A volunteer offers free haircuts at a mini-Big Give put on last year by an Ottawa church. Photo courtesy of The Big Give Ottawa.

Churches organize city-wide free garage sale for community

“This can bring us together as a church beyond denominational lines”

By Craig Macartney and ChristianWeek Senior Correspondent | February 19, 2015

OTTAWA, ON—In a culture that is always looking for the catch, flashy community outreach campaigns can sometimes alienate the very people a church is trying to draw in. That’s why Ottawa churches are banding together to organize ‘The Big Give Ottawa’—a day for churches to give generously to their community with only one agenda: showing love.

“We want to unite as a city on the same day to make a statement that the Church is giving,” says Big Give organizer, Kathy Blakely. “We don’t want this to be about promoting a church program, because we don’t want people to think there are any strings attached to coming on our properties.”

Organizers hope to enlist as many as 100 Ottawa churches, each reaching out in their own neighbourhood on the same day, June 6, 2015.

The idea started in 2009, when Blakely’s church wanted to run a community outreach, but struggled to come up with ideas. One morning, Blakely had the idea of offering a massive “free garage sale,” but when the day came, it was so much more.

“We could not believe what the congregation brought in,” Blakely states. “We literally filled our gym and all the rooms around it with stuff. There were whole living room and kitchen sets, clothing, shoes and computers. We ended up giving away Bibles, food and services like guitar lessons, photography and haircuts. We even had trucks to drive people home with their furniture.”

However, Blakely and her team are encouraging churches to be creative and offer something geared specifically for their community. They even developed a training manual and are working with churches to help them see their vision come together.

“We are encouraging each church to make this their own,” says training coordinator Paula Nichol. “Some churches may have an event for children and families, others may want to do a big give-away with bouncy castles and everything. Like the early Church, we are drawing resources from within ourselves. It’s not, ‘here, you do this,’ it’s, ‘what can you do?’”

Nichol’s church is also offering a garage-sale-give-away event with venues for families and children, but they also have a few surprises for their community.

“One of the plans, due to the time of year, is to have a prom corner. We are hoping to attract young ladies who are graduating, but don’t have the funds to participate in their graduation with their peers. I got a number of prom dresses on sale a few years ago and we’re hoping to get similar donations of shoes and gift certificates to hair salons to give to young ladies in the community.”

The organizing team is trying to make it as easy as possible for churches to participate. Churches who are already preparing for community outreaches don’t have to plan something new; they’re just being asked to do their outreach on June 6.

“How amazing would it be if 100 churches in Ottawa all did this on the same day? I truly believe this can bring us together as a church in Ottawa, beyond denominational lines. That’s one of the goals. But I’m also hoping through the Big Give churches will become a lot more involved in their communities.”

Ottawa pastor Jeff Hillier says most Christians want to make a difference in their community, but struggle with how to start. He believes The Big Give can get them thinking and act as a model for how to show love to their neighbours.

“The Big Give provides an opportunity for the church to show the community that it cares. It also allows the community to see that people are willing to sacrifice for the benefit of others. If the Church in Ottawa can get to a place where we live love regularly, we may be able to build the necessary bridges with people in Ottawa who are reluctant to hear the message of Christ.”

Hillier’s church plans to throw a free block party, building on an event they ran last year. They’ll have free children’s activities, haircuts, face painting, a barbeque, a photo booth, sports tournaments and an outdoor movie with popcorn in the evening.

“The Big Give is an opportunity for churches to work together to be what we are called to be—a light to this world. I cannot imagine why any church would not want to be part of something that could have a collective impact on the nation’s capital!” Hillier says.