It takes a village…

For anyone in any sort of ministry or non-profit context where equipping and engaging people is part of the hope and expectation, here’s a mini-snapshot of a recent Your Unique Design class behind the scenes:

We had 40 Equipping Prayer Team members who prayed for the class, for each registrant by name, for table staffing on Sunday morning to help with registrations, for connection and learning to happen, and who will continue to pray for the participants to grow in their knowledge and experience of the Lord and His gifting over time.

4 people and 2 alternates to staff the registration tables both before and after worship services on two Sundays.

3 people to make and bring food for class (egg dish, coffee cake, fruit platter). One person to order and/or make drinks and fill in other foods not provided by the three donors.

Multiple staff to create, post, highlight class announcements and include in weekly emails…and multiple staff to announce and highlight it in worship over several weeks.

Multiple staff to order books, coordinate all of the above people, set up the tables, send personal invitations, create the registration links and QR codes, etc.

Multiple congregation members to extend personal invitations to people they knew--and who got people there!

11 participants. (Space was limited to 13; 12 registered; 1 called in sick the day of.)

1 teacher/facilitator.

The Saturday morning class was a delightful, holy gathering. As one participant said via email the next day: Thank you so very much for hosting and guiding us through the Your Unique Design class yesterday. I truly enjoyed it. It was lovely to meet you and everyone else. I left with new knowledge and a fresh perspective - what a gift! I'd love to hear a little more about the 6-week course.

And, the feedback from the “village” who helped? Here are two examples:

You're welcome. It was a blessing to be able to support your work with the spiritual gifting class. What great news that you had such a robust turnout.

So glad the class was about full & went well!! You had our jobs well organized so it was pretty easy! Thank you for all you do to facilitate learning about the spiritual gifts God gives us!

It is worth it to involve others in supporting and championing ministry efforts. Knowing that I had prayer warriors and other inviters and table staffers and food-makers while I prepared the welcome and the content was huge. This IS the Body of Christ at work.

Reflect:

If you are leading a ministry, how often do you default to doing all of the above yourself—the paperwork, planning, registrations, ordering, food, set-up, teaching, follow-up, etc.? Where could you include others next time? Don’t think of it as “delegation” but as inviting people to serve using their own spiritual gifts as an act of equipping and discipleship?

Shirley Giles Davis, author of God's Affirmations For You: A Book of Encouragement—A 12-Week Devotional Practice, the God. Gifts. You. Your Unique Calling and Design workbook, Your Unique Design Class Guide, Your Unique Design Facilitator Guide, DIOS. DONES. TÚ.: Tu llamado y diseño único (Spanish Edition), and Gifts-Calling-Purpose blog, is a consultant, coach, facilitator who has worked with hundreds of faith-based organizations, nonprofit agencies, and executive leaders in a diversity of fields for four decades. She currently serves as Catalyst for Equipping at her church.

Photo © Shirley Giles Davis. 

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