Meeting A Need-If there is a need in your area and there is no one meeting that need, you may consider organizing a ministry through your church or in your community. The small groups may check to see if there are nearby residents needing lawns cut, snow shoveling of simple repairs. If the group doesn’t have anyone available, they can ask neighboring groups. Some needs may be beyond the resources of the local small group. Churches often claim they don’t have the resources. In the mid-1970’s, I belonged to a house church consisting of only six families. They became concerned about the large number of suicides in the area after I told them about the hour, I had spent the previous week on a railroad bridge with a teenage girl who could not decide whether to jump. They set out to organize a crisis hotline and contacted Contact International and with their help laid plans for a crisis phone line for the county. In only 12 months, the members of that church gathered 129 volunteer phone workers and trained them, and secured enough voluntary contributions to support a phone bill of almost $1500 a month, plus cover utilities and rent for an office, to provide a place where people could call toll-free 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from anywhere in the county. They went on the phones only a year after I sat on the railroad bridge with the girl. They provided continuous phone service 24 hours a day and seven days a week for 49 years with no government funds. They drastically cut the suicide rate in their area. If a church of only six families can do that, what can a church of 100 or more families do?
Archive for the ‘Church ministry’ Category
Third Sunday of Pentecost June 7
Meeting your neighbors Years ago, stable neighborhoods were friendly places where neighbors knew each other and socialized frequently. These days, few people know their neighbors, even in stable neighborhoods. As residential areas have been separated from shopping and office areas, many neighborhoods have become bedroom communities where people come home to eat and sleep. They shop, work, and attend school elsewhere. Few people sit on the porch or walk the neighborhood anymore. Where neighborhoods used to be filled with kids and they used to roam the neighborhood freely, there are often few kids and few roam the neighborhood anymore. We have become a mobile society where people live in a bubble and have few meaningful contacts. Members should be encouraged to get to know their neighbors. While many members think their neighbors have their own churches, very few do. There are probably neighbors who could use encouragement and support. Neighborhood Vacation Bible Schools, Bible studies, and children’s Bible clubs can help bring neighbors together. Small groups can become a door to attract neighbors to church or provide Bible teaching to those who attend church but whose church does not provide it.
Second Sunday of Pentecost-May 31-Trinity Sunday
Trinity Sunday A-The Second Sunday of Pentecost is Trinity Sunday when Christians celebrate the Trinity, (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). The Jews dealt with God the Father through the priests and prophets, and occasionally through Angels sent to deliver messages. Then Jesus came in bodily form to show us the nature of the Father in a way we could understand. Finally, at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came to guide us and give us power in restoring the Kingdom of God. The disciples were transformed when they received the Holy Spirit and received power to go out and proclaim the Gospel. Many churches ignore the celebration of Pentecost as they no longer emphasize the new birth in Christ and lives of members differ little from unbelievers around them. The church needs to get a new sense of the changing power of the Holy Spirit.
Sixth Sunday of Eastertide- May 10
Prepare-Too many churches simply wait until a position is open and then try to fill it. The problem with that is the same people continue to serve so there are very few in the church with experience and very few members are involved in the church’s ministry. Many people are afraid to take new positions because they have no experience and those that do accept the position don’t do well, often become frustrated, and soon quit or continue struggling along doing a poor job. It makes better sense to ask someone to train as an assistant under someone more experienced before the need arises. Someone who has never taught before will be more likely to accept an opportunity to learn then to take a class alone with no experience. When a position comes open, there will be people who have experience and can do well. They will often be more likely to take the position if they have worked in a classroom for a while under someone than if they have never helped in a classroom before. It also provides assistants to help the teacher, so they don’t have to do everything themselves.
Fifth Sunday of Eastertide May 3
Involve New People-It is not enough to just have everyone take a year off. The church must actively seek to involve new people. A full-time search committee should be established that actively meet with members to talk with them about their interests and help them find areas that interest them. Too often search committees are called a couple weeks before the church’s annual conference to fill vacant elected positions and they have little time to seek qualified people. As a result, they often nominate the same people they know well, even though the people may have little interest or experience in that area. As a year-round committee, they can get to know more members and seek to help them find areas that interest them before openings occur. When openings occur in committees during the year, the search committee can help the committee chairman find suitable replacements. The interest survey previously mentioned is a good way to help members discover where they would like to use their gifts. Before members go off their position after six years, the committee should meet with them again to help them explore other areas to see if there are other areas that interest them. The committee should be familiar with the various functions of the church and how to help members explore their interests. (I deal with it in my book for pastors and church leaders “Rebuilding The Kingdom”). As the committee locates new talents, it can help the church expand its ministry into new areas and involve more people in the church. The committee can also help each committee define its mission and draw up a mission statement to help them focus their work.
