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 9×12 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 9×12 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 9×12 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 9×12 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.

Attn: Inventory Control Department
16835 Algonquin St. #231
Huntington Beach, CA 92649