Holistic Ministry Celebration Service

Purpose: To organize and lead a worship service that celebrates God's (past, present and future) work in and through your church in holistic ministry, and rallies the congregation's support for your new ministry direction.

Why:Worship is the soul of mission. Our Father seeks followers whose practical acts of service are an expression of their worship in spirit and truth (John 4:23). Taking time out to focus your minds and hearts on worship will help to keep the challenges and busy-ness of the ministry project in eternal perspective. A service that celebrates mission is a form of witness, to your congregation as well as to the community. To God be the praise and the glory!

What: Plan a worship service — a regular Sunday morning service or a special evening service — that can lead people to get excited about ministry and to give God the glory. A good time to do this is after you have taken specific steps toward launching or revitalizing a new mission project.

Your celebration service will reflect your church's unique traditions and style. In general, your service could include:

• Lots of joyful, exuberant singing.
• Stories: Reflections from people on the Ministry Vision Team, testimonies from church members or guests who have experienced God's love through holistic ministry, tales of heroes and heroines of mission in your church heritage.
• A short sermon or devotional — not to exhort or instruct people about mission, but to exalt and celebrate God's saving nature and works of faithfulness.
• A summary of the church's progress toward discerning its calling to be salt and light in the community, or an overview of new ventures in holistic ministry. This may be the time for officially unveiling a new vision statement, announcing a new ministry program, introducing ministry staff, or corporately affirming the church's dedication to holistic mission.
• Scriptures on faith, hope and love – rejoicing in the power and presence of God in the midst of our brokenness and pain.
• A time of prayer for the community and the ongoing fruit of the church's outreach, and special dedication or anointing for ministry leaders.
• Consider inviting a guest to speak, particularly along the lines of a "Way to go!" pep talk. (It often feels more natural for an outsider than church staff to give the church a pat on the back.)
• Special recognition of active external ministry volunteers within the congregation or members who have consistently displayed an incarnational salt-and-light lifestyle.  
• Optional: a special offering to support a holistic ministry venture (either a program of your own, or a local ministry partnership).
• A reception afterwards, with snacks (what's a party without food?), and possibly a resource table and displays related to your church's ministry and other agencies serving the community and world.

• Let kids know that they too can be agents of Christ's mission! Include a kid-friendly song, story or activity in the celebration service. Draw in teens by asking the youth group to help plan a portion of the service or reception.
• Show your commitment to partnerships and bridge-building. As much as possible, involve folks from the community in planning the service, and honor the contributions of fellow servants outside your church. Consider giving a special award to a local nonprofit or community leader.
• Invite people you got to know through your community study and networking - school principals, directors of nonprofits, social workers, city commissioners – even (or especially!) if they are not Christian. Acknowledge their contributions to your ministry planning.
• Make the most of the evangelistic potential of this event. Distribute flyers to neighborhood residents, leave flyers at local nonprofits and popular hangouts, encourage church members to invite family members and friends.
• Invite contacts from the larger body of Christ – denominational offices, ministerial association, other neighborhood churches - to celebrate with you.

• Involve the arts. Invite a Christian band to give a free concert. Invite local artists to display their works and turn the reception hall into a gallery. Commission someone with musical gifts in the congregation to write a song for the church based on the new/revised mission statement. Be creative!
• Make this a combination celebration / community resource fair by inviting local social service organizations, civic groups, and Christian programs to set up displays and give out literature about their services.
• Combine celebration with outreach by making a hot meal or food basket give-away, open to the community, part of the event. You can also easily generate resources for ministry by combining the event with a food or clothing drive, a raffle, or other fundraising idea.
• If you are ministering in a cross-cultural context, highlight music, art and food from the other culture.
• Celebrate a church collaboration (for example, an urban-suburban partnership or coalition of local churches) by hosting a joint service, complete with mass choir, creative meshing of worship styles, and a hearty fellowship meal!
• Herald a partnership with a local nonprofit or para-church agency by involving their staff and clientele in the service. Invite participants to share a testimony, poem, or song. Take up an offering to bless this ministry.
• If you are planning a new ministry off-site, hold the celebration at that location. For example, if "adopting" a local public school, ask to use their auditorium.
• Inform local media of the upcoming celebration. This not only publicizes the event in the community, it gives you an opportunity to network with media folks.
• Consider making this an annual event to celebrate God's ongoing work in and through your church's outreach ministries. Start new traditions by holding the worship service in conjunction with a volunteer recognition banquet ... a fundraising concert ... a Habitat for Humanity work project ... an evangelistic revival ... a health fair ... or whatever you dream up from year to year.

Whatever you do ... enjoy yourselves! "Rejoice in the Lord always" (Phil. 4:4): How can we not rejoice when we think about how God has loved us, saved us, ministered to our needs, and empowered us to show that same love to others!