How Do I Get The Word Out About CR?

Sometimes it can be one of the most overwhelming things as a TEAM member of our ministry, specifically the A coach in carrying the burden of getting the word out about CR. First and foremost it is important to remember as the A coach that God chose you to be a vessel, not the deliverer.  Ever think about how Moses could have gotten this idea messed up when God was talking to him at the burning bush? Could it be that Moses misunderstood God when He said, "go and tell Pharaoh to let me people go" He didn't say, "Moses, go and deliver my people, good luck with that." No, He said, "Moses, I have a plan and you get a front row seat to see what I am going to do."  How cool huh?!

So, remember, to pray, pray, pray.  All the things we can do as an A coach fall on dry soil if the Spirit is not in it.  Ok, that being said, what are some things that we can do as A coaches to strive for excellence in our role on the TEAM?

Value #6 – Strive for excellence

 If any of you wants to serve me, then follow me.  Then you’ll be where I am, ready to serve at a moment’s notice.  The Father will honor and reward anyone who serves me.  John 12:26 (Msg)

Your task is to single-mindedly serve Christ.  Do that and you’ll kill two birds with one stone:  pleasing God above you and proving your worth to the people around you.  Romans 14:18 (Msg)

How are you getting the attention of your community? Don't over complicate this. It really isn't as complicated as we might want to make it. It is, however, hard work isn't it? I don't know about you but I am willing to work hard if it means helping the wealth of hurting people out there find freedom?

Some people who try outreach and fail, fail because they only make a few small efforts. Some have initial success but stop when they get a few people coming. Stay the course my friend. We must never let down in doing our part but make sure you recruit some small "a“'s.

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9) After you have recruited some folks to help you in this journey, you may divide up the tasks and together as a A team, work a little each week (1-2 hours) on getting the word out about CR outside the walls of your own church.

Here are some things that other CR's have done:

1. Develop a brief flyer with information about your Celebrate Recovery group. Be sure to describe the benefits, location, meeting time, contact information, maps and any information. Send the flier in the mail, keep copies with you in your car as you travel. Look for people who may be “candidates” for your Celebrate Recovery group.

2. Consider having a Celebrate Recovery specialty item to give away such as a link pen with an internet address to the site that has information about your Celebrate Recovery group. Sometimes if you ask corporations to consider being a part of this they will donate money to provide the funds for this.

3. Write articles about recovery topics and submit them to publications and web sites that target people in your area, Many times you writing will appear in print. You may even be asked to talk about your Celebrate Recovery group on the radio or in a television interview.  You would be surprised at how receptive a lot of TV stations and newspapers will be to giving you even a couple minute spot on air if you write a letter to them. If you would like a sample of one we did, search TheCrleader on youtube and you will see a Channel 5 News interview they let me come on to do.

4. Do you have business cards printed up? Develop small business-sized cards with the times, places, contact information and maps to where your Celebrate Recovery group meets. All your leaders need to have this on their person at all times so that when someone asks them what their shirt is they are wearing, they can pull out the card and invite them to come to the meeting. You never know when you will need it.

5. Provide childcare for people who come to the meeting. Make sure you let people know childcare is provided in everything you do to promote your group. Sometimes it is as simple as that.  If there is not a place for people to take their kids, they are less likely to come.  Celebration Station and Landing is a great way to fulfill these needs.  Start praying for leaders to lead these two incredible ministries so that our kids have a safe place to deal with their own hurt in their life. Let me know if you have questions about this.

Ok, I will stop there and add some more in my next post.  If you have all these things then you are great.  Keep working and striving for excellence.  There are so many more people out there that need CR.

We are so proud of each of you for all you are doing for the Kingdom.  Thanks for your willingness to be a vessel for His work. Enjoy the front row view. I know you will be blessed as I have.

More to come....

Rodney, National Assimilation Coach

Fellowship Events

First of all I would like to share with you our National Celebrate Recovery TEAM Facebook pages:

CR Training Coach -https://www.facebook.com/groups/181048575339367/

CR Encourager Coach -https://www.facebook.com/groups/123797771027320/

CR Assimilation Coach -https://www.facebook.com/groups/246040792093304/

CR Ministry Leader -https://www.facebook.com/groups/402700399744054/

If you are a part of a CR TEAM, please come join us!  I asked one of our E Coaches, Rose Simpson, if she would compile a list of the Fellowship Events that have been posted on Encouragement Central over the past year.  So here's a sampling of what you can glean from the page!

