Ministry Teams

Most team leaders are invited into their leadership position by a specialized ministry team that is tasked with identifying and developing ministry leaders. Certain teams must have their members elected through an annual administrative process known as “Charge Conference”, while other teams are assembled throughout the year as needs arise.

A listing of the current team leaders can be found on the hallway bulletin board directly across from the Pastors’ offices. Each ministry team is tasked with fostering the Core Values of New Hope as follows:

CHURCH COUNCIL: Meets at 6:30pm – second Monday of each month

Church Council is the main administrative and decision making body of the church. Church Council is comprised of the leaders of certain ministry teams of the church, as defined by the United Methodist Book of Discipline. Church Council includes members specifically tasked with leadership of the following three areas:

TRUSTEES – “Radical Hospitality” is the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of the Missional purpose that the Trustees function serves – Doing what it takes to make sure our physical space is welcoming and inviting to first time guests and life-long members alike. The key characteristic of the Trustee function is the ability to consider the perspective of others. One might think that mechanical abilities or the skills necessary to “fix things that are broken” are a must-have trait, but the Trustee role is meant to be stewardship of the process, not the sole “do-ers.” Trustees look at things from a guest’s perspective, propose solutions, and then help identify resources to ‘get ‘er done!” THE key trait of a successful Trustee is the desire to keep God’s house looking good and to enable other ministry teams by helping care for the physical resources God blesses us with.

FINANCE – “Oh boy, here come the money crunchers….. Here comes the team that tells us we can’t afford it….”. Is this your perception of the Finance Team? We hope not! Because the reality is, the Finance Team is keenly focused on fostering the gift of “Extravagant Generosity” in each of us and then being faithful stewards of the economic resources that God guides us to provide for the ministries of the church. Much like with the Trustees function, the key word for Finance is “enabler” of ministry work, not “gatekeeper”. Technical accounting skills are certainly useful to be part of this function, but we are looking for more than just a bunch of accountants. We are also looking for some dreamers, some creative “dollar stretchers”, to help us imagine what it might look like to do bold audacious things with the finite resources that we have to work with.

STAFF/PASTOR – PARISH RELATIONS TEAM – This particular function focuses on the hired staff of the Church, including the Pastor. By providing nurture and support to the staff team and a listening ear for the congregation’s needs, the SPPR function helps ensure that the gifts and skills of the staff members are well-aligned with God’s Missional purpose for this particular Church. Certainly experience as a Human Resources professional is helpful, but the desire and ability to affirm successes and support the continued development of staff members are the core traits needed here.ensure that the gifts and skills of the staff members are well-aligned with God’s Missional purpose for this particular Church. Certainly experience as a Human Resources professional is helpful, but the desire and ability to affirm successes and support the continued development of staff members are the core traits needed here.

Other ministry teams report to and work with Church Council as needed to accomplish the overall Mission of the Church:

WORSHIP PLANNING TEAM: Meets at 6:00pm – second Wednesday of each month

Sunday morning isn’t the only time, but it is the most frequently observed time for us to engage in “Passionate Worship.” And it takes a lot of ‘behind the scenes’ planning and dedication to make sure that our acts of worship are pleasing to God. It’s beautiful to see so many separate people and sub-teams unite together to dream and plan and giggle and sometimes scratch our heads as God shows us new and creative ways to engage in acts of Passionate Worship: Greeters, Ushers, Musicians, Choir, Children’s Time Leaders, Pastor, Children’s Ministry, Youth Ministry ……. So many people are involved in asking God what our time together on Sunday should look like. Successful members of this team are the folks who get goosebumps during worship (even when we mess up a song or a sermon). Creative, compassionate, caring people who like to have fun while doing God’s work will really get a spiritual kick out of this team.

LAY LEADERSHIP (NOMINATIONS) TEAM: Meets as needed

All of the incredible things that God does through the Church start with a unique call for an unlikely hero to head up each particular project, mission or ministry effort. And those unlikely heroes are most frequently volunteers who feel the tap on the shoulder to join into God’s Missional purpose for the Church. That ‘tap’ often comes from the collective prayerful discernment of the Lay Leadership (Nominations) Team. This is the team that is tasked with identifying and developing spiritual gifts in potential volunteer leaders within the Church. The most obvious skill that comes to mind for members of this team is the ability to recognize gifts and abilities in others….. not just a surface level awareness of what ‘so and so’ does for a living, but more importantly—more deeply, members of this team have the innate ability to see ‘potential’ in people, and the compassionate desire to make sure that our volunteer ministry leaders have the tools they need to perform their designated function well.

EDUCATION TEAM: Meets as needed

The members of this team are the cheerleaders and proponents of “Intentional Faith Development” for our Church. They help dream up, organize and facilitate short and long term Bible Study groups, topical small group discussions, seasonal studies to help us gain a better grasp of God’s perspective on Holy-Days, and many other opportunities God leads us to. The overarching purpose, of course, is to grow in our knowledge and love of God through consistent and persistent engagement with God’s Holy Word. This team is the group of folks who keep such opportunities in front of us and invite us to join in. Some team members are current or former educators, but more importantly, members of this team are required to have an insatiable appetite for engaging with God’s Mission. Not all members of this team have the spiritual gift of teaching; some simply have a knack for finding Christian educational resources that will resonate with people who are hungry to know more about God.

OUTREACH TEAM: Meets as needed

Some folks ask, “Is this the Evangelism Team?” Some ask, “Is this the Missions Team?” Some ask, “Is this the Local Community Service Team?”….. And the answer is, “Yes, Yes it is!” The Outreach Team represents the collective unified effort of the Church to show the love of Christ to others and then tell them about the divine source of that love. This team is the “Risk-Taking Mission and Service” headquarters. They are not the sole ‘do-ers’ of our Missional tasks, they are the planners and leaders…… We are ALL the ‘do-ers’. So the key ingredients for this team are: compassion for God’s precious creatures, the ability to organize teams and resources, and an overwhelming desire to “help make Disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” That IS our Mission from God.