Meals Ministry Model
I had been looking for ways to get more involved at my church. One evening during a women’s Bible study, our pastor’s wife said that they were looking to start our meals ministry again and she was looking for a few people to head it up. I immediately volunteered. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. (1 Peter 4:10) I had participated in this ministry a number of years ago and knew right away that this was a good place for me. Ideas quickly popped into mind. Having participated previously as a meal provider, I was cognisant of things that had been hindrances for me. I wanted to have established procedures and make things as streamlined as possible.
I started with a mission statement. Here’s a sample: ‘The Meals Ministry of (insert church name)’s desire is to serve our church family by providing prepared meals to congregation members experiencing illness, recovery, or the birth of a child. Our goal is to express Christ’s love through practical care, encouragement, and support during times of need.’ I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ (Acts 20:35) Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2) And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. (Galatians 6:9-10)
Our church serves a wide area. It was important to me to organize our volunteer meal preparers by general locality to minimize the driving time for delivery. We also wanted to utilize freezer space that we have in the church kitchen. This gave us the ability to have meals on hand if an immediate need arose or no one was available during a given time. Additionally, this allowed for people to participate in a variety of ways. See a sample meal provider sign up form below. The form captures their contact information, location, preferences, and availability. This information is all tracked on a spreadsheet. A sticker was created for food in our freezer (see below) to indicate what the meal is, date prepared, date frozen, ingredients, and preparer. Printable labels with four to a page are utilized for this purpose.
When a call comes into the church office or is brought to the church’s attention, the church notifies one of the two meals ministry lead persons. Lead person will contact the person in need to gather essential information. Sample intake form is provided below. Some information needed will include the number of people in the household, dietary needs/restrictions, food allergies, likes/dislikes, and preferences for number of days and frequency of delivery. Lead person then contacts ministry volunteers and assigns days as appropriate, taking into account their general location, availability, and how frequently a volunteer has been called upon recently. The person’s or family’s needs and requirements are conveyed to the meal preparers. Meal preparer(s) then make contact to confirm a date and delivery time. To keep things manageable, the ministry serves only members of the congregation and usually limits to five days of meals. Lead person follows up in order to gauge more or less need.
Some meals that travel well include casseroles, soups, stews, chilis, pot pies, quiches, lasagna, and other pasta dishes. I came across this website that is very helpful for ideas of what to make that will travel well. Take Them A Meal Recipes are also clearly labeled with potential food allergies and have designations for various types of diets and restrictions, for instance, vegan, paleo, low sodium, gluten free, etc. And a nice final touch…include a card with support and well-wishes. Should you like electronic copies of these documents, message me here, and I will gladly send them to you.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10) So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7)
