Lay Ministry Mobilization
New Life Ministries is happy to share a variety of ideas that congregations have found helpful in their ministry of evangelism and outreach. We welcome your suggestion of an idea you've tried that has been especially helpful to your ministry. Send a brief description of your idea to our WebServant. More details are available for some ideas through the highlighted links.
Send us your ideas for
helping new people find their place of ministry in your congregation and
community! And check below regularly for the addition of
detailed information on previously listed ideas.
Gifts-Discovery Community Builders *
At regular committee meetings in the church, use a quick get-acquainted
exercise based on gifts. Ask each person to share a gift they have been
aware of since childhood, or to share something others say they
appreciate. Invite each person to share a new personal interest or a
lifelong passion.
Adapted from Created
and Called: Discovering Our Gifts for Abundant Living by Jean Morris
Trumbauer (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1998)
Gift Tree *
Place a potted tree at the front of the sanctuary. Invite each member
of the worshiping community—young and old—to write a gift they see in
themselves on large paper leaves placed in the pews. During the offering
ask members to process forward and hand their "gift leaf" on the
tree. Place the tree in the gathering place during coffee hour for several
weeks (or take the leaves and hang them on tiny trees set on tables) so that all
in the congregation may read about these gifts. Through bulletins and
newsletters report back on specifics of the abundance of gifts in the
community. Plant the gift tree in the church courtyard as a symbol of
planting your gifts deep within the community.
Developed at Nativity of Mary Catholic Parish in Bloomington,
Minnesota. Adapted from Created
and Called: Discovering Our Gifts for Abundant Living by Jean Morris
Trumbauer (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1998, p. 203f)
Living Sacrifice
This spiritual gifts discovery lay ministry mobilization process has been
used in churches from a variety of denominations to enhance the ministry of
individuals and congregations.
Ministry Fair
*
Hold a ministry fair in conjunction with your annual stewardship emphasis to
inform your members of the wide variety of ministries available.
Ministry Sign-up Forms *
Toss out old forms that only list titles of various volunteer positions in
your congregation. Replace them with attractively printed brochures that
provide one to three lines of information about each position. Include the
length of commitment, time needed, and responsibility incurred. Employ two
check-off boxes—one marked "R" for renew and the other "N"
for new to this ministry. Ensure that everyone who returns his or her form
receives an acknowledgement letter and position
description within ten days, along with a personal contact shortly
thereafter.
Position
Descriptions *
In order for members of the church to make a good stewardship decision about
which lay ministry position they should take, they need information! Make sure
well-written one-page positions descriptions are available for each lay ministry
position in the church. Include a list of responsibilities, gifts
required, a schedule, the length of commitment, and so forth.
Stewardship Partnerships *
If your congregation has both a stewardship committee and a shared ministry
or gifts committee, coordinate your work. Plan stewardship education for
your congregation together. Think especially about the witness you carry
through printed and visual communication. Keep each other well informed so
you can support each other's work in different aspects of stewardship.
Share your position descriptions with each
other so you can work as partners.
Story Sharing *
Through brief talks at worship or in short vignettes in your church bulletin
or newsletter, invite a wide variety of lay ministers to share how they use
their gifts in the congregation and larger community. Ask them to describe
how this fits into their stewardship of their entire selves. Include
people of all ages and walks of life. Include children and the
retired. Alternatively, develop an interview team to collect short
statements from members and print them with the person's picture in your church
publications. Everyone loves stories!
Visual Gifts Awareness *
String ten or fifteen feet of newsprint on a large wall. Add a large
drawings of the interior of the church and of the surround grounds and
community. Invite members to write their name and gift on the part of the
drawing where they would use that gift. For example, musicians might enter
their name and gift in the choir loft; cooks might write theirs in the kitchen;
parish visitors might write their name and their gift on the walkway to a
neighborhood home.
Used by St. Albert the Great Parish, Minneapolis,
Minnesota. Adapted from Sharing
the Ministry: A Practical Guide for Transforming Volunteers into Ministers
by Jean Morris Trumbauer (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1995, p. 73)
Also see the following resources:
 |
"Beyond 'Time, Talent, and Treasure': Discovering Our Gifts and Callings" |
|
Preaching, Planning, and Plumbing: The Implications of Bivocational Ministry for the Church and for You - includes a section on spiritual gift discovery |
* Idea adapted from "Beyond 'Time, Talent, and Treasure': Sharing Practical Ideas" by Jean Morris Trumbauer in GIVING, Growing Faithful Stewards in Your Congregation, 2000 issue, a publication of the Ecumenical Stewardship Center, Indianapolis, Indiana. © 2000 Ecumenical Stewardship Center. Used by permission. Individuals or congregations may subscribe to this annual magazine or purchase single issues by contacting ESC at ESC@indy.net or by calling 1-800-835-5671.
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