CR Fellowship Events & Ideas

• End of Summer Picnics, “CR in the Park” with a jumping house for the kids, horseshoes, face painting, softball game, & of course hamburgers & hot dogs on the grill, etc.
• Cookouts, church or elsewhere
• Potlucks
• Fiesta Friday’s
• Holiday Celebrations like Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, etc.
• Super Bowl party with the idea of testimony half time
• Game nights- monthly, quarterly; wii, board
• Movie nights
• Field trips to other CR’s
• Bowling nights
• Roller skating nights
• Skits done by CR for the surrounding churches
• People Bingo
• CR Family Campout at a Christian Campground
• Zip line
• Beach/Lake party
• Ladies night out
• Joint men’s/women’s retreats with the church
• Ladies jewelry swap
• Chili cook-off competitions
• Honor our kitchen staff, give them the month off and do potluck. So the first sun in august, we cook slow roasted meat and have a really good Picnic, but all kitchen staff are served at the table, given corsages, we serve them that night. Then we do minute to win it games, I even download the blueprint's that NBC uses, and we do music with them, like fight of the bumblebee. It's a ton of fun!
• Christian Comedian followed by a fellowship finger food.
• CR music groups/concerts
• “Minute to Win It” game night – See Mary Owen’s FB photo album

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2124836118883.2113844.1185277204&type=3

• Kickball game
• Go to apple farm and do a corn maze, a hay ride, and pick pumpkins. Then go to a leader's house to carve our pumpkins, eat Smores, play games, and have a bonfire.
• Fundraiser and outreach events like  10k’s and handing out CR stickered water bottles
• “Stuff It All In” game

Someone asked for more details on this fun game you can play at your leader's meeting called, "Stuff It All In".

Buy a cheap plastic shower liner to throw away ($2), have a table with 2 empty 2-liter bottles sitting on top, 1 brown paper lunch sack for each person with a food item, something different in each sack like banana, 2 raw eggs, soft peach, Twinkie, Oreos, sliced cheese, orange, bell pepper, jumbo marshmallows, tomato. For example if you have 20 people, have 10 sacks with 1 different food in each sack, then 10 more sacks for the other team with the same combination. (Will need Wet-Ones on hand for afterwards.)

Instructions: Divide into 2 teams. Each person grabs a sack. Have a relay race. Each person on team much stuff their item inside the 2 liter bottle. Winning team gets all their items in the bottle first.

Point: How hard is it to cram everything in we need to do? Things get messy. We need time to rest & rejuvenate. Another point could be, when we try to do everything ourselves, it gets frustrating & chaotic at times. Looking to God for strength & wisdom, a team working together, & having volunteers to share the responsibilities brings more order to our lives. Or another way you could go is, "What feelings am I stuffing down & not addressing?" It won't be hidden for long because what goes in the heart comes out of the mouth eventually. We need to empty ourselves so God can fill us up.

You could go take any of these thoughts or another you may think of to make an object lesson out of this fun game.

Pictures of the South Central region State Reps playing this game in Forney, TX in one of my FB photo albums. We had so much fun! Winning team gets all their items in the bottle first.

See pictures & details here:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1667080795286.2087294.1185277204&type=3

https://www.facebook.com/groups/123797771027320/permalink/263188800421549/

**More ideas compiled from E Central Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/groups/123797771027320/permalink/254432204630542/

Because of Him,

Mary ~ Natl. E Coach for women

Thanks For The Great Tip

Recently I was visiting with a friend of ours that works as a waitress in a restaurant. I was asking her about her job and if she made pretty good tips in her job.  She said, yes she does well most of the time.  I know this is a big deal for them because their salary is dependent on the tips from customers. Just for fun I asked her what some of the funny stories about her job were. There are some really funny things that waiters can share about their job.  You can only imagine some of the things they hear and see in this job. :) This can be one of those thankless jobs one can hold.

What would you guess would be the customer types that waiters and waitresses like serving the least?  I was surprised when she told me that it was the Sunday morning church crowds. Most of the wait staff dreads the Sunday morning crowd cause so many are tough to work with. Yeah, she said that this crowd most generally, and I do speak in generalities, but that's the way it goes as a few people acting a certain way tend to give all of us a bad rep.  But, most generally they tend to be the ones that complain about the most stuff and leave the worst tips. Ouch!

She shared something with me that I was actually pretty stunned to hear.  On several occasions, “some” people from the "Sunday crowd" will leave a tract instead of a tip upon leaving.  You know, the cards they hand out that tell you how to receive Christ. Wow! Really!?

As she was sharing this story with me, I was stunned and could see the utter frustration and discouragement from the situation.  This goes without saying, but this does not go far in spreading the Good News, does it?.  If it comes in the form of bad news, as a replacement for doing the right thing as patrons, then we have not done our job as believers.  Now, don't get me wrong, I know and have experienced the horror stories about poor service.  It isn’t any fun.  But in this situation, she gave good service and this was the response.

