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PROGRAM D-8274
My question to you is What is your banana ministry? I got this title from my friend, Judy, who lives in Nairobi, Kenya, and makes it a practice to randomly distribute bananas to people—mostly strangers she sees as she travels around Nairobi each day. She told me how people react when she hands them a banana or two—their faces light up and she knows for many it could be the only food they eat that day.
I thought that this “banana ministry” idea should not be limited to Kenya. Everyone who is a Christ-follower should come up with some unique things we can do to share God’s love with strangers, coworkers, family, and friends—random acts of love and kindness which bring a little sunshine, a little hope, a little encouragement into someone’s life.
My niece, who is now with Jesus, used to do something which illustrates a banana ministry idea. She managed a company with several people reporting to her and, every week as she prepared the payroll for them, she included something encouraging in their pay envelope. Often it would be a verse from the Bible, an interesting article, or even a personal word of encouragement. I’m sure those employees looked forward not only to getting their paycheck, but also to seeing what special touch Susan had included in their envelope for that week.
You may not hand out pay checks like she did, but you could still distribute encouraging words to people. Just print some encouraging scripture verses on small cards and carry them with you. Pray that the Lord would prompt you to know when to give one of those cards to someone. A perfect opportunity would be someone who has helped you—like a clerk in a store, or when you know someone is going through a tough time, you could just quietly offer a word of hope to them with one of your cards. What a great banana ministry that would be!
Here’s the thing: If you’re going to have a banana ministry, you must be intentional about it. Judy has to buy bananas in order to distribute them. It doesn’t just happen. Whatever your creative idea is, you need to plan it, prepare for it, and then pray about it each day. Decide you’re going to do it and then—just do it. So often our good intentions get lost in the shuffle of our lives. Don’t miss the blessing in store for you when you get serious about your banana ministry.