Training Document for the Senior Ministry Inventory Project
[Note: You are encouraged to make copies of this document for all persons involved in the Senior Ministry Inventory Project]
Dear Partners in implementing the Senior Ministry Inventory, Thank you for accepting the responsibilities associated with completing the Senior Ministry Inventory project. The role you play in the implementation of the Inventory is crucial for the successful completion of this project. Your responsibilities are not many and they are not difficult, but they are absolutely necessary. I want to thank you in advance for your partnership.This document will explain the responsibilities for the members of the Inventory Committee.
- Check with your pastor or Church Council to confirm the 4-week period
when the Senior Ministry Inventory will be implemented in your congregation
(please include these dates when you register) with us.
- Work with your pastor to adapt the Newsletter Article and the four
Bulletin Announcements that are provided on our website. Make
any changes that are necessary for your congregation and situation.
Remember that these materials can be downloaded from Church Resources’
website at www.elderministry.com
or you may request them as an e-mail attachment by sending your request to
inventory@elderministry.com
- Confirm that your church has received the correct number of Inventories and
9x12 envelopes that were ordered. If someone else opened the box that
Church Resources sent to your congregation, ask them to confirm that the number
of Inventories that we indicate have been shipped are actually in the box(es)
that you have received.
- Make sure that the Inventories and envelopes are secure. Do not pass any
out without collecting the processing fee. Your congregation will be
responsible to keep an accurate record of how many Inventories have been
completed and how many unused Inventories remain. Church Resources
carefully monitors the number of Inventories we send to a congregation, the
number of Inventories used, and the number of unused Inventories returned
to Church Resources. We do this because each Inventory you have received
has already cost us for expenses associated with printing and pre-paid processing
fees. While we do not pre-charge congregations for the Inventories we send,
we do expect that a congregation will keep accurate control of all Inventories,
and return all unused Inventories to Church Resources. The careful
control, distribution and management of your Inventories are the responsibility
of your congregation. Please re-use the “Packing and Inventory Slip” that
came with the Inventories and envelopes. After the 4-week project has been
completed, it is your responsibility to work with your pastor, and/or your
church secretary, or treasurer, to account for how many Inventories were
picked up by members who paid the processing fee, and how many Inventories
have not been used and should be returned to Church Resources.
- Remember, do not to mark or write on these Inventories in any way and do not
fold, bend or damage the Inventory booklet. These are the Inventory booklets
that will be distributed to your congregation’s members after they have paid the
processing fee. Reviewing these materials will give your committee an
overall perspective of the Senior Ministry Inventory project and will enable
you to respond to many specific questions.
- Think through the process of how you will pass out the Inventories and collect
the processing fee. Who will be responsible for the money? To whom
will you give the money after it has been collected? While every congregation
may choose a slightly different approach to these tasks, the following model has
been successfully used in many congregations.
- The best way to distribute the Senior Ministry Inventory is to set up a table(s)
wherever your members congregate following Sunday morning or mid-week worship
services. Have two people stationed at each table. (Note: We
suggest that one member of your committee volunteer to call your church office
every week during the implementation phase to confirm that the church custodial
staff will set up the number of tables and chairs that you will need.)
- The volunteers who sit at these tables have the following assignments:
- Give one copy of the Inventory with a 9 x 12 Envelope to every person who pays
the processing fee. The instructions for completing the Inventory are
printed on the 9 x 12 envelope.
- Collect the processing fee from every individual who picks up an Inventory.
If they pay by check, all checks should be made payable to your congregation.
At the end of the services for one Sunday, turn over all money to the church office
or treasurer. Be sure to keep a running total of all money collected to date.
- Write your congregation’s I.D. # in the space provided on the front cover (Question 1)
of every Inventory that you distribute. Write your congregation I.D. # beginning
with the box on the left. DO NOT write your congregation’s I.D. on Inventories
in advance of receiving the processing fee. Once an I.D. # has been written on
the Inventory, the Inventory is considered “used” and Church Resources needs to
receive the processing fee for all “used” Inventories. “Used” Inventories
cannot be returned to Church Resources.
- When you hand the person the Inventory and the 9x12 envelope, show them that the
specific instructions for taking the Inventory are printed on the front page of the
Inventory, and that general instructions regarding the whole process are printed
on the front of the 9x12 envelope.
- When couples take the Inventory, each person needs to take the Inventory
independent of the other. The reason for this is that the needs of one
will be different from the needs of the other. Consequently, couples need
to receive two Inventories and pay two (2) processing fees. They will both
receive a confidential report.
- Ask every person who receives an Inventory to sign their name and telephone number
on a pad of paper that you provide. Have a pad of paper at each table where
Inventories are being distributed.
- As members and guests of your congregation pick up their Inventory, pay the processing
fee, and sign their name and phone number – be sure to thank them for their participation.
Also remind them to return the completed Inventory, sealed in the 9x12 envelope, to the
church office and to check off their name(s) from the list. In this way you will
know who has turned in their completed Inventory.
- Work with your pastor to identify any members over 50 who are homebound, in Nursing
Homes or other institutions. Ask for volunteers from your senior group who have
completed their Inventory to take an Inventory to the individuals who cannot come to
church, and to help them fill out the Inventory if they are too old and cannot
complete the Inventory alone.
- Work with your church office staff to collect all completed Inventories in a box,
and to ask individuals, when they return their completed Inventory, to check off
their name from the list they signed when they picked-up their Inventory. We
recommend that you re-use the box(es) that Church Resources used when we shipped
the materials to your congregation.
- At the conclusion of the Senior Ministry Inventory Project – at the end of the 4th
week – FedEx or
UPS the box(es) of completed Inventories to
the address provided below. To insure that the Inventories will be protected, fill any
empty space in a box with lightweight packing materials (crumpled newspaper, etc.). Church
Resources is NOT responsible for loss or damage due to improper shipping/handling. Therefore
we strongly suggest that you insure and track the shipment from your congregation to our
processing center.
- If you have questions regarding the implementation process please call or e-mail our
office. If you have the capacity, we prefer e-mail to telephone calls because
an e-mail provides us with a written record of your request or question. However,
if you do not have the capacity to send e-mail then call our office for assistance.
16835 Algonquin St. #231
Huntington Beach, CA 92649
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714.846.7507