The Ministry Lab is here to invigorate the life of your congregation.
Our resources on stewardship, social justice, outreach, volunteers, and pastoral care are updated frequently to reflect current realities, opportunities and challenges, so check back often.
Stewardship & Giving
Stewardship can be a challenging topic in the best of times—in times of transition and uncertainty, even more so. Lean on the wisdom of others to guide your conversations and stewardship decisions. Access our stewardship and giving resources for tips on:
- Individual adult stewardship
- Talking with children and youth about stewardship
- Congregational stewardship
Social Justice
Social justice is the calling of every follower of Jesus. Helping individuals and communities determine where to devote time, finances, energy and skills is central to a faith leader’s call. These social justice resources will help you lead conversations and engage your members and whole communities in the work of justice.
- Climate/Environmental Sustainability
- COVID-19 Compassion
- Poverty/Hunger/Homelessness/Transiency
- Systemic Racism & White Supremacy Culture
- Census & Voting
- Conflict, Division & Reconciliation
- Gun Violence & Control
- Policing
- Immigration
- Intersectionality
The Ministry Lab is proud to partner with Rev. Jia Starr Brown in sharing her Journey to Freedom: Embracing God’s Cultural Mosaic of People series. The 2020 theme, Intersectionality, was brought to life through:
- 6 weeks of sermons and worship arts
- 4 Town Hall discussions with guest preachers
- 3 Bible studies with Rev. Lawrence T. Richardson
- 4 Book Group discussions with Rev. Angela T. Khabeb; including Q & A with Dr. Grace Ji-Sun Kim
- 6 awareness workshops and diversity trainings with a variety of leaders
Outreach & Hospitality
Extending hospitality to our neighbors is central to the life of every Christian congregation. Sometimes, though, expanding that circle of welcome and developing intentional forms of inclusive and joyful belonging can be trickier than we like to admit. We’re here with outreach and hospitality resources to develop core congregational principles so individuals and your whole congregation can joyfully embrace every neighbor in your community.
Moving from online to in-person worship and meetings will be another shift in congregational life. What can we learn? What do we keep? What can we discard? New forms of hospitality will be needed to let folks feel welcome, involved and engaged in whatever becomes the “new normal”. We’ll regularly update our Worship: Covid Considerations lib guides for suggestions and encouragement.
Volunteers & Teams
God’s work requires all God’s people! Support your community workers—both individuals and groups—with resources for encouraging:
Congregations are proving exceptionally resilient and creative in meeting the needs of individuals, families and their communities. Sharing these Great Ideas is part of The Ministry Lab’s work.
Vision & Mission
Developing, embracing and empowering members to live into God’s vision and mission are what congregational leadership is all about.
Our current milieu of constantly different reality can be an opportunity to rethink who we are and discover anew where God is leading. Find resources for the journey of:
Pastoral Care
Pastoral care is a unique role for church leaders. It can be isolating with its necessary boundaries, protocols and cautions, yet also highly gratifying when one is able to help a struggling soul. This dichotomy can take its toll on the caregiver’s body, heart and soul.
Congregational Health & Wellbeing
Our congregational health and well-being resources include:
- State and regional mental health resource centers
- Talking with children, families about grief and trauma
- Talking with tweens and teens about grief and trauma
- Talking with differently abled person about grief and trauma
- Contemplative and mental health practices to share with children and youth
- Supporting In-Reach and Congregational Care Teams
Personal Care for Leaders
Check out The Ministry Lab’s many resources for self-care and renewal, guidance for best practices and tools for offering pastoral care in evolving realities Personal Care for Leaders.
Group Spiritual Direction
Stay tuned for details on our plans to develop an online spiritual direction group. If you are interested in participating, contact Emily at ministrylab@unitedseminary.edu.
Great Idea
Generated by The Ministry Lab’s partners, congregational leaders and director. If you’ve got a Great Idea to share, let us know!
Reconciliation Community Art Project
The UMC’s Our Movement Forward, 2019 summit mural inspired the Great Idea to invite communities to struggle together toward the accountability necessary for justice, healing, and eventually, reconciliation:
Create a safe space for people to name, own, and process their emotions; parents may need special help to support children…
Equip congregational and community leaders to navigate challenges and engage all ages in difficult conversations.
Then, move those conversations into community-transforming action with permanent or temporary art!
Read on for tips, tools, and how-to’s for multiple types of projects to include all ages.
Art as reconciliation and community-building!!
Co-Lab Feedback Loop
Get fired up, gain insight and share your own experiments with others through our Co-Lab Feedback Loop. The Loop meets once a month via zoom. Sign up here.
Learn More
Have something you’d like to discuss? Need to check out resources? Share questions, interests and ideas with The Ministry Lab’s Executive Director, Rev. Emily Meyer or search our site.