RESOURCES FOR STRENGTHENING THE LOCAL CONGREGATION

This web page has been developed to give the local congregation some basic resources in creating healthy and vital communities of faith. Many of the resources below are links that will take you to additional pages with considerably more information. You will also find some of the resources that have been used in various regional training events, along with some of the "harvests" of insight and learning stories from people&rquo;s experiences.
_____________________________________________________________________

Resourses for Congregational Care
Resource materials for congregations from Disciples Home Missions
____________________________________________________________________

AD-MINISTRY: TOOLS FOR THE NUTS AND BOLTS
____________________________________________________________________

ESTABLISHING ETHICAL GUIDELINES AND CONVENANTS
ETHICS, POLICIES AND COVENANTS

_____________________________________________________________________

Other resources pertaining to legal policies and practices around registered sex offenders and congregational safety: (these are currently on CC webpage)
_____________________________________________________________________

Other links for information on establishing Safe Church Policies:
GOING GREEN RESOURCES FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS MINISTRY
_____________________________________________________________________

RADICAL HOSPITALITY RESOURCES FOR CREATING COMMUNITIES OF INCLUSION
MINISTERING TO THE LATE DEAF AND HEARING IMPAIRED:
Rev. Mary Dyer, a former member of CCNC-N went in for knee surgery as a hearing person, and came out of recovery completely deaf! One of her saddest moments was realizing there was nothing in her church to accommodate her loss and keep her included in worship. Mary has used her experience to advocate for the millions of hearing impaired people who are unintentionally excluded from our worship and church activities, and who are more apt to just drop out than ask for what they need.

A few of the articles from her website are listed below and can be downloaded from here.
  • How Accessible Is Your Church? (breaking_sound_barrier_church.pdf)
    Breaking the Sound Barrier In Your Church: Ministry and Mission with People Who Are Hard of Hearing or Late-Deafened published by the United Methodist Church. The last few pages offer a great assessment tool.
  • Get Looped: Hearing Assistive Technology for Congregations A Challenge (GetLooped1.pdf)
    This 2-pg article written by Rev. Mary Dyer describes her experience of losing her hearing and her worship experience and how her current church was willing to install loop technology so that she might be able to experience and participate once again.
  • That All Might Hear: A Guide to Radical Hospitality for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DOChhDEAFinfo.pdf)
    This 2-pg article written by Rev. Mary Dyer gives a brief overview of the need to churches to consider how they might be excluding the hard of hearing, and an overview of some of the solutions available.
  • Hearing Loss Statistics (Hearing_FactSheet25.pdf)
  • Hearing the Word by David G. Myers, PhD (LoopingChurches10.pdf)
    This article compares some of the solutions available, and explores why many hard of hearing may not use the cumberson or unsightly older options many churches provide.
  • Resources: (ResourcesPP25.pdf) Books and Booklets to help your church explore this ministry and help your congregation be inclusive and responsive to the needs of this population.
______________________________________________________________________

MINISTERING TO THOSE WITH MOBILITY IMPAIRMENT
  • Adressing Diverse Needs for Congregational Hospitality (pdf)
    This article is written by Rev. Dr. Margie Brown who lives with the mobile challenges of Cerebal Palsey and the many ways and places that are not available to her because they are simply not accessible. She covers several ways in which we may be unconsciously excluding those who are not familiar with our usual habits and offers some very affordable and practical advice for becoming hospitable and inclusive to this population.
_____________________________________________________________________

CREATING HOLY CONVERSATIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS
_____________________________________________________________________

STRENGTHENING CONGREGATIONAL LIFE AND LEADERSHIP
A list of resources available through Disciples Home Missions (this includes Children's Ministries, Women's Ministries, Environmental, immigrantion ministries, social justice, leader development, evangelism, search and call, pastoral relations and special services, etc.) either for purchase or free download can be found here: http://www.discipleshomemissions.org

______________________________________________________________________

PASTORAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE (PRC)
One of the strongest tools available to the pastor and the congregation is a healthy, well-functioning Pastoral Relations Committee serving in the true capacity of liaison and avenue of communication, rather than as a personnel committee or complaint department. Regional Minister of Congregational Care, Yolanda Márquez-Lúcar, is available to come to your congregation and provide PRC training to the committee and the board.