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New Ministry Possibilities
A Message From Church Council President, Bill Reich
NJ Synod Grant Opportunity And New Ministry Ideas
Earlier this year members of Council participated in a Financial Education program offered by the Synod. As a result, Lord of Life is eligible to participate in a Grant Program also offered by the New Jersey Synod. The Grant provides $2,000 to a church initiating a new ministry. There is also a further opportunity to garner an additional $5,000 in matching funds if the congregation is so inclined. Your council has spent some time gathering ideas for new ministry opportunities. Those ideas are as follows:
Stephen Ministry: This ministry provides Christ centered care to individuals in the congregation and community experiencing a crisis such as a terminal illness, grief, job loss, etc. Interested members of the congregation would be trained to provide this care and support.
LOL Scholarship Ministry: Establish a scholarship program for members of Lord of Life. Create a structure of requirements for eligibility and application (i.e., participation in LOL activities, acolyte, usher, choir, special music, etc.). Consider tying this into ongoing communications and support from the congregation to our students.
The Daniel Plan: The Daniel Plan provides a God centered approach to achieving a healthy lifestyle by optimizing five key essentials – Faith, Food, Fitness, Focus and Friends. The ministry would provide a means, via small groups to strengthen our congregation and, the greater community.
Caregiver/Parent Night Out Ministry: The ministry would provide respite to Caregivers and Parents of Special Needs children. Providing structured care (learning, playing, and eating!), for a couple of hours once or twice a month to children in grades 1 through 12 with special needs, would minister to the child and the parent/caregiver. The ministry would be provided to members and the greater community. Holy Communion Lutheran Church in Berlin, NJ offers a similar program with great success.
Art Show Ministry: Establish a permanent set up for Art installations in the hall leading into and on the walls around Fellowship Hall. Host a “First Friday Art Show” with a feature local artist each month. They would be encouraged to invite their circle of friends and family into our building for the show. This could be paired with artist talks, open mic nights, book signings, coffee shop and/or art instruction events. Art would be generally 2-dimensional art including paintings/drawings, quilts, photography, needlework, etc.
As with any ministry, there needs to be a team of people to oversee the work and sustain the ministry. We have these ideas, but we do not, today, have a team of people to guide any of them so that they may get off the ground.
Please consider whether you would like to be a part of any of these new ministry opportunities. If you have an interest in any of the above ideas, please send an email to council@lordlife.us to let us know.
Also, if you have an idea for a new ministry for Lord of Life that could make use of grant funds to get started, email your Church Council with the idea. Please share your thoughts on these topics with the Council by Saturday, September 30, 2023.
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