Don't Reinvent the Wheel ...
Share Resources with FM "Best Of"
by Doug Newton

Ever wondered how many times the wheel has been "reinvented"? There's no telling, but it happens all the time in church ministry. One church wants to develop an effective small group ministry, so the pastor starts from scratch to write a philosophy and form a structure. Another church wants to improve its worship services to incorporate more balance. So the worship committee spends hours painstakingly knocking heads over what "balance" means and how to achieve it.

In these and so many other cases, pastors and church leaders could benefit from the experience and materials of similar churches that have walked that path before them rather than "reinventing the wheel."

Today, the Internet and computer technology makes the sharing of resources — of finding the "wheels" other churches are using — very easy and cost-effective. With that in mind, the Free Methodist Web site is currently engaged in a massive development program to gather, evaluate and make available ministry resources from all across the denomination. We're calling it our "Best Of…" project.

By the end of September 2002 we will have built the infrastructure of a virtual on-line library of ministry resources. Eventually hundreds of resources that have been proven effective in local church ministry will be posted. From discipleship resources to church policy manuals, from designing newsletters to developing a divorce recovery group, from inaugurating a new prayer focus to involving volunteers in outreach.

For example, want help designing a new format for your church bulletin? You'll be able to go to the resources library, look up "church bulletins" and find three components:

1. A tip sheet on "How to Create Effective Church Bulletins"
2. Samples of church bulletins from around the denomination
3. Downloadable versions of the "Best Of…" Church Bulletins

Every resource category will have these three basic components: a tip sheet, on-line samples, and downloadable aids.

An exciting element of this project is the designation "best of." A group of reviewers will comb through the scores of samples we receive and annually award the "best of" designation to resources in each category. That means that each year we will be looking for more and more samples from churches so that our resource library remains up-to-date. And you will be able to easily find the best samples in each category.

The "Best Of" project began with a comprehensive study of the church conducted by Linda Henson (Ph.D. Communications) during which the breadth of materials used and developed by Free Methodist churches across the United States was analyzed and gathered.

The results of this survey and sampling project confirmed the assumption that our Free Methodist churches are extremely creative and able to produce top quality materials and resources that fit their particular situation. And while each church's situation and needs are unique, there are enough similarities that it's worth checking out what others have already created before you "reinvent the wheel."