Your Baptismal Covenant
"Will you proclaim by word and example the good News of God in Christ?"
"Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
"Will you who witness these vows do all in your power to support these persons in their life of Christ?"
"Let us join with those who are committing themselves to Christ.."
How can we best fulfill our baptismal covenants?
Total Ministry is an approach
to fulfilling our baptismal covenants
Total Ministry Offers:
Service to God in our everyday life
Discovering ministry in the gifts that we have
Church growth by building on personal experience,
and doing what each of us does best
Especially suitable for small congregations, poor congregations
Building a ministry team with joy and excitement
Bringing your congregation alive as a community
Renewed awareness of the guidance of the Holy Spirit
Growth in Christian maturity for all
Total Ministry is:
A program and a curriculum for congregations
A different way of looking at church
Working very well in our diocese
Similar to the church of Jesus’ time
Fun, empowering, and efficient
Custom fit to each congregation
Our Diocese Provides Total Ministry Gatherings
Open to all interested congregations
Providing an introduction to its many benefits
Telling success stories in our diocese
Will engage you in an educational dialogue
Total Ministry Will Help You to:
Have stronger, happier congregations
Be effective and efficient as a congregation
Support each other in your service to God
Dynamically grow existing ministries
Recover your sense of excitement
Testimony of an 83-year old cradle Episcopalian head of an Altar Guild
[About Total Ministry] "I can remember how reluctant I was at the beginning to realize I had to take on some of our priest’s chores. As an old time Episcopalian, I was used to coming to church, sitting, kneeling, taking communion and going home. Now I had to take on a bunch of responsibilities, some of which I didn’t know anything about. I bristled when I heard that we were about to lose our priest and we had to do something about it. It seemed to me that was the Bishop’s problem. But once I got the hang of Total Ministry, I found it makes church so much more rewarding and interesting to me--to have a role to be responsible for, to feel good about taking an active part in keeping the church so inspiring and comforting and so much more a part of my life. It’s hard to change old mindsets, but it can be done and everyone benefits from it."
"The concept that roles and functions within the congregation are VOLUNTARY is particularly pertinent. Volunteering makes each person’s "gift" so completely suited to the individual who volunteers as opposed to having been assigned a particular ministry. To have a person in the congregation who is called to the ministry is a gift, indeed. How can our little group have such good fortune? I think it’s because we work hard for it, we have faith that God is on our side, and we’re willing to take responsibility as a team to keep our good fortune alive."
"I think that’s the secret of Total Ministry—people who don’t sit back and let someone else do things for them, but who are willing to work hard for their faith in God and to spread that faith as far as they can through their ministry."