Family of the Week
If you had to write a list of ten facts about the Jamisons or the Schwartzes in your church, could you do it?
People at First Christian Church, Glen Ellyn, Illinois, are a lot better informed about each other, thanks to a "Family of the Week" program. A bulletin insert each Sunday gives a 400-word profile of a church family.
"It's amazing what you learn," says Karen Voke, a member. "You've sat in the same pews with these people for years, and you never knew that maybe they went to the same college you did, or their children used to be in competition skating, or whatever."
Thelma Edwards, chairman of the fellowship committee, coordinates a team of three women who take turns each week interviewing the next home on an alphabetical list. "Sometimes they talk by phone, but often they go to visit the home," she says. "They uncover a lot more interesting information that way."
Singles receive the same treatment as married couples in the program.
Other aspects: The family being featured gets to pick one or two favorite hymns to be sung in the morning service. The elder or deacon in charge of leading public prayer calls the family on Saturday to ask for any special requests. The entire congregation is urged to pray for the family throughout the coming week.
"We're currently about three-fourths of the way through the list," says Edwards. "When we finish, we'll either go back and pick up the newcomers and any others we've missed, or we may develop a different approach with a new set of writers."
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