To interest our members in missions, we have repackaged our annual missions banquet. Instead of having an all-church dinner in the basement, followed by a predictable program of singing, speakers, and slides in the sanctuary, we’ve taken our cues from the popular late-night talk shows.
As the congregation enters fellowship hall, they see the usual dinner table arrangement. But up front is an elevated platform furnished like a talk show set–a desk, guest couch, some plants, and a movie screen. A camera operator runs a video recorder on a tripod, and two television sets on either side of the platform serve as monitors.
Following the meal, the audience remains seated at tables for the missions program. A church member begins the program by welcoming everyone, telling a few missionary jokes, and introducing the pastor.
The pastor comes out, sits behind the desk, and enthusiastically announces the evening program. He then welcomes the first missionary. As they sit on the couch, the pastor conducts a fast-paced interview focusing on the missionary’s background, current assignment, and a recent anecdote about God’s grace in his or her life or in a national’s life. The missionary is then invited to share a few slides, with commentary, that are projected onto the screen behind the pastor’s desk. (An alternative to this is showing a video clip from the field that is viewed on the two monitors.)
Following the interview, the pastor may introduce a person or ensemble from the congregation to perform a musical number. Then it’s the youth group’s turn–they do a “commercial” publicizing a fund raiser to benefit a youth missions trip. The pastor may then go out into the audience and with a microphone invite people to ask the mission guest questions.
The television monitors and VCR equipment do more than give the missionaries a way to show their video. They provide a video tape of the entire missions program that can be duplicated and sent to missionaries on the field or kept in the church library for subsequent viewing. If the video will be sent to missionaries, the congregation can give brief personal greetings to those who will receive the video.
Our missions committee has discovered a new excitement for planning missions conferences, and our congregation is responding well to our creative packaging of the traditional missionary visit.
– Greg Asimakoupoulos
Naperville, Ill.
GOOD FRIDAY OUTREACH CAMP
Many school districts still declare Good Friday a holiday. Yet most employers expect parents to show up for work on that day. Our congregation found this dilemma to be an opportunity for reaching the community. We organized a Good Friday day camp. While piety may prevent some congregations from holding such an event, others will find it a marvelous tool for outreach and Christian education.
In order to appeal to unchurched families, we called it a Mini Day Camp. The camp ran from 9:00 a.m. till 2:00 p.m. The day began with an art project for all the children. They painted clay pots donated by a nearby nursery. The whole camp then came together for a worship experience that through music, drama, and story told of Jesus’ death on the cross.
After the worship time, the children chose an activity that interested them. The electives included craft projects, outdoor sports, and music. We took a break for lunch: pizza cooked by several volunteers. Then the afternoon got underway with a cartoon video of the Good Friday/Easter story. For some children it was the first time they had ever heard and seen the Gospel story.
Small groups of children discussed and painted their responses to the video or took part in a Bible study. Just before 2:00 p.m. the whole camp gathered for closing worship. Many parents attended this segment and heard their children sing a rousing version of “The Angels Rolled the Stone Away.” Everyone was given an invitation to come to a special Easter worship designed for families with young children.
The first year, more than 65 children registered, and 40 were non church members. More than 100 people returned on Easter Sunday.
For additional information on this event, contact: Lisa Stoen Hazelwood, Day Camp Coordinator, St. Andrew Lutheran Church, P.O. Box 1259, Charlestown, RI 02813.
– Jim Hazelwood
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What’s Worked for You? What program or activity has worked well in your church? For example, how did you:
* Turn visitors into eventual members?Â
* Enlist volunteers?
* Reach out to your community?
* Get members to invite unchurched friends?
Leadership pays $25 and up for each published account of fresh and effective ministry. Send your description of a helpful ministry, method, or approach to:
Ideas That Work
Leadership
465 Gundersen Drive
Carol Stream, IL 60188
Copyright (c) 1995 Christianity Today, Inc./LEADERSHIP Journal
Copyright © 1995 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.
