RANDOM
ACTS OF KINDNESS

Topics: Caring; Evangelism; Generosity; Kindness; Ministry; Outreach; Service; Witnessing

References: Matthew 6:1–4; Mark 9:41; John 13:34–35

Rena Garcia, twenty-four, is a wife, mother of two preschoolers, and a full-time nanny for two other children. She is busy, but her favorite part of the day is when she goes out to perform random acts of kindness.

She and her husband, Aaron, are part of RAOK (Random Acts of Kindness), through which Christians seek to anonymously bless other people in the name of Jesus. They have even started a website to help share ideas, www.raoked.com. Some of these ideas include:

•     leaving a roll of quarters at the Laundromat

•     paying for the person behind you at a drive-thru

•     leaving grocery gift cards in mailboxes

•     paying rent for a family in need

•     handing out water or sports drinks on a biking trail.

Garcia hands out RAOK business cards that explain her motivation, information about her church, and the assurance that there are no strings attached. “People were drawn to Christ, not because he stood on a mountain and preached, but because he filled their needs,” she says.

—John W. Kennedy, “Winning Them with Kindness,” Today’s Christian (November–December 2005)