Ministry In Motion
If your church is like most, the bulk of the volunteer service is often done by women. Rather than speculate as to why this is so, let’s focus on figuring out how to get more men involved.
At a recent gifts-discovery seminar, students were asked to write down all of the different activities they were involved in that pulled on their time. This included family, work, church, sports, children’s activities and more. The exercise was intended to help them see what adjustments they could make regarding time commitment in order to find a good balance between pleasure, work and volunteer ministry. A young father, who had never served in church ministry before, approached the seminar leader. He looked concerned.
"I have two young children at home and I’m gone a lot because of my job. I want to serve but I’m concerned about it pulling me away from my family. What should I do?"
The seminar leader went on to explain that balance was the key word and that every person has a different set of obligations and responsibilities. Balance for one person would be overload for another. The leader encouraged the young father to think of ways he could serve that wouldn’t take as much responsibility and time and would still allow him to be there for his family.
Here are some "easy" low commitment ways men can get involved:
Combine recreation with ministry.
Coach, assist, or help coordinate a sports ministry.
Consider maintenance ministries. Add their names to a roster of handymen listing their unique abilities (carpentry, plumbing, etc.) They can even agree to be on-call with a stipulation that serving will be as time permits.
Work at home. Power Point design, web site design, graphic art, desktop publishing, tape duplication and editing, are just a few things that can be done at home.
Capitalize on technical skills. Computer systems specialists and budding sound techs are a great choice for this. Churches are often in need of these services at no charge.
Minister in the workplace. Lead Bible studies or devotionals in the workplace, before or after work or during the lunch hour.
Tap into hobbies. Wood crafting, photography, videography are just a few useful hobbies that churches may benefit from.
Ham it up. Those with a natural flair for being upfront can volunteer for skits and dramas and have fun doing it!
MINISTRY IN MOTION. Identifying spiritual gifts for ministry. Utilizing volunteers for maximum ministry impact. Recruiting, equipping, empowerment. http://www.ministryinmotion.net
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