Can a lay person, not an elected elder or deacon, bring God’s greeting at the start of a worship service? This is just one question asked by a church member in the new Ministry Q&A feature of The Network.

The answer was, in short, “no”. But the discussion that followed helped flesh out the background and reasoning behind it.

Recently launched “to tap into the collective knowledge and experience of CRC members across the US and Canada,” Ministry Q&A offers a wide range of questions, at times without simple answers.

Here is another one. A church member asks whether snow birds, who have been attending the congregation for a couple of years, can become ‘dual members’ of their winter church in the south and their summer church elsewhere.

Another good question without a definitive answer posted (yet!). And that’s part of what makes Ministry Q&A so valuable – church members helping each other as best they can, based on their own knowledge and experience in their church.

The Network website was created to make these kinds of connections between
churches and church members, to talk about the ‘nuts and bolts’ of doing ministry.

In addition to church policy questions, the new Ministry Q&A feature contains plenty of practical ministry questions, such as:

· What can you do when your church is not meeting its budget?

· Where can I find a sample policy regarding ministry standards and expectations for volunteers?

· How does a church successfully implement a community garden?

· What is your system for song tracking?

· Organ and praise band – have you had success with a blended worship style?

· Do you have any advice about starting up a support group for parents?

· Where can I get sample of information about doing gift surveys at my church?

· What suggestions do you have for a church prayer retreat?

· What has been your experience with Article 17a?

· What are the guidelines for establishing minimum pass vote percentages?

· What library software is low cost and effective for use with scanners?

Inspired by similar sites across the web, Ministry Q&A aims to make it easy for CRC members and church staff to compare notes with each other on ministry issues.

The Network has always had discussion forums where people could post questions. But the Ministry Q&A section, by tapping into the wisdom of others in Christian Reformed churches across the US and Canada, makes it easier to ask questions and get answers on the practical aspects of ministry. [Editor’s note: the original URL (link) referenced is no longer valid, so the link has been removed.]

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