Care Team Activities

Monthly luncheon - Each Care Team has a luncheon in the fellowship hall one Sunday of the month and hosts the rest of the congregation on one fifth Sunday of the year (First Sunday - Blue; Second Sunday - Brown; Third Sunday – Green; Fourth Sunday – Red). Many essential Care Team functions are fulfilled at these meetings.

·Visitors at the morning service are encouraged to stay for the meal.This provides members and visitors an opportunity to get better acquainted.

·New members are introduced to their Care Team and are invited by other groups to their luncheons to get to know them better.

·Care Team members grow closer to one another as they spend time in fellowship.The deepening of relationships within the body of Christ is a vital part of spiritual health.Mixers and questions are used to facilitate group interaction.

·A business meeting is conducted to identify special needs of Care Team members (and of the congregation as a whole) and suggestions are solicited for addressing these physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs.

·Those having birthdays or anniversaries during the current month are recognized.

·An effort is made to account for Care Team members who have been absent from the worship services of the church in order to offer encouragement or assistance as needed.

·The group discusses recent action and future plans related to a service project of their own choosing.This project can be a one-time event or an ongoing work.

·Group leaders ask for input in completing the monthly Care Team activity report known as "Vital Signs."

·A period of prayer follows the business meeting of the Care Team and addresses the special needs that were identified.Intensive prayer is the leading function of all Care Teams.

·Cards are prepared for members with special needs (get-well, sympathy, thinking-of-you, baptisms, restorations, shut-ins, congratulations, other).

·Visitation assignments are distributed one-on-one to Care Team members who have expressed a willingness to make visits or calls to visitors, new members, absentees, sick, bereaved, shut-ins, and others.Visits can be made individually or in pairs.All group members receive a copy of visitor information to be followed up on at their convenience.Similarly, members are provided information about newcomers and are encouraged to take personal initiative in writing notes and extending hospitality.

Fifth Sunday luncheon - Care Teams rotate the responsibility for hosting the fifth Sunday congregational meal that follows the morning service.This involves setting up tables and chairs, receiving food, serving drinks, and clean up.

Host Family Ministry - Volunteers serve as hosts to welcome newcomers and orient them to the congregation and community.

Food Preparation - Care Team members are contacted to provide food for fellow members with special needs and to bake cookies or other treats as a welcoming gift for new members of the congregation.A Care Team may call upon other groups for assistance in cases of prolonged illness or other special need.

Lifelines - Each Care Team prepares its own phone list for rapid communication of opportunities for prayer and service.The group's Lifeline can also be used as a tool for promoting congregational activities.The church office contacts group leaders to begin the dissemination of information.Anyone with knowledge of information needing to be forwarded to the congregation should contact the church office, an elder, or the minister.

Showers - The ladies of each Care Team are responsible for hosting showers for group members and their immediate family when consistent with prevailing or accepted standards and circumstances.Personal friends of the individual or family being honored are welcome to preempt this process and serve as hostesses, but it is recommended that they submit their request to the appropriate Care Team leader as soon as possible so that he may communicate this information to the ladies of his group.