Nearly 40 communities have signed up for the "Faith, in" Christian mission and outreach project being promoted by the United Church of Christ to encourage the faithful to serve their communities, with some examples cited of churches choosing to clean up prominent locations, donating clothing and food.

The 'Faith in' project has 37 communities registered at faithinproject.com as of July 23 and it's growing as others express interest, reported United Church of Christ News on Tuesday.

The project's motto is "Live your faith. Love your community" and invites Christians from around the world to live out their faith in their neighborhoods through mission and outreach.

The faithinproject.com website provides ideas for projects entitled "Adopt a street," "Partner with a school," "Promote random kindness," "spruce up the town," "promote peace," "read with children," "use talents publicly," "make new friends," and "advocate justice," among others.

The project was prominently promoted to thousands of youths in attendance at the denomination's worship and fellowship gathering for young people in Indiana known as the National Youth Event earlier this month.

"Salem UCC got involved in the "Faith, in" project quickly because it echoed the beliefs that our church held about the importance of getting involved in and serving their community," said the Rev. Monica Dawkins-Smith, Salem pastor, according to the report. "We are motivated by our faith and love for the people in our community."

Members of Salem UCC, in Harrisburg, PA, are involved with a food pantry which provides food and nutrition education to those in need.

A few members at Salem who know how to crochet used their skills to create sleeping mats for homeless people in the city made out of plastic bags.

Members of St. Peters United Church of Christ in Washington, Mo doing activities on Sunday such as clearing an abandoned cemetery, planting a community orchard, picking up trash, and helping a widower with home repairs.