#ShareTheLove: 5 Ways to Foster Community in Your Church
We’re in the month of love, and while we harbor St. Valentine no ill will, we like to think of love in terms of more than just the romantic variety.
We think, first and foremost, of the love that the church is called to share with the world.
As part of our mission to bring encouragement and support to pastors everywhere, we’ve got ideas of how to #ShareTheLove with your congregations and communities this month.
Share the Wealth
Pardon the cliche, but what better way is there to encourage your church to get behind a cause-specific, special offering?
We know that you need every dime in your offering plate, but we also all know the power of a designated offering for a cause close to your community’s heart. Consider holding a time of giving around a specific group, person, family, or cause. Bringing your church family together through financial giving is a great way to spotlight a movement focused on sharing the love.
Share the Appreciation
While you shift your church’s focus to #ShareTheLove, we recommend shining the spotlight on the wheels that keep your church moving: your volunteers.
Your church would not function without the many people who consistently show up to donate their time and their gifts to the church. We know it, you know it, and deep down? The volunteers know it, too.
Shower them with appreciation through personalized and thoughtful thank you cards, simple gifts, or highlighting them from the stage or website. Maybe all of the above! Volunteers share the love with you every time they say “yes.” Return the favor and watch that love thrive!
Share the Stage
Another relationship that needs to thrive in your church is that amongst pastoral staff. Remember when you were just starting out? In order to get experience you had to be given it.
If you’ve got a younger or newer pastor on staff, offering them the chance to take on preaching a Sunday or two would definitely show them they are appreciated and – you guessed it – loved.
Share the Praise
We’re willing to bet you share the stage with another crew every Sunday. If “praise” didn’t give it away, we’re talking about your worship team.
Worship teams are full of people who are twice gifted. They are ministers but also artists. As such, and as you can relate to, they pour out more than a talent on that platform. They are opening up their hearts in a vulnerable example of how we can lift up and connect with our Lord.
Consider having a #ShareTheLove party or dinner to celebrate how much you love your worship team players this month. They pour out a lot every week; we’re confident they’d feel the love if you filled them back up.
Share the Care
Another group of givers in your church that you could reach out to in an effort to share some love would be your children’s ministry team. These people care for, build up, and invest in the most precious members of your church.
While your kids ministry team and volunteers would definitely feel the love from the aforementioned dinners, thank yous, and gifts, we dig the idea of blowing up social media with acknowledgement and appreciation for this pivotal team! (Pst! We’ve even got a hashtag idea for it, as you may have noticed.)
Go Forth & #ShareTheLove
We hope you all are as excited as we are to spend some time joining us in our #ShareTheLove movement this month!
Whether you follow one of our suggestions or demonstrate through an idea of your own, rally around sharing the love by shouting it out online with #ShareTheLove and encouraging your congregation to do the same. It’s amazing what a hashtag can do to bring people together and unite efforts.
We’ve thrown some suggestions your way, but again, consider them jumping off points. Consider them the beginning of what we hope will be a big, beautiful movement that shines some light into our communities.