This past Saturday I joined with some of our members in a Habitat for Humanity project here in Pompano Beach. It was a GREAT way to spend a Saturday morning and I can’t wait to go again.

I worked on several roofs putting down a starter course of shingles. My job, because I had worked with this stuff before, was to spread an 8 inch strip of “bull” on the edge of the roof. Bull is a tar-like substance that one of my co-workers described as looking like something he had seen a lot of while growing up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin. When I accidentally dropped a big glob of bull off of the roof and saw how it landed, apart from the color and the smell, it looked EXACTLY like that dairy farm commodity.

There were probably 60 people working on about 8 houses on this day. We came from churches and companies and joined with future Habitat home owners in a variety of projects. What was interesting to see was how enthused some of the volunteers were about their work. Many volunteers weren’t with a group. They come to work every Saturday because it gives them something. These people were in their 20’s and 30’s and they seemed to say that they found significance in their serving Habitat for Humanity.

I don’t know if these enthusiastic volunteers had a relationship with a church. Based on our conversations, I suspect they don’t. They do have a need to be of service, regardless of their faith or lack of faith, and Habitat helps them fill that need.

People who write about cultural trends (for example, George Barna) tell us that the generation now in their 20’s and 30’s find serving others as a way to add value to their lives. This generation is not well represented in faith communities, but they feel this need to serve others in meaningful ways and they find meaning for their lives in serving.

How much more don’t believers in Christ find meaning and significance in our service to others. Not only do we reduce human suffering with our acts of selfless kindness, but we are God’s salt and light in the world. It is a pretty amazing opportunity that we have before us.