If you’re a church leader, you face many questions in leading your church. Perhaps you’re wondering,
- How can we increase our church attendance?
- How can we have a greater impact on our community and world?
- How can we help our community deepen their faith and relationship with God?
With these questions and more, they’re all concerned with a similar theme: ministry engagement.
WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES CHURCH MINISTRY ENGAGEMENT MAKE?
Chances are, you already know about ministry engagement in your church. That’s why you host events for kids in the summertime and classes for adults in the evenings. It’s an important part of a thriving, growing church.
But what difference does church ministry engagement make? Here are a few reasons.
Opportunity to increase church attendance: The Institute of Family Studies notes that only 28% of Americans attend a church service once or twice a month. By increasing opportunities for church attendees to get involved in their community, it may bring in others who are excited about serving others.
Greater impact in community: When more people are engaged in serving and meeting the needs of their local community, there is a greater potential for others to encounter the Kingdom of God.
Happier and more civically engaged: The Pew Research Center found that those who are active in their religious congregations are both happier and are more engaged in their community than those who are either not affiliated with a religious congregation or are affiliated but not engaged.
For these reasons and more, ministry engagement is a vital part of a thriving church.
So how does church ministry engagement happen? For a church, there are several easy ways to engage your church in meaningful ministry. And it takes intentionality to get these important programs started.
In our eBook, “7 Ways to Engage Your Church In Ministry”, we share seven practical and effective ways your church can take your next step in engaging your congregation in ministry. Download the free eBook yourself and discover the opportunities you can start pursuing today.
Here, we’ll share about one of those exciting seven ways your church can engage in ministry.
ENGAGE YOUR CHURCH THROUGH SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP
Whether your church has one site or multiple campuses, there’s probably an elementary school near where you worship. Maybe that’s where your own kids or grandkids, or the neighbor girl down the street, attend.
Teaming up with your local elementary school can be an easy and effective connection to make in supporting your community’s kids. With programs like a sack supper program or a proven and effective Kids Hope USA mentoring program, your church can have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of students where you live, work and worship.
In a Kids Hope USA program, your church partners with your local elementary school and sends volunteer mentors to meet with selected students one-on-one. Mentors and their students meet one day a week for one hour at the school.
This type of partnership engages mentors in meaningful relationship-building with a student who could benefit from another caring and consistent adult in their life.
Here’s what one pastor of a church with a Kids Hope USA program said about the experience: “Kids Hope USA helped our church keep the vision of connecting with our community in front of the church. It’s been a constant in our church. This reminds us that we also have that ministry to those outside our church.”
OPEN UP OPPORTUNITIES
In addition to a one-on-one mentoring, this church-school partnership could also open other opportunities to meet the needs of students. Your church may be able to explore free meal programs, volunteering to serve concessions at sporting events, providing Christmas gifts, and serving with back-to-school supply drives.
With a strong relationship with your local school, the opportunities to serve are abundant. And by engaging in meaningful ministry, you can increase church attendance, generate ways to serve, and create opportunities for your congregation to deepen their faith.
Establishing an effective Kids Hope USA mentoring program and serving students at your local elementary school is just one of the many ways your church can take their next step in engaging in ministry. Check out our full, free eBook to uncover six more ways that your church can experience the transformation of ministry engagement.
DISCOVER MORE WAYS TO ENGAGE IN MINISTRY
Establishing an effective Kids Hope USA mentoring program is just one of the many ways your church can engage in ministry. Check out our full, free eBook to uncover six more ways that your church can experience the transformation of ministry engagement.