Sending out Salty Servants in ministries of mercy & justice

“This last week, I joined Jesus as a Salty Servant to persons beyond our congregation for at least one hour in one of the following ways”

Mercy Ministry ♦ Relationship Building
Justice Ministry ♦ Earth-Care

Jesus was clear that his followers are to be servants: “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant . . . just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” (Matthew 20:26-28) Service flows naturally and inescapably from the teachings and example of Jesus. “Let me tell you why you are here,” says Jesus. “You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness?” (Matthew 5:13 The Message).

Beginning this Sunday, our Bishop and Annual Conference leaders are asking each church to begin “tracking” and reporting the number of people in our congregation that perform at least one hour of their week in a ministry of mercy and justice (examples could include volunteering at the Clothing Closet, working with Habitat or Metropolitan Ministries, tutoring in a school, collecting food from your neighbors for a food drive, painting a house in “paint your heart out” etc.)

Each week when you come to worship, if you would like to indicate to God that you have spent at least one hour in “Salty Service” beyond our local church, please take one of the pebbles and place it in the “family” bucket. We will count the number of pebbles after worship on Sunday and record that as the number of Salty Servants from our congregation, reporting that number to the Annual Conference. This is a weekly “self-reporting” effort; if you are going to miss a Sunday—arrange for a friend or family member to move your pebble for you (or just double up the following week). We are not counting the hours, but the number of “Salty Servants.”

After this Sunday, our table of pebbles will be located in the narthex, so if you don’t come in that door on a regular basis, plan to head there before you leave. We will also report to the congregation the number of Salty Servants identified the previous week. Remember: if you serve during the week, move one pebble from the tray into the little bucket (wouldn’t it be great to have to get a bigger bucket)!