How does your library ministry support/connect with your church's discipleship ministry?

[Morlee Maynard]

One of our members, Brad Finkbeiner, posted such a question on a FB group page for ministers of education. I responded with information about our ministry design strategy that is almost totally focused on disciple making. I invited the ministers of education to come over here to see how you are relating to your church's discipleship strategy. Would you share? Does your church have an intentional disciple making process and/or strategy?

BTW, we are in the process of refining our church library ministry design. We'll be sharing it with you soon for your input as well.

THANKS!
Morlee

[Morlee Maynard]

What are we doing 15 years later? My church's library team is working with our Discipleship staff members to develop a location for their discipleship tools for individuals and families. Until recently these shelves were used for DVDs.Those are now in a waiting place as we decide what to do with DVDs. Does your church's library now have shelves that the church staff work with you in the selection process? Do they refer people to the library to get these items? What kind of items do they put on these shelves? Note Brad and Rita's experiences and suggestions back in 2010..

[Brad Finkbeiner]

Morlee, thank you for extending this question out to the Church Librarians NING community. Not all cases, but most, when I speak with other church library / media ministry leaders - their library/media ministry plays a supplemental role ( recreational or leisure reading, extra-biblical readings, etc). Many spend alot of energy emulating what their own county or community public library is already doing. Indeed, there is value in doing those things - church library / media ministry leaders need to "lodge" themselves into the center of their church's discipleship strategy. As I've said elsewhere, if a church library/media ministry is not central to their church's discipleship strategy, it probably doesn't actually have one. As a pastor or Minister of Education, I'd be very concerned about that disconnect. I really value the comment that was made in this forum string "small group leaders come to the library to select their class resources". That is dead-on to a mission of a church library / media ministry. Is there added complexity in operating this way - yes. is there added cost - yes. Are the benefits multiplied - absolutely! I would encourage all your Church Library Administration members ( and any pastor / minister of education) to insist that their church library / media ministry be the "delivery point" for discipleship resources !

[Rita Kirkland]

I totally aree with you on this. We as church libraries need to be on the cutting edge with materials. It is not enough to just house media, we must get it in the hands of those who need it. I am so surprised that people don't see the church library's magnitude of great media. I for one just want to serve our people and get God's Word into their hearts, that is why I research so much for the best. Hand-in-hand service with our church staff is multiplied when this is done.

Rita Kirkland

[Rita Kirkland]

Yes, we do have this opportunity. We supply Bible helps and Bible studies for the disciple classes. We have been reaching out to the Muslim population in our area which is quite large and within a few blocks of our church. We have one of our young ministers who is really going great guns in this area and recently our Singles became trained in working with the population. I am so happy to have our library used to teach and reach our people so that they can go forward with their work. God is working here and I see the changes. I am just happy that our library can house and circulate this material. We have purchased the best books explaining the different cultures that we will work with and they are being used. We have purchased books about discipleship and as the classes meet they come in and check out the items we have featured. If you are not involved in this, get with your ministers and ask to be included. We can help them with our collection and they can help us with our circulation. Team ministry, that's what it is all about.

[Morlee Maynard]

Rita, am I correct in thinking that your discipleship small group leaders come to the library to select the next resource their group will use? Do you have these resources in a special area of our library? How do your church staff ministers communicate with you about what to have available for the small group leaders to select from in the library? How do the small group leaders know to come to the library to make their selections?

[Rita Kirkland]

Yes Morlee. Leaders come and select what program they will study. We keep those studies in a special area as they are being used. When the small groups have completed their studies we then release them to any who want to study. Each leader comes by or calls to see if I have what they are needing. The Ministers tell people through their different leadership areas that these studies are available and also word of mouth from members of the classes. We also promote the fact that we have these great studies. It is a wonderful thing to see the number of people studying to show themselves approved, a workman that need not be ashamed.

[Morlee Maynard]

Forgot to ask another question. Do the members of the groups purchase their member or pupil books through the library?

[Rita Kirkland]

Depends. Sometimes we are asked to provide these for purchase, sometimes the teacher just wants to do it. I personally think it is a good service to provide for the church. Plus it makes it easier for class members to come by the library and purchase rather than having to go to bookstores.