Outreach at Sy Church: Loving Our Community, One Act at a Time
At Sy Church, we believe the love of Jesus should be something our community can see, experience, and feel.
When we planted Sy Church in April 2023, we knew we wanted to be a church that was about more than Sunday mornings. We wanted to be a church that showed up for our community, cared for people in practical ways, and became a place people could trust when life got hard. From the very beginning, outreach has been a huge part of who we are and who we want to be.
We held our first outreach in May 2023, just one month after planting the church, and we haven’t stopped since.
Our heart has always been simple: we want to love people well, meet needs when we can, and show our community the love of Jesus in tangible ways. Sometimes that means helping with a major need, and sometimes it means doing something small that reminds someone they haven’t been forgotten. We believe both matter.
What Does Outreach Look Like at Sy?
Outreach doesn’t always look the same, because the needs in our community don’t always look the same. Over the years, we’ve had opportunities to serve people in a variety of circumstances, partnering with local organizations, supporting families, and finding practical ways to care for our neighbors.
Here are just a few of the ways we’ve been able to love our community since 2023.
Meeting Practical Needs
Sometimes loving people looks like helping with something as ordinary as getting to work or having clean clothes to wear.
We’ve given away gas gift cards to help people with the cost of getting where they need to go. We’ve also visited local laundromats to pay for people’s laundry and spend time praying with them. These may seem like small gestures, but we believe meeting practical needs is one way to remind people that they matter and that someone cares.
We’ve also partnered with Strong Life in Hickory to provide breakfast and backpacks filled with essential supplies for people experiencing homelessness. Our hope is to offer more than just supplies—we want people to know they are seen, valued, and loved.
Caring for Families During Difficult Seasons
Some seasons of life are especially difficult, and we want families in our community to know they don’t have to feel forgotten in the middle of them.
We’ve put together gift baskets for families with babies in the NICU at Catawba Valley Medical Center, offering encouragement during what can be an overwhelming and uncertain time. We’ve also delivered gift baskets to families who have loved ones staying at Catawba County Hospice House, hoping to bring a little comfort during an incredibly difficult season.
These outreaches are especially meaningful to us because they allow us to care for people who may be carrying burdens most of us never see. Sometimes there aren’t words that can make a difficult situation better, but there are ways to remind people that they aren’t alone.
Investing in the Next Generation
We love finding ways to serve children and families throughout our community, especially when a little help can make a big difference.
Every August, we host our annual Back to School outreach, where we provide hundreds of local children with free haircuts, backpacks, school supplies, and a new pair of shoes. We want kids to head into a new school year feeling prepared and confident, regardless of their family’s financial circumstances.
We’ve also partnered with our community to provide Christmas gifts to every child in foster care in Catawba County. Our desire is for these children to experience the joy of Christmas and know that people in their community are thinking about them.
We believe caring for the next generation means more than talking about how much children matter. It means finding ways to show them.
Supporting Our Community in Times of Crisis
When Hurricane Helene devastated parts of our region, we knew we wanted to help. Members of our church stepped in to support relief efforts and serve people affected by the storm.
Disasters remind us how quickly life can change and how much people need one another when the unexpected happens. We’re grateful to have had opportunities to be part of the response and help care for people facing difficult circumstances.
We want Sy Church to be the kind of church that shows up when our community needs help—not just when it’s convenient, but when people are hurting and need support.
Why Outreach Matters to Us
With so many different outreaches, you might wonder what ties them all together.
For us, it comes back to the heart of Jesus.
We want to be a church that doesn’t simply talk about loving our neighbors but actively looks for opportunities to do it. We want people to know Sy Church is a safe place—a place where they can ask for help, find encouragement, build relationships, and feel comfortable reaching out when they have a need.
We also know that not every need can be met by one church, and not every problem can be solved with a gift card, a gift basket, or a day of service. But we believe that doesn’t mean we should do nothing. We can do what we can with what we’ve been given, trusting that even seemingly small acts of kindness can make a meaningful difference.
Our goal isn’t simply to complete projects or check outreach off a list. It’s to build a culture of generosity, compassion, and service within our church while developing genuine relationships with the people around us.
We want our community to know that they matter to us because they matter to God.
This Is Only the Beginning
Since planting Sy Church in April 2023, outreach has become a defining part of our church’s identity. From our very first outreach in May 2023 to the many opportunities we’ve had since, we’ve been continually reminded of how many ways there are to serve the people around us.
We’re thankful for every person who has volunteered their time, contributed supplies, given financially, prayed, or helped make these outreaches possible. Every act of generosity has helped us do more than we could have done alone.
And we’re excited to keep going.
There are still needs to meet, people to encourage, organizations to support, and opportunities to show our community the love of Jesus. We don’t know every opportunity that lies ahead, but we know we want to continue being a church that shows up, lends a hand, and loves people well.
At Sy Church, outreach isn’t just something we do. It’s part of who we are.
We’re here to pursue Jesus together, grow through discipleship, and love our community in ways that make a real difference. We hope that as our church continues to grow, our impact on the people around us will grow, too.
Because we believe the love of Jesus is worth sharing—and we want our community to experience that love, not just hear about it.