Archive: The Joy of Serving Others

By Boyce A. Bowdon

About 2:30 in the morning on December 14, 1989, a car driven by Dale Bowser veered off the road, knocked down a gas meter, hit a tree, crashed into a cement culvert, and finally came to rest in a ditch.

Fortunately, Dale lived to tell what happened.

“My belly was full of booze,” he told the 1993 session of the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church. “I had passed out at the wheel again. When I came to, I heard gas spewing from the severed pipes. My car couldn’t move, and neither could I. I saw lights pop on at houses in the neighborhood. Pretty soon the police came and took me to jail.”

He paused to regain his composure. “When I started sobering up, I felt lonely, scared, lost. Somehow, though, I knew this night was going to be different from all the rest. And it was. A few hours later, in a chemical dependency unit for alcoholics, I got down on my knees and asked Jesus to save me. And he has saved me.

“I thank God every day for the love and prayers of my family. They were the earthly intercessors for my salvation. I thank God for Amy, my wife. She loved me and never left me or gave up on our marriage.”

Dale is aware that God has used many people to help him. He is especially grateful to the owner of the auto repair shop in Tulsa where he was working at the time of his near fatal accident.

“My boss really wanted to see me get my life straightened out,” Dale said. “He suggested that I go to First United Methodist Church and hear the pastor, Jim Buskirk, preach. Jim was one of our customers. He was always friendly and cheerful when he came to our shop.”

The next Sunday, Dale went to the church. He recalls leaving the worship service filled with hope. He and his family began attending regularly.

“Members of the congregation opened their arms to me,” he said. “Because of their warmth and support, I became more aware that God loves me and is at work in my life. Before long, I was on my way to recovery.”

During the worship service one Sunday in the fall of 1990, Dale listened to Jessica Moffatt, minister of community ministries, tell about ministries that lay people of the church provide for individuals and families who desperately need help.

“Jessica encouraged us to think of how God could use our skills and strengths in his service. There was a sheet of paper in the pews listing our various ministries, and there was a place to sign up for any ministry we wanted to serve in,” recalls Dale.

“I felt so compelled. What better way was there for me to express my gratitude for what God was doing in my life than by helping others? When I looked down the list, the used-car ministry caught my eye. I had no idea what it was, but since I was in the automotive industry, I thought I might have something to offer. I knew I wanted to give, so I signed up.”

Dale did have something to offer the used car ministry. He quickly became a key member of the team, and now directs it.

“We take cars our members have donated, fix them up the best we can with the money and talent we have available, and give them to people who have a serious transportation problem,” he explains.

The ministry donated 30 cars last year. Applicants are carefully screened to confirm their need for an automobile and their ability to pay for insurance, license, and the title transfer.

“We try to make sure a car is mechanically sound so it’s not likely to be a burden. After all, we want to help a family get out of the transportation bondage they are in, not get them into deeper trouble. And we have helped a lot of folks. Some have been out of work because they couldn’t get a job or keep a job without a car. Having a dependable vehicle has helped them get into a position to earn a decent income.”

Dale and his crew also do minor auto repairs for persons in financial crisis. “We don’t want to end up being a free repair shop for the city of Tulsa, but when we can, we want to help people who are in a bind.”

He now dreams of helping the church establish a bicycle ministry. “We will ask members to donate bikes they no longer use. Then we will repair them and give them to needy children. Besides making some kids happy, our team will get a lot of satisfaction out of it.”

What satisfaction will they receive?

“Being kind to others is the best way I know of to praise God for the kindness and mercy he has shown me,” Dale replies.

Dale is one of more than 800 members of First United Methodist Church in Tulsa who serve in community ministries. Males and females—teenagers to senior adults—participate. Regardless of skills and interests, there’s a task for anyone who feels led to serve.

Here are some of the more than two dozen ministries the church provides:

  • Card Ministry: Creates and distributes about one hundred personalized cards each week to persons who have special joys or concerns.
  • Transportation Ministry: Takes persons to and from church, medical clinics, or shopping centers.
  • Aviation Ministry: Transports by private planes those who have emergencies such as out-of-state surgeries or funerals.
  • Moving Ministry: Helps persons who can neither move themselves nor hire a mover.
  • Prison Ministry: Visits those in jails and prisons.
  • Unemployment Ministry: Works with job hunters—matches skills with openings, prepares resumes, helps set up appointments, gives tips on how to make good impressions during job interviews.

