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Do We Need to Get Permission to Give Away Water?

Orginally published on Thursday, November 01, 2007 at 7:39 AM
by Todd Rhoades

Here's an interesting tongue-in-cheek answer to this question: "I am trying to start the new servant evangelism ministry in our church and am having some trouble. We would like to start with something simple, like handing out water. We are looking at places that will not effect their sales, but reach a decent amount of people. Most companies have turned us down when we ask for permission to hand out water one Saturday. Do you have any advice on getting past this? Thanks, Larry"

Hi Larry,

Water give aways are a good “training wheel” project, like getting up on the bike initially.  The goal is to see your people living in the “outflow,” 168 hours a week.  Having that perspective from the get go is vital.  In the meantime, go for it with the water.

I wouldn’t even bother to ask for permission.  In general my motto is “Don’t ask for permission unless you are in a setting that screams out that it is necessary to do so.”

The key is to skip any retail establishments.
The permission issue is one matter.
The other one is the slowness of traffic.

Letting people know what you are up to is essential - especially when you first start out doing this.  You need to set up at a great corner and give it out there.

To do this you need a couple of great sign “spinners”

- vinyl signs that are professionally made
- get a high energy guy or two a block then 50 yards leading up to your location
- “FREE WATER!”

To see some great “sign spinning” in action look on YouTube… it is nearly an art form now.  We are using this approach at our weekend meetings to help people find our location.

To give the water out - is simple: Light turns red, carefully, quickly hand people water.

DON’T ask, “Would you like some water?” They will often say, “No thanks” out of shock of something being free.  Just hand it to them and say, “Here’s some free water.  We’re showing God’s love in a practical way!” Of course your super cool connect card is with it as well.

NOTE:  If you block traffic someone will call the cops and you may be shut down at that corner.  Thus it is great to have a “light watcher” to call people back at the right time.

Hope that helps!  Let us know how it goes.  I predict that great things lie ahead for you.

From Steve Sjogren’s Serve! Newsletter...


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  There are 2 Comments:

  • Posted by Camey

    We gave away “Free Water” not long ago at a Love G-town event. There’s a gas station located on a corner of a street that leads to our physical church building. Myself and several teenaged boys were in one of our church’s vans. I walked inside and told the manager of the store what we were wanting to do and why. She was thrilled. We used what water we already had with us and then I purchased a couple of more cases from her.

    Later on in the afternoon, I learned that some others from our church had stopped by there after we had left to return to our main site for the day. The manager of the store had ended up donating several more cases of water. Donated. As a result of this, we now have a great relationship with this particular store. They have welcomed us back to wash windows, pump gas, and etc. They’ve been getting great comments from their customers about it.

    While there are some establishmens that might not be too excited about the notion of “Free” water being given out on their property… I think it truly all depends upon how it is approached in the first place. I mean.. all they can say is “No.”

    We doing “Free” gift wrapping on the Saturday before Christmas at the only Wal-Mart in town. The store has already said they will donate some of the wrapping paper and then give us a great deal on the rest. We just washed windows for their customers there this past Saturday.

    This type of thing is one reason why it is really important for the church to be seen in a positive light in the community. A Guiding Light if you will.

  • Posted by Suzuki

    Great stuff.. I personally am of the opinion that giving out water is a good philanthropic act that needs no prior approval

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