Your Number One Tool In Your Ministry

One of the most effective things to do in Christian ministry is one-on-one time with another person.  

You don't have to be a pastor's wife or be in full-time Christian service to do this.  It is simply taking time to get to know someone else.  

My Sundays are very full.  From the time I walk in the door at 8:30am, I am doing preparations for the day.  Making coffee, setting up chairs for Sunday School, singing practices for that service and so on.  I then either work in the nursery or teach a children's class for the Sunday School hour.  Then off to play the piano for the services and every other week, I teach our Junior Church class.  This doesn't leave much time for me to talk to the ladies that attend - especially if they only attend Sunday morning services.

I then teach a ladies Bible study once a month - and this is a special time where the ladies can fellowship and get to know one another.

But often, like going on a date with your husband, you just need one-on-one time with people.  Time to concentrate on just them and listening and learning.  A simple way is to meet at a coffee shop for a cup of coffee.  Or meet for a lunch somewhere.  It doesn't have to be fancy or elaborate.  I have even brought Subway and met a friend on her lunch break.  We sat in my van and talked for 1/2 hour.  

Today, I treated a lady to lunch and she said..."This was the first time that anyone has ever treated me to lunch...just to get to know me."  She is in her 60's.

Time.  A most valuable asset that we all have.  And what a wonderful gift of ministry that you can give to a fellow Christian friend.

How To Host a Christmas Cookie Exchange

For three years now, I have hosted a Christmas Cookie Exchange for the ladies of our church.  I thought I would share what I do and maybe it will help someone else hosting their own party.

Our Christmas cookie exchange is part of our ladies Bible study night that we hold the first Tuesday of the month.  This year's was held on Tuesday, December 4th at 7-8:30pm.  I held it in my home to create more of a homey atmosphere to the evening.  (Our regular Bible studies are held at the church.)

All ladies who attend our church are invited to attend.  They are welcome to bring any lady friends as well.  Ask every lady to bring 2 dozen cookies to the exchange.  (You may need to adjust the amount depending on how many ladies you have attending.)

Preparation is the key to any event.  You will want to be prepared that when the first guest arrives, you are ready to host.  Do not wait to make the coffee or set out games or light the candles until your guests arrive.  Make a checklist for the evening of everything that needs to be done.

You will want a table covered with a festive tablecloth to place all the cookies and goodies that are brought.  My table was a bit small and I will set up a larger table for next year.

I made mini banana bread loaves for my contribution.  I made them the week before, wrapped individually and placed in freezer gallon bags.  I then froze them until the day of the party.  Since I was hosting this and had lots of responsibilities on that day...I pre-made my goodies.  This helped me tremendously!  I already needed to do cleaning for the party - I did not want to do baking cleaning as well. :)

For a cookie exchange, you will want to set up a drink station.  

This is what I offered:

Coffee - In the large coffee maker.

Hot water - In the small coffee maker.  This is for hot tea (I had peppermint) and hot cocoa (with a can of whipped topping :).  

Egg nog - I had the small red cups for the egg nog.  

For the hot drinks, I used real mugs.

On the side, you will want sugar, artificial sweetener (Sweet-N-Low or Splenda) and drink stirrers.

You will also need small plates for the ladies to put their food on for the evening and napkins as well.

For the end of the evening, you will need large plates and saran wrap for take home cookie platters.

Simple Christmas games are fun to play.  Here is a Christmas word search and a word game to write down a word for every letter of the alphabet.  I gave five minutes for each game.  The winners won a Christmas mug and hot cocoa.

We also played Christmas Bingo - 3 rounds.  The winners won a winter candle.

Prizes for the games.  Two of the mugs were for a door prize.  Every choose a Christmas picture out of a mug when they arrived.  We chose two winners for the night.

Bingo was the first game we played.  We had the Bingo sheets at each seat along with a cup of pennies to use as markers.  

Use a simple CD player to play Christmas music as everyone arrives.

