Stanley & Monica Groothof

Thanks Marcel! I really appreciated these reflections. About "quiet time," I refrain from turning on my computer until I've spent some time in Scripture reading and prayer as well as sometimes silence or journalling. I usually can't get too far in my work without the computer, so the quiet time happens consistently near the start of my day!

Something that I recommend to youth leaders and other pastors is praying through your up-to-date church directory. We have a small church, so I only have 2 or 3 pages to go through per day and I'm done in 5 days; in larger contexts, leaders may have to work through their directories over a couple weeks. Regardless, the point is that you are praying for the people you are serving. Seeing someone's name may remind you of a joy or need about which you can pray and maybe act upon. Also, repeatedly putting them in God's hands can perhaps help reduce some messiah complexes!

The youth leaders of Telkwa CRC consistently pray for the church's youth. I am convinced that is connected with the effectiveness of their ministry.

Peace,
Stanley

Yes, thank you for sharing this. I hope many people read it. Stanley

A couple years ago we went from approximately every other month (6-7 times a year) to once every 6 weeks or so (8-9 times a year). I was hoping that would be a step towards monthly celebration, but that step hasn't happened yet.

I found 2 resources here on the CRC website:
:: crcna.org/sites/default/files/model_church_facilities_2015.docx 
:: network.crcna.org/church-admin-finance/facilities-use-policies

Thank you, Eric, for sharing that link. It articulates the concerns I have with Jesus Calling. I see challies.com does not allow for comments. For sake of fairness, I'd be interested to hear any substantive rebuttals to Tim Challies's 10 problems. Anyone?

These aren't devotionals but our kids (and we as parents, too) have appreciated these over the years:
   :: Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones and Jago (highly recommended)
   :: Read with Me Bible illustrated by Dennis Jones (uses NIrV text)
   :: See with Me Bible: The Bible Told in Pictures illustrated by Dennis Jones
​​​​​

Here's the Worship Team mandate from Trinity CRC in Rock Valley IA.

 

Objectives

 

      To achieve the stated purpose, the following objectives have been adopted:

1. The Team will administer the worship at Trinity.
2. The Team will promote the use of relevant worship at Trinity.
3. The Team will provide opportunities for members of Trinity to learn more about worship.

 

Membership

 

      The membership of the Team will consist of seven (7) members of Trinity. A Church Council member will also be appointed to serve as a member of the team and as a liaison with the Council. The Pastor(s) will serve in an advisory role on the Team.
      Gifts that will be valuable for this team are creative communication, administration, leadership, helps, and discernment.

 

Terms of Service

 

      The terms of service will initially be for three (3) years and will be staggered. The Council may ask a team member to serve for more than one (1) term.

 

Areas of Responsibility

 

      The areas of responsibility include:

1. Maximizing meaningful participation and use of member’s gifts in worship.
2. Develop leadership in worship.
3. Supervise and coordinate the worship planning team.
4. Receive yearly report from a Children in Worship representative which includes a synopsis of the past year, positive, negatives and requests for assistance.

Thank you, everyone so far. Good reminder, Ken! ~Stan

For what it's worth, I just finished serving a church where there were 4 deacons and 2 elders. This was based on the giftedness of the individuals who allowed their name to stand for council, though this also fit well with the needs of the church. (Ideally, at least one more elder would have made the workload more manageable.) Stan

Diane, I have a Word document with a bunch of contemporary songs we sing here at Telkwa CRC. I've "tagged" each song with its topic(s) and/or Scripture reference(s). It's likely not entirely what you're looking for, but if it sounds helpful, I can email it to you. Stanley Groothof

In addition to CCLI, you can also search songs by topic at www.hymnary.org.