MIM EZINE, SEPTEMBER 3, 2005

CONTENTS

– Letter from the Editor

– Children's Ministry Checkup – Summer Program Evaluations

– Purpose-filled Ministry – Out on the Edge, Part I, Taking Risks in Ministry

– Book Review – Emerging Church Intro

– Classified Ads

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To read this ezine in its entirety click here

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Dear MM Subscribers:

For some time now Karen Wingate has been writing her Children’s Ministry Check Up column for Ministry in Motion and we have greatly appreciated her expertise.  We are sad to be loosing Karen as a columnist but excited as to why she is leaving.  In the future Karen will be focusing more of her time on book writing!  Karen has really been busy. She has upcoming book contracts with Rainbow Publishers, the Salvation Army and as well as VBS lessons for Standard Publishing. 

Thank you, Karen, for your valuable contributions.  We wish you the best in your writing career and know God will use you in a big way!

What's New at Ministry in Motion?  First, I wanted to announce that MIM is finally a paying market. It's low pay, but at least it's a start. We are looking for church ministry related articles.  We'll pay $10.00 per article.  We also offer $5.00 payment for church ministry tips and suggestions.  In addition, we are still in need of ministry columnists.  We cannot currently pay our columnists but will give exposure to you, your ministry and/or your book (if you have one) in exchange for your contributions.  This includes a free listing on our speaker's directory page. Columns must focus on some aspect of church ministry.   We ask that you please view our writer's guidelines before submitting.

What else is new at MIM?  You can now earn income off of our ministry products. Now you can earn income for your business, or ministry by becoming a Ministry in Motion reseller.  As a reseller you can earn 65% from our ministry products. Great earning potential. Read all about it on our Christian Affiliate Programs page.

Finally, I wanted to encourage our subscribers to help get the word out on Ministry in Motion and the MIM ezine.  The more people who know about us, the more people we can help equip for ministry.  You are always welcome to create a link to the Ministry in Motion website at http://www.ministryinmotion.net and be sure to send along MIM subscription info. to people you know (without spamming, of course.)  Your friends can subscribe to MIM at the following page. Subscribe to MIM

Thank you for helping us bring MIM to the next level.

Best Wishes This Month in Ministry,

Teena Stewart, Editor

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Children's Ministry Checkup – Summer Program Evaluations

By Karen Wingate

School has already begun in many sections of the country.  As a children's
ministry worker, your plans for fall ministry and special programs are well
under way. Summer programs are over and you don't have to think about that
until January at the earliest.  Right?

I hate to be the bearer of disheartening news, but now is the time to think
about next year's summer programs.  It's important to evaluate your summer
programs now while what happened is still fresh in your mind.  Here are
questions to ask yourself as you finalize your summer programming:

1. What new kids did we reach? Have we put a follow up plan into
action?  Have we sent post cards, thanking them for coming and inviting
them to fall programs?  What other ways can we contact these new kids and
bring them into our regular programs?

2.  What first time volunteers participated in our summer programs?  Which
of these volunteers showed potential for further leadership
development?  What gifts and leadership skills did they show?  In what ways
can you use them again in future programs? Who worked well together?  Who
should be moved into another area of service or with a different partner?

3.  What did you and your workers do well in your summer activities?  What
were the strengths of the program?  What would you like to repeat next
year?  What went well but shouldn’t be repeated?

4.  What were your program’s weaknesses?  Why do you consider them weaknesses?  What could you have done to prevent those things?  What will you need to do differently next year?

5.  What growth did you see in your kids this summer?  How were lives
changed?  What growth did you see in your workers and helpers?  How did
helpers grow in their working relationships with each other?  How did you
grow as a leader?

6.  What are some ways you can recapture the excitement of your summer
programming?  Consider a VBS, fine arts, Bible club, or church camp reunion,
using the theme of that week.  Consider a fall picnic for the children's
ministry staff so you can spend time together.