I set up extra seating with simple folding chairs to accommodate everyone.  There is nothing worse than being invited somewhere and the host does not have enough seating.  You do not want your adult guests to have to sit on the floor. :(  

Little extras...have candles burning everywhere.  It adds to the beauty of your home.  Use lamps and not overhead lighting.  It takes away from the coziness.  Make sure the room is warm - but doesn't get too warm throughout the night.  Fresh flowers are a nice touch.  (One of my ladies brought me a bouquet. :)  

So now that you have the preparations made, here is a schedule:

Ladies arrive.  The evening begins at 7pm.

They receive their Christmas picture for the door prize drawing as they walk in.  

I used my daughter as a greeter at the door and she would welcome them in and let them pick their picture.

Everyone should place their cookies and goodies onto the table and find a seat.  As they come in, unwrap their containers and platters on the table.

When everyone has arrived, say grace and invite the ladies to have a plate of goodies to eat and what drinks you have to offer.  

After everyone has served themselves and chatted for 5-10 minutes, have your speaker to speak for the evening.  This was the time that I gave my personal testimony and background so our new ladies would get to know me better. :)

We then played our games and handed out our door prizes.

After the games, I allowed any lady that liked to - to share a life lesson that they learned in the past year.  I asked them to keep it to 3-5 sentences.

End the evening in prayer.  Have a few ladies to help assemble take home plates for all the ladies who came.  We simply divide up the remainder of the cookies and goodies evenly between the number of ladies that we have.  Everyone takes home a platter of all kinds of yummy goodness from the evening. :)

Ten Ideas to Minister to the Homebound

10 Ideas to Minister to the Homebound

Call or Text
Checking in every once in awhile allows others know you are thinking of them. A phone call is more personal, but a quick text message can be equally appreciated by most people. Even a Facebook message or email can be encouraging.

Clean the House
Most people will not ask others to clean their house, even when they desperately need the help. Be generous and offer to do a few chores. Most household tasks are fairly easy and doing them won’t take a lot of time. It is a simple way to help ease a burden.

Donate Money
In certain circumstances, many people have great financial need. Anonymously sending money is often a tremendous blessing, not only to the one who receives it, but to the giver as well. Donations don’t have to be large sums of money either. In most cases, every little bit helps.

Give a Hug
Sometimes people just need an arm around the shoulder to reassure them that they are not alone. A simple touch on the arm or a pat on the back can be comforting as well.

Make a Meal
Bringing dinner can help ease meal-time stress for families during hard times. If you have the space, you can make freezer meals ahead of time. When one is needed you can either warm the meal up before bringing it over or take it “as is” to allow the family to store and eat it at a time that is convenient for them.

Run Errands
Offering to pick up items from the grocery store, pharmacy or supermarket can be a huge blessing. Many people will not ask others to do this, so making the offer is important. If you mention that you are on your way to the store (or are already there) you will almost always get positive response, even if it’s only for one item.

Say a Prayer
Knowing that somebody cares enough to pray is often very reassuring to people. If you tell somebody you will pray for them be sure to do it!  Also, offering to pray with them is a nice gesture. It doesn’t have to be long or fancy. A simple prayer for peace and their well-being can be comforting.

Send Flowers
A vase of bright daisies can cheer up almost everyone, in my opinion. Or a potted plant can have a nice, calming effect and will last even longer than cut flowers. If flora is not an option due to allergies or other issues, silk flower can be just as pretty.

Visit
Taking the time to visit can be very meaningful for many people. Be sure to call ahead and make sure visitors are wanted. Also, plan for a short visit unless the desire for a longer one has been indicated. Show up with a smile and a positive, encouraging attitude.

Write a Letter
There is nothing quite like getting a handwritten letter, especially during difficult times. Or even an encouraging “thinking of you” card. Stock up on some nice stationary and/or blank note cards in order to have something handy for unexpected needs. Be sure to have a few gender neutral cards that you can send to men and fun stationary that children would enjoy.

I hope this list has given you a few ideas for showing hospitality to others. May you be filled with joy as you minister to the homebound people in your life.

Challenge:

Think of one person you know that is homebound and find a way to bless them some time in the next week. If you would like, share about it in a comment below. We would love to read about it!