So your church has called a new pastor…or youth minister or other staff member.  Need an effective way to say “welcome?”

Try this idea! Prepare a notebook of”welcome forms” froma group who will be partners with her in coming days of ministry.

For example, deacon wives could prepare a welcome notebook for the new pastor’s wife. All the youth teachers and leaders could prepare a notebook for the new youth minister. 

Prepare a form similar to this one, but fit the questions to your church and her ministry.

Dear Pastor’s Wife… Welcome!

Deacon wives at ______ church are glad you’re here.

(One form to be completed by each deacon wife)

My Name_________________________________________

You can call me “_____________”

__You can count on me to be your prayer partner, friend, supporter and favorite sister!

 My husband: _____________ 

Children: __________________________________________

Address: ______________________________________(My address is marked on the attached map)

Phone: _________________

Email: _____________________________________________

Employment or interests: ________________________________________

One thing I’m involved in outside the church is ________________________

Something else I enjoy:__________________________________________

My favorite restaurant, bakery or coffee shop in our town:________________

One thing you’ll love about our town: ________________________________

 My favorite ministry involvement in church is  ________________________

My spiritual gift is _____________________________________ (Eph 4:7-12)

A favorite Scripture of mine is: ___________________________

One thing you’ll like about our church: _____________________

The best thing about our church is __________________________________

 Call me when… (just check a few)

___ You need a laugh

___ You need prayer

___ You get lost in town

___ You need a friend

___ You need a babysitter

___ You need a ride to church

___ You want to meet for coffee

___ You want help unpacking boxes

___ You need an encouraging word

___ You forget what time worship begins

___ You need someone to pick up the kids at school

___ You’d like company on a hospital or ministry visit

___ You need to find a ____________________(i.e. doctor, mall, dry cleaner)

___ I’d love to help you with: ____________________________________

(Example:  I work in the school district, like planting flowers, will introduce you to all our homebound members sometime, help you with computer, cooking, decorating, etc.)

 —–

You could distribute the forms by email, asking the participants to email a digital photo to accompany the form.

I was the pastor’s wife in a church with a large ministry staff.  As we added various staff members, we’d prepare a form similar to this to quickly make the staff wife feel welcome.  All our current staff wives would complete the form.

It’s difficult to make a move. Try this simple way to give her a warm welcome.

“I was a stranger and you took me in….” Matthew 25:35

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• Pray for Steve and I as we lead Kentucky Baptist Convention’s Pastor / Deacon / Wives Retreat this weekend in Bowling Green.
• Coming February 1 – Thirty Days to be a better deacon’s wife. Daily blog with simple tips to improve your serve.
• Coming March 1 – Thirty Days to improve your church’s women’s ministry.

This Fresh Idea was posted on Thursday, January 28th, 2010 | Deacon Wives, Ideas For Churches, Ministers Wives, Recent Articles.