is not limited just to the people who live near you.

The parable of the Good Samaritan calls us to have a “that’s my ditch” attitude. The first man in the story was left beaten and wounded on the side of a public road. The next two people to come along the road passed by on the other side; their attitude was that it wasn’t their problem. That ditch, and the man who laid there, wasn’t their responsibility. The Samaritan decided to make it his problem. He decided: that’s my ditch, because God has placed me here at this moment, and so I should show God’s love to this person in front of me.

Make the decision to treat your neighbors as neighbors. They are living alongside your road, on your street, in your ditch.

Get to Know Your Neighbors

You can do a better job of loving your neighbors if you truly know them. The best way to do that is not to insert yourself into their lives, but to invite them into your life.

Invite your neighbors over for dinner, or a game night, or hanging out around the fire pit. (The pandemic might make that difficult for a while, but it won’t last forever.) After inviting them over for socializing, it will then be natural to also invite them to join you for church or for a backyard Bible study.

Take a long-term approach to the relationship. They will still be your neighbor regardless of how they respond, and you want to have opportunities to continue talking with and sharing the gospel with them.

Serve Your Neighbors

As the example of the Good Samaritan shows, we should seek to serve our neighbors and help meet their needs. Those needs could be something essential, like being able to put food on the table, or something as simple as lending a hand with the yardwork.

People will be much more interested in what you have to say if they know that you care about them and have their best interests in mind. Serving your neighbors shows them that you are a selfless friend, and not some kind of a spiritual salesperson.

Share the Gospel

It’s been said that you should “Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.” The idea that you should show God’s grace and love through your actions is correct; however, using words is always necessary. You have to let them know why you are living that way. You have to tell them the good news.

If you are not sure how to convey the gospel message to someone, check out these tools for sharing the gospel. Once you get to know your neighbors, you can also tailor your approach based on what they believe.

Pray

Of course, don’t forget to pray. This isn’t the last step; it’s the first step, and should be part of every step (Ephesians 6:18-20; Colossians 4:2-4). We can’t do anything on our own (John 15:5), and it is God who works through us to accomplish His will (Philippians 2:13). If you would like reminders to pray for your neighbors, some people find the Bless Every Home online tool to be helpful.

Pray for your neighbors. Pray that you would be a good neighbor, serving as a light in your neighborhood and in your workplace (Matthew 5:14-16). Pray for opportunities to serve them and share the gospel. And then be faithful to take advantage of those opportunities.