You’ve heard us talk a bit about the Special Offerings Leader Support Network, and even “met” a few of our Ambassadors along the way. Here’s a look at our training in January.
We’re always looking for people to add to our program. If you’re interested or know someone else who might be, visit pcusa.org/solsn.
Transcript:
Krystal: I decided to become an Ambassador for Special Offerings because I truly believe in this program.
Beau: Generosity is a very important part of my discipleship and how I follow Christ.
Kate: I want to help the church understand the mission and the ministry of our denomination, and be proud to be a Presbyterian.
Sally: One of the reasons why I chose the term “Ambassador”, is because an ambassador is, by definition in the dictionary, is a trained representative. And I love that paralleling of Jesus sending out the 72. And so, essentially an Ambassador is a volunteer.
Presbyterians feel a very strong identity with the PC(USA) Special Offerings – BUT- the numbers have shown that the receipts have continually just dropped. Something needed to happen. One of the things that the Special Offerings Leader Support Network volunteer ambassadors will do is to go out into the churches, and promote the churches, both at the Presbytery level and the individual church level. It won’t just be Special Offerings sending envelopes, or sending bulletin inserts – the goal is to be a lot more collaborative. What’s working in churches? What’s not working in churches? And how can we partner together to promote the work that God is calling us to do?
So I wanted to have New Orleans as our inaugural site because there is a lot of incredible work being done, and supported, and partnered with by Presbyterians here in this area. And I wanted the volunteer ambassadors to be able to see that, and feel it, and experience it for the first year of this training.
Anna: We’re doing training to be Special Offerings Ambassadors, which is a lot of conversation about what the Special Offerings are…
Krystal: How to give the ask, how to ask people to give money towards this great organization.
Beau: And to actually make physical contact with the leaders in churches that have been so generous in the past.
Sally: This is the inaugural gathering of the 2015 Ambassadors. Everybody over the last 4 or 5 months has applied, has been accepted, and now we’re all here. In New Orleans.
Kate: I think the goal of the training is the same as the ambassador program as a whole – that we’re putting a face on our church.
Krystal: So that we can meet one another, and we can have camaraderie around this task that we’re doing.
Beau: If you’re working with a group, with a community of trusted colleagues, the chances of doing effective ministry heighten so much.
Phyllis: Coming together to share our stories, and then to get some new stories to be able to go back and share – it was a great experience. At first I was kind of apprehensive, but now I am just so excited to be able to go back home and be able to do this.
Sally: This isn’t just something that you sign up for and do once a week. This is a calling.