Church

Author Rachael Groll discusses her book, Go: Beginning a Kids Outreach Ministry

One way the church can achieve a more personal connection with members and visitors is by starting a greeting card ministry. A simple card pulled from the mailbox can put a smile on someone’s face.

When I was growing up, Mom and her closest friend, Frieda, got together often for quilting parties. Sometimes they shared patterns or ideas or new methods of quilting. Sometimes they cut squares from donated fabrics for future projects. And, twice a year, they gathered with other church ladies for a quilting bee in the church basement. These were always a big deal, encompassing hours of needlework, quarts of coffee, and lunch served from the fellowship hall kitchen counter. There were often cookies, too, for small preschoolers like me.

It’s December; my favorite month of the year! I know, however, that this month can be stressful. There’s shopping and baking and planning and budgeting and traveling and cleaning. And then, in the middle of it all, there’s Christmas program practice at church. It’s enough to give a parent second thoughts about having their child participate. Is it worth the hassle? Is it worth the time? Is it worth the effort?

Yes, I believe it is.

Behind every song is a songwriter. But how much, if anything, do we know about these talented artists who craft words into songs? What inspires them to pen lyrics that touch emotions? A few years ago, while visiting Wanamingo, a small southeastern Minnesota community within a half hour drive of my home, I came across a public posting about a songwriter in a public park. It was an unexpected find, but one which left me with a deeper appreciation of the hymn “It Is Well with My Soul.”

We’ve all heard the Christmas story dozens of times. I expect many of you can even recite sections of Luke 2 telling of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem.

Yet, while we Christians are intimately familiar with details of the holy birth from shepherds to angels to the “no room for them in the inn,” many are not. For them, it’s just a story and they’d rather focus on holiday gifts and secular celebrations.

For those of us in ministry, we recognize this also as a season of ministry growth. Newly-christened planners, schedules, and a desire for routine predictably produce a new crop of kids into children’s and youth ministries. New leaders, both paid and volunteer, join ministries.

Do you love your job? Or do you just go to work every day and put in your time with zero or minimal enthusiasm?

How about your volunteer time at church? Do you take on tasks out of a sense of obligation? Or are you joyfully serving the Lord?

The camp soon offered me the position of program director. I accepted with no idea of what I was getting myself into.

The night before staff training, my grandmother died in Colorado. I waved goodbye to my parents as they left without me for the funeral and I drove the hour to camp with tears streaming down my cheeks.

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26, NKJV)

Those words remain upon my heart, imprinted there decades ago as a child attending Sunday morning worship services in a rural Minnesota church. That blessing spoken by the pastor still gives me peace and prompts treasured memories of what followed—Sunday school.