Gather to Worship – Serve – Reflect
Provide a Sunday worship service that is an opportunity for all ages to participate in worship and in a service project. Community members who do not regularly attend may be interested – be open and be prepared to engage them!
WORSHIP SERVICE PLAN
Gather (20-30min)
Serve (40-90min)
Re-Gather to Reflect (20-30min)
Special Service Sunday Plan
Call to Worship - Option A
Leader: Come to hear the Word.
People: Come to do the Word.
L: Come to experience Comfort
P: Come to experience Challenge.
L: Come to find Cost.
P: Come to find Joy.
L: Come to find Community.
P: Come to find Church.
L: Come to find God.
P: Come to find in Christ we never have to be lost.
L: Come to love the Lord
P: We come to love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our strength and with all our mind. L: Come to love your neighbor.
P: We come to love our neighbor as ourselves. Amen.
Call to Worship - Option B
Psalm 136:1-3
Leader: O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good,
People: for His mercy endures forever.
L: O give thanks unto the God of gods,
P: for his mercy endures forever.
L: O give thanks to the Lord of lords,
P: for his mercy endures forever. Amen.
Call to Worship - Option C
Leader: When the world divides us,
People: Come, Holy Spirit, make us one.
L: When the world calls us orphaned,
P: Come, Holy Spirit, make us a family.
L: When the world leads us astray,
P: Come, Holy Spirit, call us home.
L: Come, Holy Spirit, come.
P: Come and fill this place. Amen.
Call to Worship - Option D
Leader: God’s glory is pouring forth from the heavens.
People: We God’s people on earth receive the good news with great joy.
L: Jesus our Savior shows us to serve like He does.
P: By serving and caring for others, we truly serve Jesus the Christ.
L: Come, let us prepare ourselves for joyful service.
P: Lord, make us ready for service in your great name. Amen.
Gathering (20-30 minutes)
Call to Worship
Musical Selection
Scripture Text & Message
Prayer & Instructions
Start worship as usual. Share the Scripture text, the verbal message and pray. The action message should start in the worship space no more than 30 minutes after the service has begun.
Being consistent with the group’s regular way of worship as we start helps to communicate that this is worship. Furthermore, the comfort of familiarity will help make it easier for everyone to participate in worship in a different way than usual. Drawing explicit connections between the action message and the regular Sunday activity promotes and reinforces the overall message. Using the worship space as the space where service begins (or takes place) communicates that service is worship.
Excellent preparation of this section makes for a smooth transition. Going too long or rushing through it are not advised. Typically, this section will take 20-30 minutes.
Message
Make sure the Scripture text relates to service, in general, or the project. Be sure the verbal message tells the story of the action message. What are we doing? Why is it important? Who will benefit? When possible, have someone engaged in this ministry already (as a “provider” or “recipient”) share the message/give a testimony. Two texts and points are provided for your preparation and reflection.
Matthew 25:34-40
* What does obedience look like? Jesus talks about what God expects from us, he uses an analogy of sheep and goats. His listeners would be used to sheep and goats grazing together, but separating at night for sleep. Goats are considered indocile, a bit wild, and often viewed in a negative light (“scapegoat”). Yet Jesus is looking for more than docility in his sheep. Being well-behaved and being compassionate are not the same thing. Not doing the wrong thing is not the same as doing the right thing. Being a rule-follower does not make us a Jesus-follower.
* What does compassion mean? Jesus says that those who see another’s need and meet it, are caring for Christ as they care for others. The compassionate response is not entirely proscribed; it is a response that is both alert and deeply attentive. It meets basic needs, but possibly in creative ways. In this parable, we see that those who respond compassionately are not keeping track. Those who are responding compassionately to others in need see neighbor; they are not just pursuing virtue or achievement in good works. We do well to see how Christ aligns Himself with those in need, rather than to fail to see neighbor as we seek to serve Jesus.
Luke 1:26-56
* What makes Mary a radical servant? Her consent to a plan that seemed unfathomable? That placed her life at risk? Her prophetic exclamation? Her belief she was favored? That she could be the one chosen by God to play a key part in the Lord’s plan for His people? Consider what might it mean to believe that we are loved and designed to act in the world in accord with the Creator’s will. If we believe that are chosen for good works prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10), then what difference does that make in how we live? Will we have courage to do and say dangerous things, in accord to God’s will (not our own self-seeking)?
* How do Elizabeth and Mary help each other? Consider how do we help each other when we find that God’s plans for our lives look different than “normal”? Service is not always “helper” to “helped”. Service is often a mutual exchange of gifts. Let us consider that service can look different than we plan. We are called to love our neighbor as ourselves. Rather than seeking control, let us seek to be attentive and caring. Let us give God room to reveal Godself in ways that are unexpected and wonderful.
The Action Message (40-90 minutes)
Doing a service project is living out the Word. It is the action message. The transition from the gathering to the action should include an explanation of the purpose of the activity, what the activity involves in terms of behavior and timeline, and prayer.
There are so many options for a great service project, the most important thing is to choose well with corps folks who are onboard. It is quite feasible to have more than one activity, but to build up the unity of participants—make sure different activities relate to each other and the overall purpose.
