I am spearheading the effort to build a Congregational Care Team which seeks to utilize the gifts and talents of our Wellspring Family. It takes the whole church to care for the whole church. Such a team is intended to meet the diverse needs of our congregation. Launching a successful care ministry is not a simple task and one person cannot do it on their own. One thing I have learned post-Covid is that we need to be intentional in caring for each another. Being part of a body of believers is a wonderful thing, but we must be the Church for one another outside of these four walls of the church.

The Wellspring Congregational Care Team involves the entire congregation, and it follows along with what we have been learning through the “Why Church” series. Pastor Rick and Pastor Wes have been preaching about how we are the Body of Christ, and as such we are called to serve one other. It is love that motivates us to serve others and helps us to be the hands and feet of God. Our Savior, Jesus, came not to be served but to serve others. By His example, we are called to do the same.

When Covid hit last year, we had a Helpline to help meet the needs of our church family. The Wellspring Congregational Care Team is a formal team made up of 8-10 individuals who will meet once a month to pray, exchange ideas, figure out what needs there are, and discuss how we can best meet those needs. We also need as many care volunteers as possible. There are many opportunities for everyone to get involved. As a care team volunteer, you will meet and help people you might not have gotten to know otherwise.

First, it is important to discuss, “Who do we provide care for?”

The Care Team is designed to care for all of our church family which includes members and attendees of Wellspring as well as church leadership, and small group members.

The next question that arises is, “What kind of care would the care team provide?”

We would provide care for emergencies that arise – this includes deaths in the family, as well as helping those who are dealing with a debilitating illness. One of the caring things we can do for a family in mourning is to help them in their time of grief by coordinating the reception after a memorial service. We will need a funeral reception coordinator as well as volunteers to help serve the meal and clean up afterwards. We also want to provide care for those who are sick by helping to provide meals, prayer, and support to the those who need it most.

Or a when a baby is born, we can help the family by running errands, providing meals, and giving our support and encouragement. Another area of need involves giving people rides to doctor appointments. It would be helpful to have a list of volunteers to provide rides to and from doctor appointments so that the burden doesn’t fall on just one person.

The Care Team would also be there to support and encourage our Wellspring family as needed in their walk with the Lord. This includes having consistent and regular contact with our homebound members where people can visit and make check-in phone calls to see if they have any needs we can help them with. For example, they may need help with lawncare. We can match care volunteers with those gifts or talents to those who could really use the help. We will need a long list of volunteers who could be of service to our elderly and homebound population.

Finally, one of the most important aspects of providing care to our congregation is that we need to know who needs care and when care is needed.

CARE CARDS

To receive care for yourself or if you know someone in the congregation who could use care, please send an email to chrisann@wellspring.net. We will be in contact with that person as soon as possible.
In the coming weeks care cards will be available at the Welcome Center after services on Sunday. You can fill out a care card request and hand that card into the office mail slot (located to the right of the office door) or leave it with Welcome Center Volunteers after service. Please provide your contact information so that we can get in touch with you personally to discuss how the Care Team can be of help.

JOIN THE TEAM

There are many opportunities to use our gifts and talents to serve one another. As I said earlier it takes the whole church to care for the whole church. I ask you all to prayerfully consider how you can serve others in our Wellspring Family.  You can sign up at the Welcome Center after either of the services, or you can email me at chrisann@wellspring.net.

Thank you for your consideration in volunteering to serve one another through the Wellspring Congregational Care Team Ministry. God Bless each and every one of you. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Blessings and Shalom,
Chris Ann Tufts
Wellspring’s Connections Coordinator