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Archive for the ‘Church ministry’ Category

Fifth Sunday of Epiphany-Feb 9

07 Feb

Volunteer at food Banks/Community meal sites. As the cost of food and other expenses rise and incomes fall, money becomes tight and families must choose between paying the rent and purchasing food. Many are turning to food banks for help. Food banks are facing rising demand and need donations of paper products not covered by food stamps and food, as well as money to meet operating costs. In addition, they need volunteers to help collect food, sort the food, stock shelves, and assist clients. Many churches are also starting congregate meals for the homeless and for elderly and single residents that do not otherwise get adequate nutrition. Donations of food are needed as well as volunteers to assist with cooking, setting up facilities, serving clients, and cleaning up afterward. Many such meals are run completely by volunteers with donated food.

 

 

Third Sunday of Epiphany-January 26

26 Jan

After School Program-Volunteer at after-school program. With the increasing number of single parent families and families where both parents work, many children do not have access to someplace to stay after school until their parents get home from work and with the increased crowding as families double up to save on housing costs, many children don’t have anywhere quiet to study. They may not have an environment conducive to learning if there are pre-school children in the home or other barriers to studying. As a result, after school programs are springing up to meet the need but do not have the funds for the staff needed. Many depend on volunteers to help them keep the doors open to tutor the children and help them with their homework. In addition, since the Covid epidemic, many schools are increasingly issuing homework online. Many kids do not have the access to computers and study areas needed. In addition, they may not have parental support.  As a result, many kids are falling farther and farther behind. Many churches have the facilities and members who can volunteer to help work with the kids and can give the children individual attention they cannot get at school or at home and show them God cares  about them. Many kids need a place to study, adequate technology, and supportive supervision, which churches can supply. Schools can sometimes help by printing off lessons, as well as helping with equipment for students to work on online classes. In addition, some children may not be able to attend school because of illness or disability and need tutoring in their home. Often subjects are elementary level and can be done by middle and high school students. Some schools have paid tutoring positions open. Though some may require college level education in the subject, many may require only a high school education.

 

 

Second Sunday of Epiphany-Jan 17, 2025

17 Jan

Minister to the Homeless -You can show that God cares for someone who doesn’t know Him by volunteering at a homeless shelter-In the past, many people became homeless due to addictions to drugs and alcohol but today, many are losing their jobs through no fault of their own due to layoffs and plant closings and finding new jobs is difficult. Many new jobs do not pay them even close to their old jobs. Many are losing their homes with no way to pay the mortgage or rent. While the homeless were formerly individuals, an increasing number are families with children. Many homeless shelters are struggling to meet the need but lack funds to pay the staff needed and need volunteers to help sort donations, fix meals, clean, entertain children, teach budgeting and homemaking classes, to help residents to rebuild their lives.

 

 

Twelfth Sunday of Kingdomtide-Nov 17

13 Nov

Our Spiritual Journey-We are approaching Christ the King Sunday when we remember the God promised to restore the earth to its former glory, however, before we can enter that perfect world, we must be ready. We must learn what we will need there. God tried to teach the Jewish people through the law, but while they obeyed the law, they still experienced the hate and greed that led to violating the law because they did not understand the meaning of love. Therefore God sent Jesus to take on flesh and show us how to live, but we were still subject to the hate and greed by our sinful nature. Therefore Christ died and rose again to free us from the power of sin and death. When we accept Christ as our deliverer, we are born again, however we are just babies and must learn to walk with Christ. Many churches no longer teach their members to walk with Christ so they remain babies unable to discern right and wrong. The Holy Spirit can guide them but they must learn to listen to His voice and obey Him. That takes place as  we hear Bible teaching and walk daily, guided by more mature believers who show us by their example, just as a child learns through their parents teaching and by watching their parents. The Christian calendar guides the church as it trains new believers to walk with Christ. It begins with Christmas by reminding us that God had to take on flesh and walk among us so we have to be the living example of Christ in the flesh to unbelievers and new believers. Lent reminds us that we need to learn God’s law and how to apply it to our everyday life. Easter reminds us of the new life we have in Christ and that Christ died to make that possible. Pentecost reminds us that we have the Holy Spirit to guide us and of all those who do not know Christ. It is a time when the church reaches out to those that don’t know Christ. Kingdomtide reminds us that we aren’t alone but have other brothers and sisters in Christ to guide and support us. It is a time when the more mature members help new believers learn to experience the fellowship of the church. Finally, Christ the King Sunday reminds us that one day Christ will return and lead us into the promised land where we will be with Him forever. By walking the path every year, we are remined of how far we have come and where we need to improve. If we do not have guidance in our walk year after year, we lose our way and wander off the path. Let us pledge to renew our walk with Christ this coming year.