It reminded me that as a believer, I need to "show" the love of Christ even if it doesn’t go my way.  How do I respond at the bank when they make an error on my account?  How do I respond at the gas station when the clerk doesn’t turn the pump on for me while I am standing in the rain waiting to pump gas? How do I respond when the waiter brings out the food dish I didn’t order?  Something to chew on.  (No pun intended) We can hold people accountable without being disrespectful.

This made me realize, my actions as a believer will lead someone to my church or ministry far better than any words I can express.  Here is an idea for the next time you go out to eat with your family.  First off, when your waiter or waitress comes to your table to introduce themselves, introduce yourself and tell them you are from CR.  Then show the love of Christ thru the entire meal experience thru friendly banter and good nature.

Now, when the evening is over, leave a great tip and a CR card with it.  Make sure the card has your address to your CR, number, and general info about the ministry. I promise you I have seen this happen myself as I have done it before.  They never forget you and/or the ministry you represent.  More importantly they will never forget the Christ you represent as the salt and the light.

This got me to thinking about the CR newcomer.  How many potential "CR Newcomers" will God put in your path today in all you do throughout normal life interactions?  Will they thirst for what they see in you and me?  Will they see the light shining thru you as you interact EVEN in the bad stuff?

I also got to thinking about the potential "CR Newcomers" sitting in the pews of our own churches.  How are we being the salt and the light back into our own churches?  Make sure they crave what you have.  Then when you talk about CR, it is an easier flow.

The Church bulletin is a great way to connect with the "CR Newcomers" within your church. 

Question: Do you have a church bulletin?  Do you have space that you have weekly exposure in for the regular church goers to read?

Speaking of tips, here are a couple tips to consider:

1. If you don't have a church bulleting space, ask your pastor for a few lines to plug your ministry.  Most of the time it just takes persistence in asking if you can have some space to get it.

Don’t forget to put the day, location and time you meet.

2.  If you do have space already:  Do you keep it fresh and change it up regularly?  Consider using a one sentence line that will grab the person that still thinks CR is for those “drunks and addicts.”  You don't want to say something like: "Are you tired of feeling hung-over after a long night of partying?"  That won't go far in changing the perception about what CR is all about.

I asked our A coaches on our Assimilation Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/groups/246040792093304 what were some lines they had used in their own bulletins. You might consider trying some of these great lines.

Here are a few from our A Coach page:

Do you have trouble setting limits?// "Do you ever just feel "stuck'?// CHRIST = Changing Habits Resulting in Spiritual Triumph// Are you tired of the chaos?// Are you tired of doing same hurtful thing over and over again?// God's word has a plan for freedom from whatever is keeping you down!!// Helping ordinary people, who are suffering in silence to overcome and become healthy human beings again// Come and visit CR at least once before you make up your mind about it.// Still looking?

Or how about a Homerun type post: Are you tired of Striking out, SEE HOMERUN THE MOVIE, Celebrate Recovery may be YOUR answer?

Some great ideas just to name a few.  The point is, keep it fresh and get creative with it. 

Remember, we can get the word out about this amazing ministry but it always comes down to showing who we are as a result of this ministry.  Let people see the salt and the light shining in you.  Even if they get your order wrong...:)

Happy Assimilating friend.  Thank you for all you do to follow and carry out principle 8.  Your words and actions are making a difference.

Who will you share CR with today?

Rodney Holmstrom, National Assimilation Coach roholmstrom@fellowshipnwa.org

Rethink, Stretch & DREAM…

How can I promote our CR so that more people will know and hear about this amazing ministry? 

As Assimilation Coaches this is the big question isn’t it? While there are many ways to do this, I want to challenge you as an A coach to examine your ability to rethink, dream, stretch as a team. How often does your team dream? When is the last time you and your team just got away and dreamed big about the future of your CR? Maybe you have gotten stuck in your existing way of thinking, promoting and communicating this great ministry. Maybe it is time to rethink how you get the word out.

Take a look at this great scripture:

“God is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes.”  Ephesians 3:20

 Here are a few things we can do to help get us out of the rut we may be in as leaders and/or a ministry:

1. Get your team to  “Think outside the box”.

Why are you doing things the way you always have in promoting your ministry? One of the greatest challenges we can face as leaders is to fall into the general lingo of “that’s the way we have always done it.”Sometimes it is good to change things up.  It may be taking existing literature and giving it a fresh look.  Maybe a different colored sheet the info is on.

We had one of our leaders give a great idea of sharing literature with dentist offices.

“What?! We have never done that before! That isn’t a recovery house or a treatment center.”

Maybe a grocery store bulletin board. What if we got some on air time at a local radio station “non Christian” “What?! You can’t do that.” 

