Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Developing Missions

I sometimes wonder how folk blog so much! I'm running from one thing to another with work-- wrapping up some projects, starting others, trying to be ready for some big events later, and keep up with some of the day-to-day opportunities. But I don't think I'll clean my desk or office today.

Currently I'm thinking about a new approach to church compassion and benevolence as the economy and job loss continue to pound people. I've got to move from this being my ministry, and only in response to those who are asking, to something better defined. What's the best model you've seen?

I'm also working on getting a "time and talent" element back into our stewardship approach. Most churches do their "campaign" in late fall. Have you noticed how many of us only focus on funds for the year, on the the pledges of a congregation, and have dropped the other part of the church membership vows? We're looking at using a quarterly approach to highlight that tithe of time and talent given to church ministry. What's the best church model you've seen?

Another project I'm working on today is our annual mission event. We hold this every February and it's a mix of mission celebration, challenge to the congregation for participation and funding for the coming year, and "hands on" service in mission. This time we're adding a strong training component for disaster response, emergency shelter operation, and all the various certifications/badges you'd need to be part of a response team. We're VERY excited about this event scheduled for Saturday, February 4, as we work with Red Cross, VOAD, and the North Georgia UMC to be better prepared for action when disaster strikes.

Just another quite day in Augusta!

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