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The Ten Talents, Awesome Volunteers, and the Evangelism and New Member Committee Enrich God’s Kingdom
When I initially received the money I was truly excited; however, within moments I whispered to Judy Jones, “What have we done?” But God is in charge, so as soon as I walked out of the early service on October 14, Barbara Williamson asked me if she could partner with me on the Kingdom Assignment. Barbara had seen an unmet need at Philadelphia a few weeks earlier, so she already had an idea of ways to use the gift to further God’s kingdom here at our church. As a result, both of us began praying and asking God to guide us in the Kingdom Assignment.
Within the week Mardy Watson emailed me and offered her help along with her husband Tom’s help. I took her up on this offer, too. After much prayer, a team of “talented” folks came together and we met in early November to develop a plan to enrich God’s kingdom at Philadelphia. The Ten Talents Team members include Joyce and Mike Bain, Clark and Linda Davenport, Tom and Evelyn Moore, Tom and Mardy Watson, Barbara Williamson and Janet Daniel. Our Team has developed a vision to enrich God’s Kingdom through the efforts of volunteers, some financial resources, and equipment and supplies. We envision Philadelphia Presbyterian Church as a house of worship where visitors and current members will see the face of God as they enter the campus. They will be greeted warmly with sincere Christian love, offered personal assistance, taken or directed to specific locations on campus, as needed, and have access to maps, umbrellas and signage to facilitate movement around our church campus.
After the initial Team meeting, several of us attended the Officers’ Planning Retreat where the Session and Diaconate discussed, unknowingly, many of the same issues that the Talents Team had discussed earlier. We believe the discussion at the Retreat affirmed where God was leading us in our Kingdom Assignment.
We have been diligent in our quest, so we participated in the Evangelism New Member Committee (ENM) meeting in November and in December to understand the committee’s priorities. We heard about their programs to establish Welcome Centers and the Greeter and Helpers program. In addition to attending the ENM meeting, the Talents Team has sought advice and recommendations from two safety officials: Sergeant John Rowell of the Mint Hill Police performed a safety walk through of Philadelphia Church on December 13. The team met later to talk with John Hawn, Captain of the Police Department at UNC Charlotte, to discuss his previous experiences with establishing a walkie-talkie telecommunication system on the campus grounds/parking lots to serve worshippers prior to church services. Further, our team has met with a representative of Building and Grounds about the committee’s priorities for the upcoming year, too.
All of the Team members are praying daily. Several members of the Talents Team are currently assisting the ENM Committee members (under the leadership of Mike Barkley, Doug Duncan and Ron Pelt) to staff the parking lots, the steps that lead into the entrance areas of the sanctuary and chapel buildings, and the nursery area to welcome visitors and members and escort or give them directions to desired places on campus. At the main entrances to the chapel, educational building, the sanctuary and the nursery, volunteer helpers/greeters have walkie-talkies to assist worshippers; Barry Long has donated additional devices for the Greeter/Helper Program. Upon request from the team, the ENM Committee purchased six dry erase directional signs ($675) to be used on campus (inside and outside) for services and programs; Clark Davenport selected and ENM purchased six neon vests ($120) for helpers to wear in their roles as greeters. Further, Marlene Jones volunteered to order two dozen umbrellas ($250) to be screen printed by CM Enterprises; the PPC Logo is one designed by Angie Edwards. With Judy Clinton’s assistance, the ENM Committee has purchased six umbrella stands ($775) for campus. (We are praying for more rain, too!) The team is working now with Judy and Jason Clinton to develop a new, detailed map of the PPC campus to be printed in Spring of 2008. We plan to use the small map for visitors’ packets and also to enlarge the map and display multiple copies in frames in several strategic locations on our campus.
As a committed group, we stay in touch on an almost daily basis and we believe the most important result of our “talent” is growing God’s kingdom at Philadelphia Presbyterian Church. Clearly, this is occurring in many ways. We are in awe of God’s grace and provision of each need through donations and volunteers! Growth has been in us, too, as individuals as we mature in our desire to understand God's will for us. We believe we are making our church, community, and world a better place. We believe current and prospective members will know “we are Christians by our love.” We expect this program to expand and we anticipate securing additional volunteers and funds, as needed, to carry out this on-going mission for God’s church at Philadelphia.
We believe there are many unspoken needs in our own church family. Because our congregation knows our mission, we will grow in their hearts and minds as we are shown their needs and respond to each one. We ask our brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for us and to join us as we all continue to grow God’s Kingdom wherever and whenever needed.
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