As we wrapped up our VBS program, many of us were discouraged in the way
the VBS program turned out.  Most obvious was the low turnout of
children.  Several shook their heads.  "We just don't have the children in
our community like we used to."  Yet, upon further evaluation, we realized
the low numbers were from other weaknesses:  poor publicity, high staff
turnover during the week and an overall lack of organization from the key
leadership. The week chosen for VBS was also a busy week for many in our
community since it was the week of a local festival and the State Fair
which siphoned children from our program.  Our evaluation process showed us
that program growth was possible if we were willing to make some changes
next year.

If you can't get a group together for evaluation, write your own evaluation
in a notebook now.  Then, when it comes time to plan next year's events,
you can refer back to your notes and remind yourself of how you want to
structure your summer events next year. If you aren't going to lead a
summer activity again, you can turn over your evaluation notebook to the
next leader.

Karen Wingate is a teacher of teachers. She is known for her off the edge activity based teaching that is still solidly based on the Word of God. Karen, who has written curriculum for the Salvation Army’s new Sonday’s Cool programs, teaches a high School Sunday School class and oversees the Youth Ministry Team at her local church near Canton, Ohio. Contact Karen at kwingate@neo.rr.com

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Purpose-filled Ministry

Out on the Edge, Part I -- Taking Risks in Ministry

By Teena M. Stewart

As a ministry leader I like to remind those I rub shoulders with that feeling comfortable in ministry isn’t our number one goal.  If we are to continue to have impact on the world around us then we often must push ourselves to the next level of spiritual maturity and ministry.

It’s human nature to want to surround ourselves with those with whom we feel comfortable and to ease back once we find that comfort niche, especially when something is working well.  It doesn’t take long for such an attitude to infiltrate the church body which then becomes more of a social club or, as some call it, a “holy huddle.”  Ministry loses the power of relevancy and impact when we become complacent.  

Cutting edge ministry requires a certain amount of risk taking, of getting out of our comfort zones and of trying something different.  The danger of such risks is that the more radical and less proven the idea, the higher the chance of failure.  Despite these risks, it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try.  And I am not suggesting that we simply jump in without planning.  Planning increases the chances of success.  But overly cautious leaders can get hung up in planning mode.  Time and energy that could have been spent putting ministry in motion ends up going toward dreaming, scheming, and revising.

I recently finished reading the Emerging Church Intro by Michael Moynagh. The book looks at new and emerging forms of church.  The book made aware that it’s not only OK to try new things when attempting to reach people for Christ, it is imperative to if we are going to continue to have relevant ministry.  I think of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse on the outer banks of NC. When the lighthouse was first put into operation it saved many lives, but the shifting sands from hurricanes, and erosion eventually moved the beach outward until the lighthouse was nearly a mile inland.  As you might imagine, a lighthouse that far inland isn’t all that useful.

Many churches operate like the Cape Hatteras lighthouse.  They think they are having an impact but they operate from old and stale methods because leaders and volunteers are comfortable and familiar with them. They are often unaware of just how ineffective they’ve become.

The world culture around us is always changing. What worked 10 years ago may not work today.  What worked last week may not work this week. We must change and try new methods if we are going to continue to have impact.  This requires both innovativeness and fearlessness. Sometimes innovativeness looks pretty strange; sometimes gimmicky. You may know without a doubt that those involved hit the target while at other times you wonder what target they were aiming for.

Recently I spoke with a woman from a large church that is growing rapidly.  She told me about an outreach project their church was trying in order to connect with families in their community.  The church secured 1,000 backpacks and filled them with school supplies which they were planning to give away.  They printed up flyers announcing the giveaway and then went to specific neighborhoods where they believed there would be interested people.  Volunteers knocked on doors, explained the giveaway, and that in order to get a backpack one of the parents or guardians had to show up and attend one of their three church services on a specific weekend, after which they could redeem the backpack.

When I learned about the project I had several thoughts flit through my head. The first one was, “Wow, what a bold idea.”  The second was, “Hmm. I’m not sure I agree with making them attend a service.”  And then finally, “Well, good for you. You are at least trying to do something and I hope you succeed.” 

