Whether it’s preparing freezer meals for families, organizing a free community pancake feed or collecting coats and shoes for elementary school children, Krista Heinrichs and other 2nd Saturday 2 Serve (2S2S) volunteers are committed to serving their Hillsboro, Kansas, community.
“We’re a group of people committed to show God’s love, and we do that through community service,” Heinrichs says. “It doesn’t matter who you are, your age or your income level, everybody wants to make a difference. What we’re trying to do is provide an avenue for that.”
Heinrichs was prompted to act as the result of a Sunday school class at Hillsboro (Kan.) MB Church, where she is a member. So, Heinrichs and some service-minded friends—who originally connected through a small group—planned an April 2018 event to make freezer meals at their own expense for families in need. That Saturday morning, 2S2S was born.
“We were studying about (doing) what the Lord calls us to do,” she says. “This has been on my heart for a long time, and I thought, ‘We’ve just got to try it and see what happens.’”
Held the morning of the second Saturday each month, 2S2S projects have included helping with landscaping at Tabor College in preparation for graduation ceremonies held on campus; exterior yard and landscape work; painting at Parkside Homes, a senior living community; Smiles and Soles for Jesus, for which people donated shoes, socks and toothbrushes for kids at Hillsboro Elementary School; a free community Christmas pancake feed attended by about 130 people; a coat drive; and helping at a local women’s IF:Gathering.
Participants have also made freezer meals a couple times—as many as 80 meals—with food purchased from the local grocery store, which gave 2S2S a discount.
On any given second Saturday, participation has ranged from seven to 20 people. Heinrichs welcomes community-wide participation, regardless of church affiliation or attendance. She says she would like to see more families, and men in particular, get involved.
“My dream is that we have all kinds of people serving, just so we can serve each other and show God’s love in small ways that can grow to big ways hopefully,” she says.
The group advertises upcoming projects on its Facebook page, “2nd Saturday 2 Serve – 2S2S.” Heinrichs says she is never sure how many people will show up to serve.
“There are some unknowns every second Saturday, so that’s been part of the growth and part of the fun to see that God provides always,” she says. “There are always special things that we never expected (to) happen.”
2S2S projects are self-funded. As people hear about 2S2S, some have donated to the cause. Heinrichs says she received a $100 donation from a friend at a wedding, which she used to help fund the pancake feed.
Service projects are not limited to Hillsboro, Heinrichs says, adding that the group is open to helping meet needs across Marion County.
Heinrichs is committed to long-term involvement in 2S2S and would like to see it grow into a community-wide event.
“I have dreams of glorious things happening, but it’s God’s work and we’re just taking it with the light he has on each step,” she says. “I think it’s a good thing for me in my journey, and as long as I can come up with ideas and facilitate something, I think people will show up.”
Janae Rempel Shafer is the Christian Leader associate editor. She joined the CL staff in September 2017 with six years of experience as a professional journalist. Shafer is an award-winning writer, having received three 2016 Kansas Press Association Awards of Excellence and an Evangelical Press Association Higher Goals award in 2022. Shafer graduated from Tabor College in 2010 with a bachelor of arts in Communications/Journalism and Biblical/Religious Studies. She and her husband, Austin, attend Ridgepoint Church in Wichita, Kansas.
