What would a church look like if it was entirely built on the idea of helping people who are in need? A book which answers that question is Dino Rizzo’s Servolution: Starting a Church Revolution Through Serving. It all started for Dino and his wife DeLynn in 1993 when they felt called by God to start a church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to reach the poor and hurting. That church subsequently became known as Healing Place Church.
Twelve people showed up to the first service, and five of them left, but Dino and DeLynn just kept looking for ways to serve people, scouring local newspapers to find people no-one else was thinking or caring about. They started by visiting elderly people, taking nappies to people who had new babies, and cooking meals for families of people who were in hospital. Gradually people who had been helped and those who wanted to be involved in helping others started showing up to the church.
The experience gained by Healing Place Church in serving came in handy in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, where the church became one of the key centres for responding to the crisis. The book is an inspiring one, filled with very practical suggestions on starting a “servolution”, and it encourages readers to believe that any church could serve people in a similar way. There is an accompanying website, servolution.org, with even more service ideas.