College Mennonite Church identifies community needs through “Spreading Kindness”

Photo of College Mennonite Church sign. Provided by College Mennonite Church.

GOSHEN, Ind. (Mennonite Church USA) — Eighty families from College Mennonite Church, in Goshen, Indiana, helped bless people who may have been otherwise overlooked, by distributing a total of $20,000 to their community during the month of December 2024, as part of a unique giving initiative through the Crossroads United Way.

Eighty families from College Mennonite Church, In Goshen, Indiana, were involved in “Spreading Kindness” to the Elkhart County, Indiana, community throughout the month of December 2024. Through the generous gift of an anonymous donor, each family or individual received $250 to perform acts of kindness, with the goal of blessing people who may have been otherwise overlooked.

It all started when an anonymous benefactor donated $100,000 to the Crossroad’s United Way, with the request that the donation be split between five random Elkhart County churches. Each church received $20,000 and was asked to split their portion of the money between 80 families within their congregation, each receiving $250. In turn, those congregants were asked to give the money out via “random acts of kindness, helping those who are in greater need,” with the intent of reaching “individuals who may have slipped through society’s safety nets, spreading goodwill and generosity in unexpected ways.”

The United Way noted that the benefactor’s hope was not only to “bring joy to those in need but [to] strengthen the bonds within [the] congregation as they come together for this shared mission of kindness.”

Since the church was randomly selected by the United Way, without any application process, Phil Waite, the pastoral team leader at College Mennonite, initially thought the email was a scam. Upon further inquiry, the church decided to participate in the initiative, which they later called “Spreading Kindness.”

College Mennonite asked congregants to volunteer to participate. The United Way, the donor and the church put very few stipulations on how the congregants were to use the money. They were only asked to share their $250 gifts within the community during the holiday season.

Congregants met together for light refreshments and conversation after church.
Photo provided by College Mennonite Church.

Throughout December 2024, the 80 families gave their gifts in many ways to various people and community organizations. In January, they met together to share how they used the donation, how the gift affected them through their giving and to encourage one another to keep “Spreading Kindness.”

Each family unit interpreted the assignment differently. Many used their portion of the funds to provide a cash donation. Some gave a lump sum of $250 to individuals or families they knew, to help them buy gifts or necessities for their families during the holiday season. Others gave their funds to community organizations in Goshen, such as the Center for Healing & Hope, which helps uninsured people receive important health services, or The Window, a local food and clothing pantry. Some directed their gifts to specific needs their neighbors had, such as a roof repair or a monthly rent payment. Others split the money into smaller sums and gave them out to several strangers, whom they presumed were in need.

One family helped pay for a woman’s groceries, when they noticed she was struggling to foot the bill herself. Still others used their $250 to give an unexpected holiday bonus to people who serve them, like their waitress, garbage man or the employees at their local grocery store. A group of participants pooled their money together and asked a local nonprofit to use it as a Christmas bonus for their lowest paid employees. Still another family was so inspired that they added $50 of their own money, to gift a friend in need a total of $300.

Another congregant shared that, while helping a local high school color guard set up for an upcoming show, he noticed that there was a list posted on the wall marking the student ID numbers for students who were overdue on their band/color guard fees. He used his $250 to help pay down the fees for these students. He said, “I am aware that some students do not have the funds to participate in such a wonderful program, so I am gratified to know that this money may encourage more students to participate.”

Many used their portion of the funds to purchase gifts for others. Several families shared that they spent their $250 on coats and other warm clothing and donated it to College Mennonite’s clothing supply, which is part of the church’s resettlement ministry for congregants. Another family worked with local school administrators to anonymously provide $50 supermarket gift cards for five families who could use a little help. Someone else discovered that a local grocery store has seen an influx of unhoused people asking for food, so she gave her $250 to cover 25 $10 gift cards for the staff to help in these situations.

One woman was inspired when she saw someone bring fast food to some unhoused people she had met on her way to the post office, so she bought nonperishable goods and personal hygiene products for Faith Mission, a local homeless shelter. She said, “I believe this gesture of Spreading Kindness reflected God’s love and care … These individuals are precious in God’s eyes, regardless of their current circumstances.”

In January, congregants gathered to discuss the initiative.
Photo provided by College Mennonite Church.

Overall, the participants expressed that they felt blessed to have the opportunity to participate in the initiative. One person said, “The opportunity to give away another person’s money felt like a higher calling. Am I giving this gift money away in a way that brings light, justice and care to another individual?”

Despite feeling grateful for the gift and encouraged by the results, the process brought up a mixed bag of feelings for many participants.

Several congregants expressed their discomfort while participating in the initiative. Some found it difficult to give away someone else’s money. Others felt overwhelmed by the nearly infinite number of ways they could use the gift. Some had trouble coping with the power that choosing the gift recipients brought, and a few had difficulty balancing good stewardship with the ability to be free and extravagant with the gift.

One of the most surprising reasons congregants of this relatively wealthy congregation expressed discomfort was because they weren’t sure they would be able to identify anyone in their community who was in need. Many families said they were hesitant to even volunteer to give out the money for this very reason.

One participant identified that the initiative helped them realize just “how out of touch [they were] with the many needs of the community.” Another said, “I was overwhelmed with how many people are in need — the more we shared, the more we noticed more need!”

“This has been hard work. It is much easier to drop a check in the offering plate or to address an envelope and put it in the mailbox,” one participant shared. “This exercise has reminded us … of the responsibility that is given to us to pass the gift [of Christmas] along and of how the gift lies dormant until it is given away. This benefactor gave more than money.”

Congregants discuss how the initiative impacted their lives.
Photo provided by College Mennonite Church.

In January, when the participants gathered to debrief on the initiative, one person encouraged other people at his table by saying that he may not always have additional funds to help bless people in need, but “the relationship is free.” He went on to explain that even being able to help identify people’s needs and point them toward community organizations that could help might make a huge difference in their lives.

Some families developed new and lasting relationships because of the initiative and others shared that they were inspired to make long-term changes. One woman said, “This Kindness initiative inspired my husband and me to make some changes in our family Christmas celebration this year. We bought our five grandchildren each just one modest gift and then got items for 10 [Mennonite Central Committee] Relief Kits for refugee families. … In the process, we all learned a little bit about the refugee experience. After all, part of the Christmas story is that Jesus and his family were refugees, too.”

One congregant summed up the experience well: “Generosity is happening every day and if you pay attention, you can find ways of supporting people – even with small amounts of money or small acts of kindness.”

Mennonite Church USA is an Anabaptist Christian denomination, founded in 2002 by the merger of the Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church. Members of this historic peace church seek to follow Jesus by rejecting violence and resisting injustice. MC USA’s Renewed Commitments state the following shared commitments among its diverse body of believers: to follow Jesus, witness to God’s peace and experience the transformation of the Holy Spirit. Mennoniteusa.org