Meal Trains
Caring for one another by providing meals in challenging times
How to get involved:
Why we do Meal Trains
When our responsibilities and/or stress levels are high, we typically need more help than we’re willing to ask for. And yet, within the Church, God has called us to love one another in exactly this way -- meeting needs and bearing burdens together.
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“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling”
- 1 Peter 4:8-9
It’s a joy and a privilege that we get to love one another during challenging seasons! If you’ve ever been the recipient of this kind of care, then you know how much of a blessing and help it is. So, when members experience these especially demanding times in life, one simple way that we can care for them is to take the responsibility of preparing meals off their plate by coordinating a Meal Train. This is the kind of service we hope all of us will do from time to time, so we've prepared this page as a resource to help.
Common reasons to prepare a Meal Train:
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The birth of a child
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The death of a family member
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Other tragedies or traumatic experiences
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The loss of a job
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Surgery or other procedure
Meal Train servants provide meals on a regular basis...
How to Coordinate a Meal Train
1.) Make a plan with the person (or family) receiving the meals.
It may be tempting to try and surprise someone with a Meal Train, but it’s probably not the best idea. By talking with the friend/family who will receive the meals, you can ensure that there won’t be multiple Meal Train efforts for the same person. They can also help clarify some important details that will make the whole experience much more fruitful.
Details to consider:
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How many meals are needed per week?
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What days of the week are ideal ─ or not ideal ─ for drop off?
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How would they like people to drop off the meals? (I.e. Cooler outside of the house)
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What dietary restrictions do they have?
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What nearby restaurants do they enjoy for carry out? And what is their order there?
2.) Set up the actual meal train page using MealTrain.com
From there, you'll set up an actual page where everyone can sign up to provide a meal. Here's a brief How-to video that walks you through it step-by-step. If you need a hand, though, you can also just Request a Meal Train here. We'll do our best to find another member who can help facilitate the online process.
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3.) Share the link with our Meal Train us
We keep an email list of what we call “Meal Train servants” -- members of Redemption who are committed to providing emails on a fairly regular basis. (You can click the link above to sign up and serve in this way.) Once the Meal Train page is setup online, please contact Whitney Kibler. She will help answer any last minutes questions, and also share your link with this team of Meal Train servants.
But don't just rely on this handful of servants!
4.) Use the church directory to create a personal invite list together.
Even if they're not technically “Meal Train servants," you will want to include other people who are connected with the friend who is in need of meals ─ like their small group members, the people they serve with, etc. To do this, look through our church directory with them (in the Church Center app) to develop an invite list. If they also want to include other family members and friends, for example, that would be helpful too. Just create that personal email list and send it off! Watch as sign ups start to roll in. It's such a blessing.
5.) Check in along the way to make sure everything is working well.
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Blessings to you in your next Meal Train endeavor!
“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and truth”
1 John 3:16-18
