26 Jul 3rd Quarter Planning Meeting-Outreach
Our church’s planning meeting was held on Saturday, July 24, with several people in attendance. Outreach was the topic of discussion at this quarterly meeting.
UPDATES
Jerry Swilley began with an update on projects and tasks. Some have been completed, others postponed due to COVID concerns, and others are still in progress. Highlights from this section of the meeting include the following.
- After a long delay due to COVID concerns, our Wednesday evening fellowship dinners will resume on August 4.
- Our attended nursery, started during the previous quarter, has been a success, thanks to all of the adult and youth volunteers who stepped forward to make it happen.
- Tim Spivy has had discussions with ministers from other nearby congregations for a “Summer Series” exchange, but there’s not much interest among ministers for doing it this year due to ongoing COVID recovery efforts in congregations. This idea will be pushed forward into 2022.
- The Safety and Security Committee has held training sessions including a well-attended CPR-AED class a few weeks ago conducted at our building by the High Springs Fire Department.
- Our small group ministry is highly successful… so much that they have grown into large groups. Pete Farley oversees this ministry, and has stated that the current groups will be spread into additional groups to bring them back to being “small”. Group leaders and hosts are needed; see Pete if interested.
OUTREACH
Several members came prepared to offer ideas and suggestions on the topic of outreach.
- Cards & Conversation continued even during COVID. Several people have been making cards at home, sending them to Beatrice for addressing and mailing. The plan is to resume having the Cards & Conversation meetings at the building in the fall.
- Jim Meredith discussed new media (web/livestream/video/social media) expanding video into outreach beyond livestreaming, and harnessing social media to send a message of good works. More volunteers are needed for expanding this ministry.
- The church will be repeating our appreciation of teachers at our local community school, providing copy paper and other selected supplies. Teachers typically have to buy these supplies out of their own pocket when the limited supply provided by the school runs out. To make it happen in time, it will require a fast turnaround, with school starting in mid-August.
- We intend to restart the Fall Festival this October (if the COVID situation allows) and the Spring Festival next spring. Planning for the Fall Festival must begin now, and a coordinator is needed for this event.
- Erin Meredith presented a plan for implementing a single parent support group sponsored by the church. This is a definite need in our community, an opportunity to reach out to a group that would appreciate our support. The Fall Festival (if it happens) would be the best opportunity for publicizing this event, as several single parents and their children typically attend. The support group itself would start in January, 2022.
OTHER SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Nora Sandlin brought forth a suggestion to run important announcements on the large screens in the auditorium, both before and after worship. This provides a great opportunity to “get the word out” about upcoming events, current needs of the church, etc. It was mentioned that Beatrice Hines had also made this suggestion, and that there has also been discussion about mounting a monitor in the foyer; doing so would allow these announcements to be displayed there as well. After the meeting, Jim Meredith was asked to coordinate with Nora and Beatrice to get this underway.