Again, “why”? Don’t let the “that is the way we have always done it before.” mentality get in the way of living out God’s dreams for you in your life. Maybe you start thinking about how you can take literature to places you never dreamed of sharing info with. Think outside the box and watch your team blossom.  

     2. Try having a brainstorming planning meeting with you and your whole team away from the church. Some of the greatest ideas have come out of those relaxed times over lunch at a cabin or park together with your team. The point is, get them brain storming. Remember, nothing is off limits.  Make sure your brainstorming time is set up with safe results. Meaning, nothing is a bad idea.  Even if it sounds crazy, get it out on paper cause it may either be a long term goal or may spur other great ideas. 

Many great ideas have come from several ideas that didn’t work? Many more than those that did work.

       3. Take a look at each ministry/team: Does your T.E.A.M. have an environment with the freedom to fail? If everyone is stifled with a fear of failure, no good ideas will come from your TEAM. Is it a group effort on everything going on or are there only a handful of people making all the decisions? Make sure all your teammates know they have a voice and that you desire to hear the good and the bad that is seen. Important to note howver that each team member must have a solution as a possibilkity when making an observation of a flaw inthe ministry.

    4. Be flexible and change: As TEAM members it is so important that we do several things:

             a.  Identify the strengths as a TEAM. Waht are we doing right as a minsitry? What are our    strengths? Let's celebrate those and give God teh glory for choosing to use us in that.

             b.   What is an area we need to improve in? What are our weaknesses? Don't look at this as a negative. This is a part of our growth in any ministry whether you ahve jsut started or have been going for 10 years. Pointing out weaknesses has great wisdom and helps us as a ministry not become complacent. We do this as aa team here at least once a year at aretreat. It helps us see where we need to go from here.           

            c. From the weaknesses we identified together as a TEAM, what will the challengesand opportunities, or goals will be moving forward. There is nothing wrong with having weaknesses, it is wrong however to recognize weaknesses and yet bury our head in the sand not correcting those weaknesses. It is important to be specific and even set names to who will do what tasks. Remember, not every idea will work but we don't know unless we try it.

Happy rethinking, dreaming and stretching.

Rodney Holmstrom, CR National Assimilation Coach

Childlike Wonder

When we take our grandchildren on "Cousin Camp" vacation, we plan activities for different days.  One of the activities is a nature walk where we go through the woods to find treasures that we discover laying around.

Childlike wonder...it's a beautiful thing to watch as they notice things we as adults normally rush by...collecting different kinds of leaves, picking up rocks examining each one, digging for worms & squealing with delight when they see one wiggling...& the list goes on.

I was helping one of our grandsons build a snowman recently & watching him make tunnels through the snow, catching snowflakes in his mouth, throwing snow at Mamie (me) & was amazed at how it looked in my hair.  Then he exclaimed, "Let's build a snowman!" Then it came time for the finishing touches.  There weren't any branches around for Frosty's arms except for the new tree they planted in their front yard...the only tree in their front yard. 

I carefully broke off 2 tiny sticks for Frosty's arms.  Solomon was so proud of our creation with his raisin eyes & a pickle for his nose.  Next day our daughter called me & said, "Guess what Solomon did?  He broke off the whole tree to make bigger arms for Frosty! The wonder of a child...you can't help but smile!

And when I think about this childlike wonder & what makes me smile...it's not only the memories of my children & now the experiences with my grandchildren...but also the children God sends us in recovery.  Grown men & women who are experiencing new things for the first time, emotions that have been frozen for years, relationships being restored, being able to laugh for just the simplest of things or for no reason at all...just having fun with others in recovery....childlike wonder!

King David praises God in Psalm 8 for God's awesome creation.  Vs. 2 says, "Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you; toddlers shout the songs that drown out enemy talk, & silence atheist babble." Did you get that? The praise of children drowns out the enemy! So how important is my praise in spiritual warfare to drown out the lies of the evil one?!

Satan's best attack is to have discouragement come knocking at our door to pull us away from time with our God & allow doubt to move in.  We need to slow down & take time to praise God, take a child out in nature & watch how they respond to God's creation, watch a new child in recovery praise God in worship.  I love to journal the wonderful things He has done.  When we continually praise Him for the hope we have...the enemy is defeated!

Childlike wonder...I am reminded of the child that was born for us...the baby that changed everything!  Isa. 9:2,6-7 (MSG),

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. For those who lived in a land of deep shadows---light! sunbursts of light!  For a child has been born for us!"

Share a story of wonder you have experienced with a child or somebody new in recovery.

What steps do you take when discouragement comes knocking at your door?

Mary~National Encourager Coach