I later learned that the project was indeed a success.  The turnout was great.  The church gave away over 800 backpacks. Whether or not their labor bore fruit such as families getting connected with church and people committing their lives to remains to be seen.  Time will tell.  But the important thing was that these people decided to take a risk.

How I wish more of us would be fearless in ministry. Imagine the impact we’d have on those in our churches and in the community.  Yes, we might we fail and with failure comes public criticism. “I told you it wouldn’t work.”  But there’s always the possibility that we will be successful.  We could turn those very words around and say, “I told you it would work.”.   With so many people unchurched and fewer and fewer people knowledgeable about Christ and his teachings, how can we not afford to take risks?

In next month’s column I’ll continue this discussion on Out on the Edge.  Part II will look at When You Dream, Dream Big.

In addition to being editor of Ministry in Motion, Teena Stewart is a published author and speaker. For more information on speaking visit speaker directory. 

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Book Review –  Emerging Church Intro

By Michael Moynagh, Monarch, 2004, ISBN # 0-8254-6068-9, 253

Reviewed by Teena M. Stewart

Most existing churches operate from a “You Come to Us” attitude.  They expect people to adapt and merge into their existing church culture and their church’s specified terms.    The “emerging church” does not start with a preconceived notion of church, but instead tries to convey church in the culture of the group involved.  It takes the “we’ll come to you approach.”  This is the crucial difference between churches that have tried new approaches keeping the “you come to us” mentality and this fresh way of doing church.

Because one of the keys is connecting with specific cultures, it looks very different in different cultures.  The emerging church is more about heartbeat than formula. No one  trying these new methods claims to have figured it out and come up with a model that can be duplicated.  And those who are in the midst of such ministry may not even be sure they gotten it right.  There is no set age group or culture and no specific model.  It can be found in suburban and urban settings.  It is not simply evangelicals who are attempting it.  At the center of the emerging church is a strong sense of missions.

Moyanagh devotes a chapter to crucial elements of underlying support of the emerging church. These include: 

• Interdependence, as churches learn to work together and support each other
• Experimentation, the willingness to try something new and learn from the results
• Transformation, they are in the business of changing lives
• Sacrifice, reflecting Christ willingness to sacrifice their desires so that others may benefit and be reached
• Reproduction, acknowledging the importance of reproductive growth for the kingdom
• Diversity, encouraging different expressions of church so that mission shapes what form it takes
• Unity, coming together for mutual involvement despite differences and diversity

Western culture, in particular, holds a consumer mentality.  At the heart of consumer behavior is the desire for relationships.  We watch sports together. We eat and drink with friends because of this desire.  The emerging church looks for ways to connect in these areas. In the future we should expect to see a growth in rooted churches that have local interests – even more so than the traditional church.

The author predicts a growing trend for people to stay put rather than relocate due to jobs so there may be a stronger emphasis on communities, but these communities may be more ethinically based.  We may also see an increase in brand churches, churches that purposely devote themselves and promote themselves to reach a specific community.  

Emerging Church Intro gives plenty of real life scenarios of churches trying out new ways to have relevant ministry.  These types of ministries are usually easier to start because they are not as large scale or as complicated as traditional churches.  Many appear to be closer to small groups than churches.  They may not meet as regularly as traditional churches and may meet on days other than days traditional accepted for church services.

Moynagh also discusses some of the challenges the emerging church will face such as taking people to a deeper level of spirituality, getting them to be a part of a larger body, getting support from other ministries and more.  Though the book primarily gives examples of what is happening in and around the United Kingdom, the illustrations are still quite valuable. This book will make you rethink your definition of church and will give you ample ammo for considering new ways to reach the world around you.

Pastors, church leaders, youth and children’s ministers will all benefit from reading this book. Moynagh has provided us with some thought provoking insight regarding where the church is headed. This is a crucial book to read if you wish to have relevant ministry to your surrounding culture.

 Order Emerging Church Intro

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Searching for a New Ministry Position?

One of the needs we have perceived at Ministry in Motion is a service to help connect qualified ministers and church workers to ministry related and church staff positions.  If you are presently in job search mode, or if you have a ministry position you are looking to fill, be sure to visit this page. ministry openings

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