Originally posted on the Mars Hill Blog by Pastor Jamie Munson

Mars Hill Church is hard at work serving and loving the people we hope to see God reach through us. One recent example is the Citizens On Patrol program – an effort to prevent crime and encourage community in Belltown.

Pastor Mark recently contacted Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels to ask how Mars Hill can continue to serve our city. The mayor’s office responded with a request for help with the City of Seattle’s upcoming survey on homelessness in Seattle. It’s a tremendous undertaking that will require lots of volunteer help.

Basically, teams of volunteers will be sent out to various parts of the city, and will speak with every person they meet to determine if they are homeless. If they are, the volunteers will ask them to participate in a survey to help the city understand their needs. Volunteers will need to commit four hours on the evening of April 13, 2009 and one hour of training prior to the evening of the assessment.

Here are the details:

Who: 700 volunteers (in partnership with the City of Seattle, United Way, and the Committee to End Homelessness)

Where: Volunteers will be grouped in teams of three and will be assigned a specific part of the city to cover

When: April 13th, 8:00pm-12:00am

Why: The survey will be used to help allocate the annual $40 million our city uses to fight homelessness

This is an excellent opportunity to build relationships and serve our city, please consider signing up by yourself or with your community group.  Jesus has given us a great city to live in and it’s an honor to come alongside others and join in serving it for the greater good.

Visit the City of Seattle Homeless Needs Assessment Webpage to sign up.