Ministry Ideas Needed
Blog reader, Carrie, is a young stay-at-home mom with a small child. She emailed and asked if I would post the following for some input and ideas:
It would be great to share ideas on how one can minister in/from their own home after the housework is done! I only have a car a couple of times a week and feel that most ministries at church require transportation. If anyone has practical ideas on how to minister to my family and to others from home that would be great!I'd love to hear your ideas, thoughts, and experiences on this. I hope to share more of mine later.
posted by Crystal Paine at 9:25 AM
15 Comments:
One of the first things that comes to mind is praying. You could pray for those in your church that have asked for prayer and for those who the Lord lays on your heart. You could also write small notes of encouragement to those in the church body. Also calling and checking on people from church just to see how they are doing, it means a LOT to know that someone cares. Is there anyone from church in your same stage of life? Maybe you could inivte her over. Young motherhood can be a very lonely time for many different reasons, none of them bad, but sometimes if we step out of our comfort zone first, we find someone with the same needs as ourselves. (that is quite the run on sentance) :) Hope that helps.
I have never been very good at doing this, but sending cards or notes to people is a real encouragement. I have been through several very difficult situations in the last couple years, and I treasure the cards and phone calls I've received from people. A very sweet lady from church also sends cards to my DH & I on a regular basis thanking us for our ministry (DH is a preacher). People in ministry often hear more criticism then compliments, so these notes are treasured by us also.
You could prepare meals for families with illness or a move or anything else and have someone else deliver them if you don't have access to a vehicle at the right time.
Shawna and Mary summed up what I wanted to say VERY well....I know that I cherish the notes people have given me and when someone says they'll pray for me and I know that they truly DO pray for me, that means more than just about anything in the world to me.
Another idea is to write to missionaries and show interest in their ministries and REALLY pray for them and maybe send them a 'goodie box' occasionally.
I don't have children but I would imagine it would be a ministry, for Mothers, if you could watch their children for them when they have to go to doctor's appointments and such.
I like all the ideas so far. I would also add maybe visting a nursing home or doing meals-on-wheels.
This is the Meals On Wheels website. If you had one a day week to donate to them I'm sure they could use it! http://www.mowaa.org/
My husband and I recently joined a new church. I was feeling lost and lonely, not knowing anyone. One of the gals in our Sunday school class invited me over, and it worked out so we could have dinner together while both of our husbands were away for the evening. It was a sweet time of fellowship, and a turning point for me. Since then, I have been slowly getting to know the ladies of the church.
This lady who invited me is a little younger than me, with a baby. Her husband is taking college classes, and I suspect that she spends many lonely days herself. But she opened herself up to me, and made me feel welcome.
I don't have babysitting available, and I don't want to be busy with church projects while my husband is at home. This means my participation in church ministry is limited until my children grow old enough to help with me. For now, I make and take meals for the sick and bereaved members of our church as part of a rotating ministry.
I've done "Once a Month" cooking in our church for moms-to-be. You have the mom or dad buy all the ingredients and then you come over for a day and do all the cooking so they'll have stuff for at least a month after the baby is born. It is a lot of work and if you have more than one child, it might be a problem, but I know that it is really helpful for the new parents too.
There are lots of really great ideas on here! I would really encourage you to also look in your immediate neighborhood too. (If you don't live miles from people that is):-) You will probably find (at least in my own experience) that you could have more than enough ministry opportunity than you ever dreamed of.
I think my biggest suggestion would be to really study and apply God's Word to you and your own family first. It is wise to get your "own house in order" before you start trying to help out other people on a regular basis. :-)
There are alot of ways!
-Sending cards or emails to let someone know you are thinking of them or just giving them a phone calls during the week and say "How have you been? i have been thinking of you!" I have had people do this and it just means a ton!
-Inviting someone over for lunch (It does not have to be fancy) I read a thing once where they would once a week get together for PB&J sandwiches and just visit! I went over to a friend house and we had hot dogs, chips, and apples &cheese
-Keep your eyes open for things like people moving, traveling etc. Offer to help with cleaning, babysitting while they are moving, feeding them while they are packing.
-If someone has a baby, taking their children for a night is always helpful or just the day. A meal is always great too! If you don't have a car, maybe their husband can pick it up or something- I know we would have
-Writing letters to people in prison (If you need a address of someone, I know a younger lady who is in prison)
I think that we have to be careful not to let ministry to others take over our family life, but I think it is a blessing as a family to minister to others and a greater blessing than doing things alone. I know that there are people who may have wonderful families.
First of all, I believe (at least for me) that my primary ministries are to my husband, children and home. After all these are taken care off, then I allow myself to think about other ministries. I'm in a similar situation, as that I'm tied to my home without transportation on a daily basis. So, one of my minstries outside of my home is to pray for those on the prayer list. I also do some ministry on the interenet through my website and blog. I also love to crochet and knit and work on lap afghans through out the year to take to the nursing homes. I generally have 15-20 lap afghans that I can make up during the year to donate as Christmas gifts to the ederly in our church and local nursing homes. I call the church and nursing home and ask for people who do not have family around to visit. I also try to take my children once a month or so to visit the nursing homes in our area. Again, talk to the nursing home administration and they will be more than happy to match you up with some folks that are lonely. I also scrapbook and have volunteered to teach classes on scrapbooking to them. They really seem to enjoy doing it. While some of these are not things I can do from home, they are things I can do around my schedule when I have the car and the time. I also have several elderly people that I send cards and letters to on a weekly basis...again these are ladies that have no family and are lonely.
What great ideas you ladies have created! I'm going to make a list and consider where I should go myself! It IS hard when you have babies at home to be very active in outside ministry.
I've found two other like-minded moms in our town that I can trade child=watching with; we met at library story time. It's been fun for me to get to know these ladies and it was a huge help when my baby was sick to have someone trustworthy to watch my toddler.
Excellent ideas, encouragement, and inspiration from you all! Thank you! Keep the suggestions coming!
1. Open your home for weekly evangelistic Bible story clubs for little ones in the neighborhood; partner with a friend, provide milk and cookies, and spread the news that your living room is the place to be for school children once a week. (I think this is called a "Good News Club") Even better, do the same thing for a local Young Life high school ministry group that needs a place to meet, and work with the teams yourself to minister to the young people while theyre in your home. OR, team up with your church's campus ministry or a local chapter of Campus Crusade/ Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship, etc. and offer to meet weekly with young women as a mentor/spiritual guide.
2. Get behind lobbyist organizations and put your talents to work by editing speeches and proposed legislation, calling legislators, drafting and spreading petitions, etc. There is a TON to be done. Eagle Forum does lots of good things. And if Vision Forum doesnt have this kind of thing going for women at home, then they need to start ASAP... there are Right to Life movements that need your help! As does the persecuted Church!
3. Raise money for missionaries by hosting fundraising gatherings in your home! Connect with your church's missionaries to support them from your home by writing their newsletters, lobbying for them and their needs at the UN... there is so much that can be done...
This is an EXCELLENT post! .. thank you :)
(and not to be pushy, but I try to list lots of Christian ministries at my blog)
wow, these are some awesome ideas! *taking notes* :)
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