Ministry Forum
Ministry Spotlight Weekend/Sunday
Ministry Spotlight Weekend/Sunday is a wonderful platform for
communicating the ministry impact of your church. Much like a job fair
when employers set up booths to greet potential employees, you will do
the same to answer questions and encourage involvement in ministries
of your church.
Below are a few considerations to a successful Ministry Spotlight:
 Create a theme around “Open Doors” or “All the Places to Go.”
o Consider having doors stationed in front of each
display, even if they are built free standing and not on
a wall.
o Since “All the Places to Go” is written in the style of
Dr. Seuss, perhaps having Seussian characters for
children’s ministry displays would be fun.
 Set the date for the Ministry Spotlight Weekend/Sunday
 It could be a weekend experience if your church:
 Has a Saturday service.
 Wanted to schedule a Saturday morning breakfast to
kickoff the Spotlight event. Ministry Booths are set up
for people to investigate. Also, that afternoon could
be an opportunity to carry out ministry while inviting
new volunteers to experience the work with you. It
gives them a “taste test” experience before taking a
deep plunge with the ministry.
 A Sunday Ministry Spotlight would be before and after the
services. Food for breakfast, brunch, or lunch could be part
of the experience.
 See page 42 in the Field Guide for the timeline of the Open
Doors campaign. Choose the weekend or Sunday you want
for the Ministry Spotlight event. We recommend Sunday 4
of the campaign, one week before the Commitment service.
 Enlist your team as early as possible.
 The team should be enlisted about 8 weeks before the
Ministry Spotlight Weekend/Sunday.
 Qualities of the Ministry Spotlight team:
 Strong awareness of the ministries in the
church.
 Someone who can motivate others.
 Someone who is a good project manager.
 Serve as a resource to the ministry leaders to
help prepare for the event.
 Someone to link to the Creative team for
communications.
 At least 6 weeks out identify and invite ministries to participate in
the Spotlight event. Remember, the Open Doors campaign should
help you have an invitation culture. Invite either in person or by
phone. The personal contact is so important.
 Identify the place for the Ministry Spotlight
o Give guidance to space availability to each ministry.
o Encourage sign up sheets at each booth for name, address,
phone number, and email address.
o Consider a video with stories from workers in that
particular ministry and/or stories of those whose lives have
been changed because of the ministry. Each video should be
2 minutes or so. The video could be looped on a TV or
played with headphones on a laptop for those interested in
viewing.
o A display in the booth could highlight:
 How are you making a difference?
 The kinds of gifts that thrive in this ministry.
 Time commitments
 Contact info for anyone needing to follow up.
 Identify who will set up and break down the booth.
o Follow up:
 Create a “taste test” opportunity either immediately
or very soon after the Spotlight event. For instance, if
Children’s ministry is having an event soon, invite that
prospective worker to experience the event. If you
have a homeless shelter, invite people to participate
in the work that day.
 Send hand written “Thank You” notes to all who come
by the booth and leave their names.
 Set an orientation for those new people who want to
engage in the ministry.
 Work with the Creative team to maximize the event. You should:
o Place the Ministry Spotlight on the church website.
o Send evites to everyone in the congregation the Monday
after Sunday 1.
o Communicate through small groups and worship services.
 One week from the event, meet with all the ministry leaders to train
for the Spotlight.
o The event should be organic and workers should focus on
their passion for the work. In other words, when you
answer questions about the ministry, show your passion for
the work. People will respond to those who are passionate
and not simply trying to push others through a door. They
must feel compelled to come in.
o Try to make it a fun day for everyone. Feel free to create a
contest for the day. Who gets the most new volunteers?
Most original booth?
o We aren’t there to beg people to work but to invite them
through an Open Door. You are guides in a discovery
process, not someone who is inducing guilt so more people
will serve.