desire to make some important contribution to their communities, and in particular to individuals like themselves who find themselves in trouble with the law” ( Making Good, p.12). It fosters collaboration. Your members and returning citizens aren’t on op- posite ends of serving. They’re working alongside each other. It helps get ministry done. Let’s face it: Anything that moves people from being consumers of ministry to producers of ministry is a good thing. It turbocharges the onboarding process. Opportunities to serve give re- turning citizens both a practical place and a role that connects them to your shared mission and to the people they’re serving alongside. That said, one experienced reentry leader noted that it’s healthy to allow for an adjustment period of living on the outside before plunging a returning citizen into lead- ership. In her experience, if too much is asked of someone too soon, they tend to struggle with either an inflated ego or with stress for having to live up to leadership expectations. It demonstrates respect. You’re signaling to returning citizens that you take them seriously, that they’re more than a basket of needs. They know that they’re valued, needed, and respected as people who are contributing some- thing important. It can pair well with every other model, especially the Service Station Mod- el. By combining opportunities to receive and to serve, you create a healthy “take and give” dynamic. In fact, whatever other model(s) you feel drawn to, the Service Station Model can be a helpful complement. Challenges to the Mission Station model It can be hard to find good matches. When it comes down to actual imple- mentation, it can be frustratingly difficult to match specific ministry oppor- tunities with people’s actual competencies, bandwidth, work schedules, per- sonal preferences, etc. But you probably already know this—it’s a challenge for all ministry. Not all “service” is created equal. There’s an important distinction that needs to be made. Service opportunities, when understood to be part of a self-gen- erated process of a reworked identity and spiritual growth, are healthy and powerful. “Community service,” on the other hand, is usually understood as something very different—often something imposed as part of a legal sanc- tion and experienced as a form of punishment. In reality, of course, it can sometimes function as a little of both, but this distinction needs to be kept in mind.
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