Back in January (2019) our pastor and staff started the process of assessing all the ministries of our church as to how each on aligns to the mission, vision, core values, and discipleship process of our church. They determined that our library ministry needed to move in the same direction our church family is going.
On March 27th, I officially became the library team leader with no team members. The first task was moving the collection to a new room being created by a building program. With the services of my Sunday School class, we prepared the collection for the move and made the move in four weeks. All of us have jobs and have daily commitments so most of our work was done on Wednesday evenings. The actual move itself had to be done in a few days so many of us readjusted our schedules in order to make it happen by the deadline. To God be the glory!
Our next step was unloading the borrowed carts which made the logistics possible. That took three Wednesday evenings. Members of my Sunday School class plus a couple of others have continued to set up the space. Currently we are doing an inventory to confirm what items are on the shelves. We hope to finish the inventory during the next two Wednesday evenings.
Layered on top of these actions, we are also working out a new direction for this library ministry. We are dramatically changing the purpose and mission of the collection and the actions of the ministry. Our focus is on making disciples. As we finalize our concept, I will share our two-page description with you. We are very excited about what God is doing in our midst! Hopefully, we will have our grand opening on August 11 when our new building opens.
Grateful,
Morlee Maynard
Comments
Had a great meeting with our church staff yesterday!! They are in full support of our new direction. Discovered that titles of all rooms like the library needs to use the word "Center." So our transition team will meet this evening to rethink the title we had proposed to the leaders. Our new title was well received by the staff but we need to make this adjustment. And the suggestion was made to reconsider memorials. We will discuss this change this evening too.
And we are now moving toward a grand opening with the rest of our new building on August 10 and 11. Lots to be done. Still waiting on the construction crew to install electrical outlets. Great to have my laptop on Wednesdays when we work in there.
Our prayer needs: guidance to new team members and continued needs to consider the collection.
Yesterday our transition team met to further think through the new strategy and context for our church's library ministry. This week we are individually pondering what our "elevator" response would be if someone asks what the ministry is becoming. We also started thinking through the framework for our team structure. We have already experienced how this ministry provides team members to meet and get to know people in our church that they would never have known otherwise. Love these new relationships developing as we serve. We also completed the follow up task of reading shelves.
On Tuesday (18th,) I will represent the transition team during our church staff meeting. They have all been given our concept paper to reflect on before this 15-minute conversation on Tuesday. A big part of this transition is developing strong and productive relationships with our church staff.
Our prayer needs? God's call for new team members. The staff meeting on Tuesday. God's guidance on that "elevator" response.
Last night we wrapped up the inventory. Took us three Wednesdays. Great team!! Cindy Lumpkin, Amy Layne, Sue Boyer, Sheila Moss, Tricia Pedigo, and Carolyn Curry pictured here.
Here are a few pictures of our progress. During the move, we rested the collection on the pews while the shelving was moved to the new room. Over several days we moved the collection from the pews to our new room. Bev League and I are arranging the children's books. For about three weeks, the entrance was open as the men prepared the glass and the door. All the items are now on the shelves and spaced for now. Ready for the inventory.
On paper, we have 7000+ items. I am guessing we have half of that on the shelves. We are doing an inventory right now to discover what has been lost.
We are in the process of aligning our collection and services to the mission, vision, core values and the disciple making process of our church family. Our description follows:
a multipurpose ministry that helps Jesus’ disciples
walk a pathway of lifelong discipleship by building bridges to
our communities and the world
as we invite people to Jesus, invest in spiritual growth, and increase His Kingdom.
In the next day or two, I will attach our two-page plan. Changes include new name, new location, more than just a room of books, new team, new purposes and actions.
Thanks!!
Very interesting! How many items in your collection? In what ways has your library changed to fall in line with the vision of discipleship?
Now it is your turn to start your story. What is happening in and through your church library? Click on the tab under The Circle: Our Journeys. You will find directions on how to tell your story and keep adding to your story.
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