(Susan Hunt) - I have received great feedback from the Mission Day experience during Annual Conference. Many delegates, both clergy and lay, have told me that their chosen project was very meaningful and enjoyable. That is music to my ears! We had a great team of people doing their best to make it a good day, so your positive reports mean that all the hard work paid off. As best we can count, there ended up being approximately 600 delegates participating in the 20 different projects.
The purpose of the day was not just to participate in an outreach project for one afternoon. While it was wonderful that the delegates spent that time in service, the bigger goal was for all churches to be inspired to take what they learned back home with them. That might mean a church initiating their first mission project or adding a new element to a current ministry, or anything in between.
Many churches in our conference already have outreach and mission as part of their DNA and therefore the day was nothing new. However, other congregations have no organized mission and outreach program, or have only a few projects they do. For those churches Mission Day was a good opportunity to gain new ideas and insights on how they can be salt and light in their own communities.
One church was inspired from the day’s experience to organize their own day of service in their community this coming fall. They will be holding a potato drop of their own, and are investigating other new ways to reach out to their community.
Was your church inspired? What new things did you learn that you will now incorporate in your own community? What new partnerships of ministry will your church form? Please share in the comments section about what difference the “mission day” experience has or will make in your own church and community.
{Photo by Luke Lucas}