If the worship leadership team decides to stick with a 60-minute timeline for the whole service, then packing hygiene kits in bags, boxes or purses is something that can be done in a short time. Of course, packing and sorting can be a more extensive project. Should your in-worship service be a packing project, make sure that by the next Sunday worship, there is a report that shows the delivery and continues to tell the story.
The Re-Gathering (20-30 minutes)
Upon returning to the worship hall or finishing the activity in the hall, renew traditionally understood worship with song. Once a sense of “return” has been established, complete the singing of that song.
A facilitator will lead participants in sharing insights from the activity. Then the facilitator will briefly restate the message, adding comments from the sharing, to close the reflection. Balance the tension between giving this enough time for people to speak, especially quieter individuals, and giving free rein to “selfish talking”. In short, neither rush nor drag it out.
Let the closing prayer be a reflection of the shared experience. Closing in song and/or benediction may be appropriate.
“While women weep, as they do now, I’ll fight; while little children go hungry, as they do now, I’ll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I’ll fight; while there is a drunkard left, while there is a poor lost girl upon the streets, while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I’ll fight – I’ll fight to the very end!” General William Booth
True Story
This is a way of worshipping that is being sent together. I have only done this with groups that were “on board”. Some ideas to get people on board:
1. Talk about it in advance. Clarity will help to reduce anxiety.
2. Engage key people in making decisions and planning the outreach.
3. Share the plan well in advance. Have signage at the corps.
4. Avoid “hangry” attitudes.
a) Make Sunday School a Breakfast & Bible Study. Put a passage and discussion questions on the table and let folks reflect & eat at the same time. (Make sure it’s an option that can be cleaned up by worship time). Then start worship at the normal time because you never know when people are going to show up for the first time .
b) Healthy, non-messy snacks can be enjoyed during the action message.
– Captain Maureen Diffley
Team Visits
Prepare a list of people to visit. Consider visiting:
- Families of the children in your kids’ programs, if there are family members who do not participate in corps life.
- Neighbors of your local corps.
- Corps folks and/or their family members who are sick, in hospital, nursing home, jail, etc.
- Institutions like nursing homes, assisted living facilities, group homes, prisons, jails, hospitals, etc.
Pre-arrange the visits by securing agreement as to the day, time and nature of the visit. In particular, for institutions or visiting specific people in institutions, make sure that you know and follow their visitation rules.
For most visits, there is no need to bring anything other than a great attitude. When visiting a nursing home or similar institution, engaging a group in games and song is usually appreciated and one-on-one connections are highly valued. When visiting a neighbor, bringing something simple (donuts, a plant, a card, etc.) is a friendly gesture. When visiting a jail or prison, be extra sure that you have met all the criteria, arrive on time and show attention to the staff and prisoners. Both groups need the care of being seen and heard.
Pre-arrange transportation plans. “Walkable” visits are great. As you may have more participants than planned, vehicles that can take larger teams to places that can manage sizable groups is well-advised.
Pre-arrange group visit list with a leader for each group. The leader’s goal is just to get the whole group to the visit, keep things under control, and end the visit within 45—60 minutes of arrival. Some visits may be significantly shorter! Where that is expected, plan for the group to make more than one visit. Institutional visits often run longer than 45 minutes.
Pre-arrange your “stay behind” leader to open the doors when everyone gets back and/or visit with anybody who feels strongly that s/he cannot travel. Make sure this person will really pay attention and visit.
During the introduction of the action message, explain the activity. Call the leaders to the front. Give them their intergenerational teams from the folks who are there that day. Give them anything that they are bringing and a time to return. When everybody is set, pray and go!
Labor Projects
There are many physical labor projects that can be done within a 60-90 minute timeframe. Some projects take more time, which may be a great opportunity on another occasion for groups that have the skills and interest or for a full day event. Some relatively “short” physical labor projects include: mowing lawns, sweeping sidewalks, snow shoveling, basic gardening for neighbors or in a community garden space, litter clean-up, indoor housework like fixing a leaky faucet, mopping floors, etc., painting benches, fences, etc.
Pre-arrange attire. Encourage everyone to wear their work clothes in your announcements, Facebook, Twitter, e-mails and text messages. Having extra work clothes available for newcomers and those who didn’t get the message is important.
Pre-arrange locations. Consider folks with limited mobility, newly living on their own (widowed, divorced, etc.), up in age, or with specific home issues that are known to you. After you have identified homes, contact residents and ask if they would like to be put on the list for possible service – if the team is able to get them. This is an offer, but not a guarantee! Don’t offer services you can’t provide. For public beautification projects, ensure that you know all the rules and are following them.
The majority of tasks should be low-skill, so that everybody can participate (and not cause damage). Visiting, watching over very small children, giving out plants, equipment and the like, and going at a slow pace are good options for folks who cannot manage a lot of physical exertion.
Some relatively “short” inside-the-sanctuary physical labor projects include: making hygiene or other kits, making and packing sandwiches, and sorting donated goods. You will likely need to conduct a drive in advance for the items you are distributing. Setting up an assembly line of tables for packing hygiene kits or sack lunches is very feasible within most sanctuary spaces. If feasible and hygienic, consider doing other activities like sorting donated goods and sandwich making in the sanctuary space. Delivery can occur later or immediately after the service. It depends on your context.. However, when that happens and it should happen before the next Sunday – make sure to take a photo and share it at the next service.)
Making Support Kits