Attorneys, accountants, doctors, dentists, teachers, and other professionals also volunteer regularly, offering consultation and care without charge to persons in crisis.

To avoid duplicating services, the church works closely with other providers of care in the community. For example, after it was suggested that the church open a home for unwed mothers, a team explored the need and found that Tulsa had enough homes for unwed mothers. However, several homes reported that they needed maternity clothes for clients. So the church ministry team focused on helping provide clothing.

“We asked every woman who had ever had a baby to look in her closet and pull out all her maternity clothes and give them to the church,” Jessica says. “There was a great response, and we set up a wonderful closet. When the homes refer an unwed mother to us, we give her several nice outfits; and then spend time with her, talking about babies, developing relationships, quietly sharing God’s love.”

First UM Church in Tulsa became intentional about developing community ministries in the mid-1980s, under the leadership of Jim Buskirk, the senior pastor. In 1985, Jessica Moffatt joined the staff as the first director of community ministries.

The Community Ministries program at First UMC in Tulsa is based on a model developed at Candler School of Theology. It was done as a three-day-weekend program in local churches from 1968 through 1984. During the first half of that period, it was a field component of the Department of Evangelism under Dr. Buskirk, who was then professor of evangelism at Candler.

When Buskirk was appointed to the Tulsa church, he continued to do missions in local churches. Jessica Moffatt, along with other associates on his staff, accompanied him as Candler students had earlier to other local churches. “Principles that were developed at many sites have been employed at our church under Jessica Moffatt’s effective direction,” says Buskirk.

Jessica explains that Motivation for Ministry has three basic thrusts: Christian commitment, enrichment of Christian fellowship, and the ministries of lay persons within and beyond the walls of the church. Lay persons are imaged as ministers; clergy, teachers, and leaders are imaged as enablers and equippers of lay persons for their ministries.

During a weekend in the fall of 1985, the church launched its first community ministries event with small group meetings and colorful worship services. Members were asked, “What needs do you see in the city of Tulsa to which you wish members of our church were ministering? ” They were invited to write answers on cards that were placed in the pews.

“We received nearly 1,600 suggestions for ministries,” recalls Jessica. “When we sorted them, they fell into 49 ministry categories. During our worship service on the last night of our event, we distributed a list of the ministries with room numbers beside each ministry. At the close of the service, we invited members to go to the room of the ministry that interested them most. That night we began 39 ministries!”

Every six months, participants have an opportunity to change ministries, create new ministries, or take a break from this form of ministry altogether. However, they don’t have to wait until six months is up. They can stop any time. And there’s no limit to the length of time they can serve in the same ministry. They can continue for years if that’s what they want to do.

“What you want to do is what matters,” Jessica reminds those who are thinking about serving in community ministries. “Volunteer for a ministry because you want to do it. And quit when you no longer want to do it. ”

To keep everyone informed about needs and opportunities, a Community Ministries Network meets monthly. Representatives from ministry groups and adult Sunday school classes attend. The network also helps organize two community ministries events each year. At these events, community needs are reviewed and brainstorming gets underway.

“Actually, we never stop brainstorming,” says Jessica. “All year long, all of us look for needs; and ways to develop ministries that will address them.”

Jessica and others on the church staff make sincere efforts to avoid manipulating members into ministering; and they also try to protect the dignity of all who receive help. Their objective is to help people break free from dependency as quickly as possible.

What does it take for a church to establish community ministries? First UM Church in Tulsa has approximately 7,200 members, 7 appointed ministers, and an extensive support team; but Jessica says you don’t have to have a huge membership and a big staff to begin ministering to the community. You must, however, have two components:

  • A group of lay people sensitive to the needs of individuals and families, eager to do what Jesus taught his followers to do–wash feet, feed the hungry, and nurse the wounded.
  • A supportive pastor who is enthusiastic and able to motivate and equip lay people to do what they believe God is calling them to do.

Jessica sees convincing evidence that community ministries benefit those who receive services. And she’s convinced that lay people who minister also benefit. “Serving helps them keep spiritually fit and growing as Christians,” she says. Dale Bowser and hundreds of other volunteers at First UM Church in Tulsa agree. They also know that serving is the best way to thank God.

Boyce A. Bowdon is the director of communication for the Oklahoma Conference of the UM Church. He is also the author of Selling Your Church in the ’90s: A Public Relations Guide for Clergy and Laity (Koinonia).

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