New Year's Party

OK, so we jumped the gun a couple of days. At Canyonville Adventist Church we did our annual New Year's party last night. We didn't stay up 'til midnight, but as always, we had tons of fun with food, active games for the kids, and table games for others. I saw some pretty enthusiastic Rook players and turkeyfoot dominoes enthusiasts having a great time, and the suitcase race for the kids was hilarious. It was a wonderful, positive time of sharing and fellowship for the church family, including all ages from babies to the elderly.

The reason I'm sharing this on the blog is that all of this is organized by our Fellowship Team. They put it together every year without any input from the pastor, the church board, or anyone else. It is part of their ministry, as expressed in their mission statement: "To allow God to create through us, a safe, united community. To nurture genuine relationships with acceptance, respect, love and bonding as a caring family." The Fellowship Team organizes and leads out in several similar events throughout the year. They give us an annual church campout, a community-wide corn feed and country gospel music jamboree, and other special times for fellowship and bonding for the church family. The point is, the team does this. They plan it, organize it, and make it happen.

Teamnet Ministries is about teamwork. Other teams within the system also carry out their purposes, and the entire system works together in a network of cooperation and mutual support. For each team to effectively do its work it must be given the A.R.K. of Empowerment: Authority to make decisions for the team; Resources needed for the task; and Knowledge of both the "what-to" and the "how-to" of thier responsibilities. When all three of those elements are in place, people are empowered for excellence in whatever field they serve. They add their talents. God multiplies the increase.