Fourth Sunday of Eastertide-April 26
Explore- One of the most important ways to find what our gifts are is to experiment in different areas of the church to find what we enjoy doing and do well. This is one of the most neglected areas of the church today. Most churches are run by a small group of people who have always filled the same positions. While they complain that no one wants to work, they give very little opportunity for new people to become involved. The church must provide opportunities for members to become involved in various areas of the church so they can find their interests and talents. One way is through a requirement that limits everyone to two three-year terms and requires everyone to take a sabbatical every seventh year. This helps prevent workers from becoming burned out and enables new people to become involved. It also gives members on their Sabbatical time to shop around to see if there are other areas that might interest them. Some churches have a Sunday where each church work group has a booth in the fellowship hall and members can wander from booth to booth talking with people who belong to that work group. Some churches even invite Christian community service groups to have a booth for those called to serve beyond the local church. There are also interest surveys available. I have written a booklet, “The Important I” which helps with determining what would be a good career (part-A), and outlines areas in the church and community that offer opportunities for volunteer work (part-B). It includes an interest survey and can be obtained by E-mailing me at robert.barr34@yahoo.com, requesting the booklets, “The Important I” and put “booklet” in the subject line.
Additional note on Epiphany Feb 18
Building Community– When My wife and I first moved into a trailer park, trailers were still small and very mobile. Few people got to know their neighbors because they were basically bedroom communities where people slept, but they worked and shopped elsewhere. Similar conditions existed in many of the cheaper apartment complexes. In addition, people were very mobile. It was easy to hook up a trailer and move it somewhere else, or move out of an apartment, so your neighbors didn’t stay very long. Many of the families had problems with alcoholism and drug abuse, spouse and child abuse, and crime. Very few had any church connection. I began visiting the families there and in nearby apartments to minister to any needs and start Bible studies for those who were interested. Most of those who lived in houses in stable neighborhoods owned their homes and knew many of their neighbors. Stable neighborhoods were much safer. People did not move frequently and home ownership was preferred over renting. Trailers and apartments were for the people who were mobile or those not able to afford to purchase. Since then, people have become very mobile and that includes many who own their own homes. It is not unusual for someone to sell a house and purchase a new one in their new location when they move to another area. In addition, there has been a big shift from owning to renting. In many places, more people live in trailers, apartments, and rental homes than in homes that they own. People are far less likely to live long-term in the same place. As a result, the people are far less likely to get to know each other so the same problems that prevailed in trailer parks and apartment buildings, have moved into more settled communities. In addition, businesses have moved away from residential areas so even stable neighborhoods have become bedroom communities. Christian families can become a catalyst for restoring a sense of community in their neighborhoods as they get to know their neighbors and help them get to know each other.
Sixth Sunday of Epiphany–Feb15
Building Bridges– Today, many neighbors are isolated and do not know each other. In the past, neighborhoods were close knit communities where people worked and shopped nearby and helped each other in times of need. Increasing mobility has separated housing from office and shopping areas and has made even stable neighborhoods into bedroom communities. People work and shop elsewhere and only come home to have supper and sleep. Extended family used to provide support but many live a long way from any family members an increasing number are not having children or only a couple and have no one to help after their parents are no longer able to. They have no one to reach out to in an emergency or in time of need. By getting to know your neighbors you can build bridges that help you be there when they need help and it opens opportunities to share the Gospel with them.
Fifth Sunday of Epiphany-Feb 8
Reaching the Children-Neighborhood children often congregate at the homes of Christians who have children because they feel the love that the parents have for their children and they enjoy the peace that reigns in a Christian home. Often their own parents ignore them or may even verbally or physically abuse them. It provides an excellent opportunity to show them through personal example that someone cares about them. It provides an opportunity to show them that God loves them and cares about them. Christian parents and children can introduce neighborhood children to God’s love and His values for living through Bible stories and video lessons. Children may be interested in a Children’s Bible Club. The church family may teach it or provide space for someone from the church to teach it. There is no problem with needing transportation like in traditional Vacation Bible Schools since the children live in the neighborhood. As the neighborhood children hear the Gospel and see it demonstrated, they may eventually want to attend church and urge their parents to take them.
Fourth Sunday of Epiphany-Feb 1
– Sharing Christ Most Christians do not talk about church or the Gospel outside of church for fear of offending someone, so most people don’t know whether their neighbors attend church or not. While many Christians assume their neighbors attend a church somewhere, the fact is that most probably do not. If your neighbors attend church, their church may not provide fellowship and support and they may welcome friendship with other Christians, or their church may be too far away for them to participate in many church activities. If they do not attend church, they may be seeking a church but not know anyone who belongs to one providing an opportunity to invite them. Many of their neighbors have not had any contact with a church and do not have any reason to seek one. Those without Christ often live day to day, their only hope is to survive until tomorrow. They will not know that Christ can made a difference in their life until they see that it has made a difference in your life. As you visit your neighbors, you can witness to them about the benefits of attending church and may even get a chance to tell them about Christ.