THE MINISTRY OF WITNESS gives people the opportunity to share their faith understanding of personal and corporate salvation, reconciliation, worship, celebration, spiritual development, and discipline. It also provides people with opportunities to share their faith with other persons and to work for justice, righteousness, and the redemption of the world. The Book of Discipline says: the witness ministries shall give attention to evangelistic outreach to persons, membership care, spiritual formation, communications, lay speaking ministries, and witnessing through the sharing of personal and congregational stories of Christian experience, faith, and service.

Now that we are both thoroughly confused, let us try to put that into language we can understand. We said last month that the outreach committee focused on the physical needs of the individuals outside the church family while the witness or evangelism committee focuses on their spiritual needs. We want so send out an invitation for the lost to come and hear and believe and belong. Christ's Great Commission says all of us are to invite and encourage people everywhere to come into the family of God. We must have a concern for the unchurched and be willing to befriend these persons with Christian love, to pray for them and develop skills for sharing our faith with them.

The Evangelism committee members are our advertising executives. We all as individuals are called to evangelize or witness, but the evangelism committee organizes and guides us in ways to do that as a church. Here are some examples:

Door to door canvassing to include an invitation to a worship service,

Provide informational door hangers,

Distribution (maybe by mail) of brochures with church information,

Provide worship services at nursing homes,

Visit people who visit church,

Offer a sacred concert opened to the community,

Newsletters mailed to others in the community,

In house preschool program,

Christian recreation programs for children during summer,

Making church available to community for funerals and weddings,

A church sponsored county fair booth,

Church sponsored scholarship program,

To work to see that we have good public relations with the community,

Publicize the good things your church is doing or the services provided,

Seasonal decoration

Example: a wooden cross, draped with purple during Lent and white during Eastertide,

Gather information about your community,

Even if you are not on the Evangelism Committee, but feel you have some creative ideas I'm sure they would appreciate your input.

Western Kentucky United Methodist Family Services (formally Holstein Family Services) needs your help. We need foster parents. Marshall County presently has 52 kids in care, but they also have 16 kids without a home. When this happens the kids are sent to other counties or group homes or detention centers. Pray about it. If you don't feel led to be a foster parent maybe you would like to sponsor a kid for Christmas. You take his or her wish list and go out and buy the items on the list, spending at least $150.00, but not more than $175.00. These gifts are presented to the children by the foster parents. There is another option, you can buy a stocking and fill it with not more than $20.00 worth of candy and small items. If you have an interest in participating in any of this projects the toll free number is 1 877 998 5437. If you would like to make a monetary donation you can do that through your local church, making note on the check or envelope.