The Hardest Part Is Asking

Every house has one. The screen door that never latches right. The ceiling fan that stopped turning two summers ago. The faucet with the slow drip you've learned to sleep through.

You know it needs doing. You'd have done it yourself, once. But the ladder isn't a good idea anymore, or your hands don't cooperate the way they used to, or there's simply no one in the house who can.

So the job waits. Not because you don't notice it — because asking feels harder than living with it. You tell yourself this sort of thing is for people worse off than you. You tell yourself you'll get to it. Mostly, you tell yourself you don't want to be a bother.

Here is the plain truth: you are not a bother. The Handyman Ministry exists for exactly this, and the men who run it would consider it a privilege to come.

The man taking the requests has been on the other end

Allen Hansen coordinates the Handyman Ministry, part of New Hope's Men of Valor. He'll tell you straight out that his gifts aren't the up-front kind.

The short version, if you'd rather read it:

"I don't have the gift of evangelism," he says. "I don't have the gift of memorizing scripture and being able to recall that. But I do have some skills that I think God has placed on my heart — to allow me to do things for people that they can't do for themselves."

He also knows what it feels like to be on the receiving end. Allen grew up with almost nothing, and when help came for his family, it came from a church. He hasn't forgotten it. The man offering to fix your faucet knows exactly what it costs to accept help — and he doesn't think less of anyone who asks.

"The goal of this ministry is for the men of valor to reach out to their fellow members, and come together as a family to take care of a need, in someone's home," he says. Notice the word he chose. Not clients. Family.

Stephanie's backyard

Stephanie's yard had gotten away from her. Overgrown, uneven, impossible to get into with a walker. So she stopped going out there.

Then she asked. The team rebuilt the whole space — a cedar fence and arbor, a paver courtyard, a pergola for shade. Now she can get outside on her own, and her mother sits out there in the evenings.

None of it would have happened if she'd decided she was being a bother.

If there's a job at your house that keeps waiting, tell us about it: Request Help — Project Request Form. If you'd rather fill one in by hand, there's a paper form at the welcome desk — just pick one up on Sunday.

What the team does — and what it doesn't

The list is longer than you might think: minor plumbing, like a faucet or a small part. Minor electrical — a switch, a light fixture, a dead outlet. Appliance help. Yard work. General repairs and maintenance. Even the small things that are hard to reach, like changing HVAC filters or smoke-detector batteries.

"The sky's almost a limit," Allen says. "I can't get on your roof. We can't take down that tree in your front yard." Roof work, tree removal, major construction, and major electrical or plumbing jobs belong with licensed professionals. But as Allen puts it, "So don't let that stop you from filling out a request." If you're not sure whether your job qualifies, ask anyway. Let the team sort that out.

One more thing worth saying plainly: this is not a 911 call in the middle of the night. A genuine emergency — water pouring in, sparks, danger — needs professionals right away. For everything else, the jobs that keep getting put off, this is the right place.

On materials, Allen keeps it simple: "Basically, you provide the fan, the faucet and the filters, and we will provide the time, the tools, and the talent." Our team gives the labor. When a team member calls you about your request, materials are part of that conversation.

Who this is for

The Handyman Ministry serves the New Hope family. If New Hope is your church home, this is for you — whether or not you've ever filled out a membership card.

It's run by the men's ministry, but as Allen says, "It is the handyman ministry, but it's open to all." Anyone in the congregation can send in a request. And the serving side is open too — women and younger folks are welcome, and some younger men have joined specifically to learn the trades from the older ones.

And if the person you're thinking of isn't you? Maybe it's a neighbor two doors down, or your sister across town, or someone you sit near on Sunday who'd never ask for themselves. Send in a request on their behalf and tell us how you know them. Some of the best work this team has done started with somebody else noticing.

What happens after you ask

Work days come around roughly every three months, and the team can come sooner when something genuinely needs it. When you send in a request, someone from the team calls you first to talk it through — what the job is, what it would take, what materials would be involved. There's no commitment before that conversation, and you can say no at any point after it.

Filling out the form doesn't mean you owe anyone anything. It means you've let your church family know about a need. That's what the form is for. That's what the family is for.

Prefer paper? Pick up a form at the welcome desk, fill it in at home, and hand it back to anyone at the desk. That's all it takes.

The screen door. The fan. The yard. They've waited long enough.

Handier with a wrench than a request form? Read "Fix Things. Help People. The New Hope Handyman Service Team Is Looking for You."