Awesome Ward-Missionary Ideas: March 2012

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Released!

We were released from our callings as Ward-Missionaries (and my husband as Ward Mission Leader) last Sunday because my husband was called to be a Counselor in our new Bishopric. For me it is always a little difficult to be released from a calling because I have put so much of myself into it and built a relationship with so many people. The great thing is, since every member should be a member-missionary anyhow, it doesn't mean that I need to stop doing many of the fun things that ward-missionaries get to do - helping visitors feel welcome, fellowshipping new members, inviting non-member friends to Church & activities, etc....

And of course a new Ward Mission Leader has been called (and his wife as a Ward-Missionary), so I'm sure they will do great and the work and wonderful things will continue to happen.

I will keep this blog open for anyone who wants to reference it, but I probably won't be adding new posts anymore. I WILL continue to check for questions and comments on this blog, so feel free to let me know if you have any questions, etc.

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!

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Released!

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