 

Tenth Sunday of Kingdomtide, Nov 3

03 Nov

Support the Weak-A-Remember those who are sick or elderly. Few churches keep track of those who become too feeble to continue attending and many churches drop them from their active rolls. Many shut-ins need visitation and ministry more than ever before because they are no longer able to get to church. Without the support and encouragement of the church body, they can easily be overcome with discouragement, especially as physical deterioration makes life more difficult. Lack of  interaction with the church may cause them to feel the church no longer cares. If they have no family nearby, and a growing number do not, they may become isolated. Regular visits from members are important not only to help them feel a part of the church, but more important, for their emotional and spiritual well-being. Isolation can create depression and mental deterioration due to lack of social interaction.  In addition, they may have needs that the church can help with. They may need help with lawn mowing, leak raking, or snow shoveling. If they live alone, they may fall or become ill and no one would know. Elderly people have been known to lay for days after a fall or illness before they were discovered, and by then it may be too late to save them. Someone should call at least once a day and better yet, both morning and night to check on them. Some of the churches I served had a Communion service every three months. I would always go out and serve Communion to the shut-ins following each communion service. It meant a great deal to them because Communion had always been an important part of their church experience.

 

 

Ninth Sunday of Kingdomtide-Oct 27

25 Oct

Volunteer in Social Services -Until recently, most social service work was done by the church and more recently by Christian social service agencies. Volunteer work with the agencies was seen as part of the church’s ministry and members frequently volunteered. Until recently churches supported Christian social service agencies directly and members had close contact with the agencies through regular reports but churches have increasingly withdrawn their support leaving the agencies to depend on  community-wide funding campaigns and many church members no longer have contact with them. As a result, members no longer see social service work as ministry and rarely volunteer anymore.  Since the 1930’s, the government has taken over the majority of social service work. In the past, many members learned to minister to others through specialized positions in the church, such as deacons and deaconesses that ministered to members and those in the community in need. Few churches have such positions any more or they do little more than provide meals for sick members or at funerals and weddings, since most such work is done by government and Christian Social Service agencies. Government agencies are well funded with tax dollars but Christian social service agencies must depend on donations. As a result, Christian Social Service agencies are often tight on funds and so cannot afford adequate staff. Therefore, they must depend on volunteers to help. Volunteering provides an excellent way for members to learn to minister to others because the agencies often provide training and supervision while they learn. Some enjoy the work so much that they go to school and get training to work in Social services.

 

Eighth Sunday of Kingdomtide-Oct 20

19 Oct

 Involving members in ministry-part-B Today, many churches have few active ministries and involve a minimum of members in ministry. Current leaders have occupied the same positions since anyone can remember and probably will as long as they are able. This results in the church getting in a rut and refusing to do anything new. The church needs to expand the churches ministry to involve more members. An affective way to draw new ideas into the decision process is to return to the Biblical principle of the Sabbatical. The Bible set aside the Sabbath (seventh day) as a day of rest and established the Sabbatical (seventh year) as a time of rest where the Jews were to rely totally on God’s provision. Establishing the Biblical doctrine of Sabbatical where workers serve for six years and then take off a year on a rotating basis allows new Christians to gain experience and allows workers to step back and look for other areas that might interest them. It also enables the church to introduce new members into the decision making process (See “To Preserve The Light” in Rebuilding The Kingdom” copyright 2012)  In addition, Christian para-church organizations often need volunteers and provide training for them providing excellent opportunities for those seeking to get experience in ministering to others. Some even have paid positions where members can become involved in full-time ministry

 

