Six Steps to Start a Church Senior Citizen Ministry

Starting a senior citizen ministry in a church can be a great way to minister to and connect with older members of the church community. These ministries can offer fellowship, spiritual support, and practical help to seniors, and can also provide an opportunity for intergenerational connection and service. Here are some steps to consider as you begin to plan and launch a senior citizen ministry in your church:

Identify the needs and interests of your senior members. Before you start a senior citizen ministry, it's important to understand the needs and interests of the older members of your church. You might want to conduct a survey or hold focus groups to get a better sense of what seniors in your church would like to see in a ministry for their age group.
Gather a team of leaders. As with any ministry, it's important to have a team of leaders who can coordinate and oversee the activities of the senior citizen ministry. This might include the pastor, other clergy, and lay leaders within the church. Consider inviting people who have a heart for ministry to seniors and who have experience working with this age group.
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Seven Steps to Begin a Prayer Ministry

Starting a prayer ministry at a church can be a powerful and meaningful way to engage members of the church community in the practice of prayer and to create a space for people to come together and lift one another up in prayer. Here are some steps to consider as you begin to plan and launch a prayer ministry at your church:

Identify the purpose and goals of the prayer ministry. Before you begin, it's important to understand why you want to start a prayer ministry and what you hope to achieve through it. Some possible goals might include providing a space for people to share their prayer requests, encouraging church members to pray for one another, and creating a sense of community through shared prayer.
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6 Ideas for a Successful Pastor Appreciation Day

Six Ideas for a Successful Pastor Appreciation Day

This article will not focus on the question of “why have a Pastor Appreciation Day.” We believe a special day to honor those who are serving in leadership is a powerful boost to both leaders and laity and offer the following ideas.

The Bible tells us 1 Timothy 5:17 – Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.

Just the other day, I read a post from a Pastor in a private group that shared his heartache after a board member approached him following a service. The news out of the deacon's mouth went something like this: “I'm sorry Pastor, we were supposed to recognize you today, but no one remembered to pick up a card or get a check written.”

Most Pastors would say “that's okay” and muster up a faint smile, then move on in silent heartbreak.

I realize the vast amount of people who will read this article are in fact, Pastors and I'm “preaching to the choir” so to speak. Many are not Pastors who can start the process to make sure Pastor's Appreciation Day is observed every year.

Below are a few steps to assist with the process. There are many more, but hopefully, this will speak to someone's heart to step out and be a blessing to your Pastor(s) and family.

Drive-in Church Service is a Great Alternative during a Pandemic!

Words that none of us who are in ministry ever thought about when we started the year of 2020 with tremendous hope and optimism and, of course, vision!

After all, “vision” and “2020” go together almost like “peanut butter and jelly” or “ham and eggs”! (Sorry, but I'm stuck on food analogies). I even shared a 4-part message series on vision in January, yet if I knew then what I know now… Well, enough of that.

On March 15th, we had our final service in the Sanctuary, and even though we are not in a State which required churches to close, we decided to take the precautionary step and do so. We felt we wanted to have a community that we could minister to following the pandemic who didn't feel like we were “above the rules”.

I'm a reasonably technical person, and we had already been broadcasting online for a few years, so the transition to online-only would have worked out fairly well.

The 5 Reasons Pastors Do Not Lead Their Churches

THE 5 REASONS PASTORS DO NOT LEAD THEIR CHURCHES

(Guest Article – Credits at bottom)

I know this sounds like an upside down topic but bear with me as I share with you 5 Reasons Pastors Do Not Lead their Churches. Many senior pastors all over the country have the title of Senior Pastor/Leader but many do not have the authority to truly lead the churches they serve. The consequences of this lack of leadership at the local church level are too devastating to ignore.

Many churches are run by outstanding pastor/leaders. Too many, however, forfeit leadership either because of the pastor’s own propensity to not lead or the church’s propensity to usurp leadership from them. Whichever the case, the church suffers.

Here are the five (5) reasons senior pastors don’t lead their churches.