News

Click on September 2010 Charity newsletter - now available in PDF format.   

Charity Myth Busters

Posted 6/30/10 (Wed)

Busting the TOP 10 Myths about Charity Lutheran Church

Part I - Myths 1-5 

A few weeks ago during worship we had the people of Charity fill out a short survey.  We did this to compare what people were feeling and thinking with what the staff was feeling and thinking.  This was done not just at Charity, but at several other churches citywide.

Cordell Dick has graciously taken on the task of tabulating the results, free of charge, with the goal of having this information by mid-summer. We look forward to the official results soon.  Surveys like these can be very helpful in many ways. 

One of these ways occurred to me as I scanned through the sheets, taking in the variety of thoughts, feelings, and opinions:  Charity has some myth busting to do!
Several observations were made by people that, while well-intended, were significantly misinformed or based on incomplete information. 

Here are the first 5 examples of Charity “myths” and their corresponding truths.  Next month’s addition of the Charity Newsletter will have the final 5 “myths.”

Myth #1:   Why does the staff seem to take the summer off?

This myth is probably based upon misperceptions and the unique rhythms summer has in such a cold weather climate.  Like most of you,  Charity staff is trying to get their own family vacations and down time in during the summer.  However,  I can assure you Charity’s staff in no way “takes the summer off.”  The kind of work and approach to work changes for the staff in the summer in such a way that staff are often not present in the office as much, but that doesn’t mean the staff isn’t working.  We are simply making efforts to meet people out in the world more in the summer, as well as do some things outside the walls that normally occur inside the walls during the school year – June 9th’s Cowboy Worship Night (over 200 attended) at Buckstop Junction is a good example.

Myth #2:  There is no WOW or Sunday School in the summer – is any youth or children’s ministry happening?

As a 20-year veteran here at Charity and a former youth pastor,  I can tell you this is once again a misperception based upon summer’s uniqueness. Yes, there is no WOW or Sunday School, but children’s and youth ministry is actually more intense in the summer in many ways. Summer is less weekly in rhythm, but more event driven in the summer. 

Sam and his interns REALLY bust their tails in the summer. Camp outs, mission trips, worship events, multi-church rallys, etc., make for an exciting, but exhausting schedule.  Kari and Lauri are also busy with VBS, McLaughlin VBS, various children’s events.  Please support and pray for them.  The schedule is different, but probably more hectic and challenging.

Myth #3:  (In terms of youth ministry) Kids are more accessible in the summer.

Sorry, but this is just flat-out false.  Between summer school, sports camps, family vacations, summer sports leagues, jobs, and even various church events, kids are much harder to connect with in the summer. Add that to the fact that, like most of you, the church staff is trying to get their own family vacations and down time in and you have a different animal all together.  There is little weekly rhythm in the summer – this is why youth and children’s ministries are event-driven during  summer.

Myth #4:  Charity’s staff is too big – what do they all do?

Charity’s staff is big enough for the kinds of ministry, and approaches to ministry, that the people of Charity have found helpful and valuable. Sure, the staff could be smaller, but both the variety and quality of ministry would take a serious down-turn if this were to happen. 

A different version of this myth that we hear on occasion is “the more staff you have, the less volunteers you will have.”   Actually, the exact opposite is true. \Charity’s history has shown time and again that staffing key areas actually assures a higher quality of ministry, which thus in turn encourages higher interest in volunteer-ship.  We actually get more, and better quality volunteer-ship in staffed areas of ministry.

As per the question “what do the staff do?”, I would only say that Charity’s staff routinely exceeds their “paid” hours because they are passionate about their ministries – this is true from pastors all the way on down to interns.  If you really want to know, ask the Vision Council, or better yet shadow one of us for a day or two.  It might be an eye-opener for you!

Myth #5:  Charity has a low percentage of  volunteers in comparison to membership.

As the church gets bigger and bigger, it is difficult for any one person in the church to know everything that’s going on.  Thus, it’s easy to get the wrong perception about the scope of our volunteerism.  In actuality, I would put our “per capita” volunteer rate up against any other church around.  Between children and youth ministries, WOW, Riverside Harvest, Stephen Ministry, ALPHA, Sunday worship and music, etc., Charity is amazing in its per capita volunteer rate. 

The staff recently calculated the volunteer percentage of rostered members to be around 65%. 

Volunteer-ship was not defined as a “one time” thing either, but instead as 25 hours or more per year.  Oh, and by the way, this did NOT include the many non-Charity members who volunteer significantly with our ministries!
 
I hope you find this information and perspective helpful in your view of Charity.  Please understand this is not an attempt to say Charity couldn’t improve in areas or get better – most certainly that will always be the challenge! 

But nonetheless, I feel that it is always helpful to try to bring clarification to any misunderstandings people have about their church.  The staff of Charity and your Vision Council leadership is always available to answer questions and bring clarification when needed.

Stay tuned next month for Part II of Charity Myth Busters where we will tackle the final 5 myths about Charity! ~ Pastor Randy