Awesome Ward-Missionary Ideas: July/August Newsletter Ideas

Monday, July 12, 2010

July/August Newsletter Ideas

Last month I did a post on sending out a "New Member News" newsletter specifically for new converts and investigators preparing for baptism. Basically, I try to include any information they might need to know for the upcoming month or so. For example, in March and September I include information about the upcoming General Conferences (what is Conference, where/when you can view it, what to expect, etc).

For July/August newsletters, I recommend the following topics:

Pioneers (brief history of the Pioneers - we have a lot lessons/talks/hymns about Pioneers during this time of year, so I try to explain why)
Pioneer Day (why we celebrate it and info about any related Ward/Stake activities)
Other Ward/Stake Activities (be sure to give all possible information about time, date, location, appropriate dress, anything they need to bring, etc)
Gospel Essentials (Sunday School) Lesson Schedule
Welcome to New Members &/or Info About Upcoming Baptisms
Ward Missionary/Ward Mission Leader Contact Information

Even if you don't go with a formal newsletter format, it is great to make this type of information available to all of your new members.... by handout, Sunday School announcements, phone calls, etc. Most activities will be announced in one way or another at Church, but it doesn't hurt to give a little extra effort to make sure that our new members have all of the information they need.

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What is missionary work?

As a young single adult (and a recent convert of just 2 years) I served a full-time proselyting mission for the Church. The experiences that I had during my mission were incredible, but if I were to select a time in my life that I experienced the most success in sharing the gospel, I would absolutely choose that 2 year period between when I was baptized and when I entered the MTC (Missionary Training Center).

I wasn't serving as any type of "official" missionary at that time. I was just a regular person who was excited about the changes that the gospel had brought into my life. It felt perfectly natural to invite my friends and co-workers to learn more about the Church. It also seemed completely normal to encourage less-active members to participate in our local branch. I was able to have many wonderful experiences without ever worrying for a moment that I was "putting myself out there" for potential rejection. I genuinely felt excited about my new beliefs and just wanted to offer the same experience to everyone around me.

During my full-time mission, I would occasionally feel frustration with the lack of success in an area where I was assigned to serve. It seemed strange how much more effective it had been to casually approach people as a friend, co-worker, or neighbor in my pre-mission days (when I wasn't wearing a nametag). I loved my mission, but I knew that there would come a day when I would be a "normal" member again and could easily mention the gospel to those around me as I had before, without having a door slammed in my face by a stranger.

Could it be possible that member missionary work is easier and more natural than people imagine it is? Can we use principles of friendship and Christ-like love to reach out to our friends and neighbors in a casual way? How can we incorporate those same principles into other areas, like convert retention and reactivation?

I feel that member missionary work should be a natural part of being a member of the Church. You don't have to be a full-time missionary, or even a ward missionary, to have successful gospel-sharing experiences. The concept of being a member missionary seems daunting to many people in the Church, but it doesn't have to be that way.

After my husband and I were called as ward missionaries, I began to search the internet for additional information to help us in our callings. I was seeking tips and information that had been helpful to other ward missionaries (or to member missionaries in general). While I found many articles, websites/blogs, and books devoted to the subject of full-time missions or full-time missionaries, I found shockingly little information specifically about member missionary and ward missionary efforts. I decided to share our own ideas about member missionary work on this blog!

Monday, July 12, 2010

July/August Newsletter Ideas

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