Seventh Sunday of Kingdomtide-Oct 13

12 Oct

Involving members in ministry  part A Children learn by doing and new Christians learn the same way. Unfortunately, few churches today have training programs where new Christians can work alongside more mature Christians. Many church leaders have occupied the same positions since anyone can remember. The church needs to provide hands on training for newer Christians under experienced workers. By involving new Christians in ministry in the congregation and in Christian ministries, new Christians learn how to serve Christ and the Church. They learn how to minister as they minister to others. As new Christians minister to others, they not only learn to identify those who have needs and how to minister to them, they also develop a love and concern for them. However, few churches today involve many of their members in ministry. They wait until an opening occurs and try to pressure someone to take the position, even though that person may have no prior experience and may not have the gifts for it or the concern for it. As a result, many Churches today do little to train new Christians in ministry or reach people for Christ. Involving more members in ministry will allow the church to train more people for ministry and reach more people for Christ by providing hands on training for newer Christians under experienced workers. It also enables the church to train them for when the present leadership can no longer serve.

 

M-F Relations-C

11 Oct

Few people realize that the women’s liberation movement began as a movement of women in the church. Though Southern white churches generally supported slavery, many churches in the North strongly condemned it. The women heard about the poor treatment of slaves in the South through churches in the South that did not agree with slavery. The women had learned to raise money and organize through the church mission societies that raised funds to support missionaries and used that knowledge and the church communication networks to spread information about slavery. Though some preachers opposed slavery and preached against it, much of the work and the fund raising was done by the women’s societies in the church. Through their efforts, they learned that they needed the right to vote in order to pressure Congress to oppose slavery. The women’s liberation movement soon spread beyond slavery and the right to vote. Women soon took up the cause of temperance and other issues threatening women, families, and society, including getting greater protections for women in industry. Though the issues quickly spread beyond the church, the women of the church were instrumental in getting greater protections and opportunities for women and families. The modern feminist movement has become self-centered, seeking their own agenda, with no thought to its effect on other women. The liberal push has centered on getting free from the burden of having children. They have demonized motherhood and sought to abolish it, in spite of the fact that many women still desire having kids and a family. Liberal promoters have portrayed motherhood as a threat to women because they say it prevents them from getting and holding prestigious jobs, yet many women have still risen to highly prestigious jobs while raising a family. Many modern feminists look down on women who choose to stay home and raise their kids and portray motherhood as a degrading occupation, in spite of the fact that the family is instrumental in raising children. Many also portray marriage as enslavement of women and feel a woman should not limit herself to one man. Their efforts have done much to break down the institution of marriage and deprive women of the benefits of marriage. Liberal promoters have promoted abortion as a way of enabling women to have sex freely without having to worry about having children. In their zeal to get rid of unwanted children, they have taken no thought about the women and girls who have faced unwanted pregnancies as a result of their promotion of free sex or the physical and emotional suffering they have endured due to their abortions. They have also not taken any thought to the millions of babies that have been aborted. The liberal churches have been caught up in the liberal philosophies and many support abortion. However many Bible-centered churches continue to fight to protect women and girls from exploitation by those who profit from abortion (see the section on “Where Are The Children” in “The Servant’s Heart”-Lulu Press).

 

 

Sixth Sunday of Kingdomtide-Oct 6

02 Oct

Encourage involvement-Many church positions are filled by a few central members. They often ignore the vast majority of members who are often little more than spectators. Many members don’t really feel a part of the church’s mission and don’t support it wholeheartedly. As a result, they are easily distracted by activities that may take them away from church. Involving more members in a church in the church’s ministry will increase the morale of the members and decrease the number of members who drift away from the church. By being actively involved in the church’s ministry, they feel a part of the church’s work and are more willing to support it financially and with their attendance and less likely to drift away from the church. It will also supply the workers needed to carry on the church’s ministry. Few churches make a real effort to enlist members in the churches program. They usually wait until an opening occurs and then try to twist the arm of one of their central members to take it on in addition to the other work they do and few approach members at large. Those recruited often have no interest and no experience in what they do. If the church does try to recruit help, it is normally between Easter and Pentecost when they recruit volunteers to help with summer activities but should be a year-long program to enlist members in active ministry. Many churches have a nomination committee selected at random but have little knowledge in recruiting personnel. They usually meet a few weeks before the annual meeting to nominate candidates to be elected to church positions but it should be a permanent committee of people with knowledge and experience in personnel recruitment that meets regularly with various members to inform them about opportunities for service in the church and community and helping them discover their talents. They should also help them find places in the church and community to serve. This allows the church to find people with an interest in what they do and allows time to train them before the workers take over the position.