WORSHIP +2 = WORSHIP + SERVICE FOR OTHERS + NURTURE FOR YOU

WORSHIP as often as possible PLUS:

1) select at least one way to be in SERVICE and
2) select at least one way to NURTURE yourself at St. Paul’s.

MINISTRY DESCRIPTIONS

PROGRAM TEAMS

ADULT EDUCATION: This team provides opportunities to study and grow in our faith. The members choose topics, recruit facilitators and oversee all the classes, whether on Sunday mornings or during the week. Adult Education also frequently plans community forums as an outreach ministry.

BOD (Beyond Our Doors) SQUAD: This is the mission team of the church. Members coordinate most of the outreach ministries that happen through St. Pauls. The team works with a number of programs providing support and services to those in need in our community as well as nationally and globally. Global Mission Trip, Argentine Food Kitchen, Metropolitan Food Pantry, Cross-Lines, Interfaith Hospitality Network and Meals on Wheels are among the organizations St. Paul’s support with the help of the BOD Squad. An important recent addition to BOD Squad’s ministry has been the initiation of an annual adult mission trip.

Children’s Ministries: Children’s Ministries is responsible for all programming for children at St. Paul’s. The team plans and carries out special events throughout the year, as well as Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, Children’s Church, and Worship Readiness. Members also help coordinate the Kids Clubs. Safe and Sacred Spaces Training, for anyone working with children & youth, is coordinated by Children’s Ministries.

Children’s Education Team: This is a sub-team of Children’s Ministries. The team chooses curriculum, recruits teachers and oversees children’s educational opportunities.

Communications: This team works with our Communications Director to help us better communicate within our church and in our community. This may involve working on our web site, newsletter, advertisement, or new signage and will involve graphic arts, advertising, art, photography skills.

ConneXions Team: This team extends hospitality to all entering the church on Sunday mornings, with special emphasis on welcoming visitors. This is done by coordinating/training greeters and hosts. Members of the team also staff the ConneXions Center all Sunday morning to answer questions, direct people, and help connect people with ministries of the church, as well as oversee the coffee bar.

Family Life: Family life provides all types of fellowship within our congregation. Members coordinate ski, hiking trips, campouts, game nights, tailgating at the T -Bones, church sports teams, yoga, bunko, bridge groups, dinner groups, movie groups, book clubs, marriage enrichment retreats and always seems to be adding new opportunities in response to our members’ requests.

Peace with Justice & Environment: (or PJ&E) This committee helps raise awareness of social, justice, and environmental issues and helps educate and encourage our congregation to faithfully address these issues with the committee’s guidance.

Worship: The worship team looks at ways to strengthen and improve our present worship and develop new worship experiences. The team coordinates sanctuary decorations, music selections, ushers, liturgists, communion servers and acolytes for the traditional worship services. Members also plan special worship experiences such as our camp meeting, U2 service, and the “Nothing but Net” service that raised $5K for mosquito netting to help protect against malaria.

9:30 Worship: This team helps create worship experiences, and plans with those involved in our celebration worship service.

Youth Council: This group of youth and adults support and assist the Youth Director in
planning activities and programming for our youth group.

SeRENDIPITY Task Force: (new in ’10) is a brain-storming group of creative individuals that helps the church think outS I d e the box Being serendipitious, the group only meets occasionally and not on a fixed schedule. The team may be called together to brainstorm ideas to make an upcoming event more creative or create new ideas/events.

ADMINISTRATIVE TEAMS

Administrative Board is the policy making body of the church and only answers to the All Church Conference that is held yearly. The Board approves statements of vision and mission, proposed budgets, and ministry plans prior to Church Conference. This group meets every other month on Sunday evenings.

Council on Ministries is the programming committee of the church and is primarily made up of the chairpersons of all the programming committees. This team looks at the overall programming needs of the church and meets monthly on Sunday evenings.

Finance Committee is responsible for raising, managing and distributing the necessary funds for the church. The team reviews monthly reports to monitor income and expense trends that may require action and insure that financial matters are being handled as required by The Book of Discipline. The committee also defines the procedures for handling money/offerings; analyzes the budget submitted by staff and coordinates a bottom line prior to our stewardship campaigns. The committee makes budget recommendations to the Ad Board at Church Conference.

Lay Leadership known in the past as the “nominating committee”, recruits chairs and members for all the ministry areas each year. The committee’s goal is to involve as many of our congregation as possible in our “Worship + 2”. The Lay Leadership Team also designs ways to promote and support leadership development with the church.

Preschool Board governs St. Paul’s Preschool and Children’s Day Out. The team provides support and supervision to the director in the overall management and administration of the program and ensures that the programs are consistent with the principles, values and goals of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church.

Staff Parish Relations relates to and supports the St. Paul’s staff. In new appointment situations, the SPR works with the District Superintendent and Bishop on placement of new clergy. SPR also interviews and hires other staff as necessary. It works on issues of employee reviews, wages and job descriptions as well as ways to support our staff members.

Trustees manage church property (which includes our rental houses), equipment, and investments, as well as visioning and planning for the future needs of the church. They are responsible for our church insurance policies as well for use of the church building and grounds. The Trustees are the “Board of Managers” for our organization and are the legal agents for St. Paul’s UMC.

Technology Committee is responsible for servicing and evaluating the tech needs of the church such as the church server and staff computers.

Planned Giving Task Force (new in ’10) This Trustee task force helps us learn alternative ways of giving to God through the church. Such methods include: remembering the church in our wills, creating a charitable trust, naming the church as a beneficiary of an insurance policy and creating an endowment.

Memorial Committee (new in ’10) works under the Trustees to receive and distribute gifts that are given to the church in honor or memory of loved ones. The committee will insure that the donors are thanked, consulted (when possible) and informed about the use of their gifts. The committee will consider the needs of the church and discern the best stewardship of the gifts entrusted to us. This committee will probably only meet three or four times a year.