Awesome Ward-Missionary Ideas: Did you have a comment?

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Did you have a comment?

I am so thrilled that this humble little blog has received over 3,200 page views, and has 17 followers! A little while ago, I was pondering how strange it is that I have written over 50 posts, but have never received one comment from a follower or guest viewer. Hmmmmm....could it be that no one is ABLE to comment when I have comments blocked in the blog settings?!?!?

I sincerely apologize if you have wanted to comment in the past and haven't been able to do so - all of this time I didn't realize that comments were not being allowed. I have corrected the settings and comments are now allowed on all of my blog posts. I also welcome your suggestions on any blog post topics that you'd like to see, questions that you may have, and any ward-missionary/member-missionary ideas that you'd like to share. If you're on Facebook, you can also comment or ask questions on the "Awesome ward missionaries" fan page!

2 comments:

BrandonFebruary 18, 2011 at 2:35 PM
My name is Brandon and I am a Ward Mission Leader in Spanish Fork Utah. I've tried to comment on here before and I am relieved that finally I can. I just wanted you to know that your blog has been very helpful in my calling. There's been many ideas I have gotten from you that have benefitted my Ward in very powerful ways. Thank you so much for sharing your techniques and ideas with us. Most importantly Thank you for sharing your spirit and assisting me in spreading The Lords Gospel. I hope you and your family continue to be blessed. And I can testify that you have blessed many families here in Spanish Fork, Utah! Thank You Thank You Thank You!!!
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Lynell RogersFebruary 21, 2011 at 8:07 AM
Brandon - thank you so much for your kind comment. It actually brought me to tears...I had hoped that our experiences might be able to help someone else- I'm grateful to know that we were able to help in some small way!
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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!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Did you have a comment?

2 comments:

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