CM Ministry

Care Ministers are lay volunteers specifically trained to work alongside pastors and staff to minister to and care for our congregation. Once an applicant is accepted to the team, training is provided based on Pastor Karen Lampe’s book The Caring Congregation, which serves as a manual to guide us, to organize our congregations for care and to equip people to listen, visit, comfort and encourage congregants.

CMs make hospital visits, call people in need of contact, meet one-on-one with those in need of a listening ear for prayer and encouragement, offer support to grieving families, proactively seek to encourage and care for persons in need and much more. CMs are assigned to a pastor based on the worship service they typically attend, and they work together as a team.  While there is a wide variety of duties a CM can do, most serve in areas where they feel most gifted.

Our training covers topics such as Organizational Development, Theology of Care, Boundaries and Ethical Practices, Listening, Older Adult Ministry, Hospital Visits, Death and Prayer.

Biblical and Theological Requirements

1. Because Care Ministers will be partnering with pastors to offer some of the care previously done only by our pastors, it is important that these persons have basic theological and biblical training. Care Ministers are strongly encouraged to complete at least one year of Disciple Bible Study.

If Disciple has not been completed, an alternative option would include the following:

• Participation in an 8-week “Getting to Know Your Bible” study or other extensive study of Scripture (please provide explanation in application).
• Read Making Sense of the Bible and discuss the book with a pastor.
• Involvement in a group that is aiding in your spiritual growth.

2. We ask that Care Ministers know and support Resurrection’s values and perspectives articulated in the following statements. You don’t have to agree with every part of each statement, but as a leader at Resurrection we expect you to represent these values to our congregants. https://safegatherings.com/

• LGBTQ+ inclusion (View here)
• Vision for Racial Justice (View here)
• Inerrancy of Scripture statement (View here)

Required Training

• All Care Ministers will be required to complete the Care Ministers Training Course. This course covers information over six weeks on Theology, Visitation, Boundaries, Listening, Prayer, Grief, Silver Link, Recovery and Deployment.
• Care Ministers will also be required to be certified through The United Methodist Church’s Safe Gatherings training. This course can be taken online at www.safegatherings.com.

Other Requirements

• Ideally, Care Ministers have been active members of the Church of the Resurrection for three years. However, we also recognize that we have new and growing campuses and this may not be possible. Exceptions may be made at the discretion of Resurrection’s pastoral staff. For consideration, we ask that you connect with an appointed pastor at Resurrection and attach a reference to this application.
• Fulfill the five expectations of our members: 1. Worship – attending worship each weekend except when sick or out of town, 2. Study – actively pursuing growth in the Christian life through participation in a small group or some other form of Christian discipleship, 3. Serve – serving God with their time in the ministry of the church, 4. Give – show generosity by giving financially in proportion to one’s income with the tithe being the goal, 5. Share – sharing your faith with others through words and actions.
• Care Ministers will be required to agree to and sign the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Volunteer Leader Covenant. As leaders, we set the tone and pace for the entire congregation. We shape the heart, character and life of this Christian community. For this reason, it is vital that we walk the Christian walk. Spiritually healthy leaders will produce a spiritually healthy church. With this in mind, the following covenant was developed to guide our life together as leaders. We use these standards to hold ourselves accountable to pursuing the Christian life. And in so doing, we recognize that it is God’s grace which calls forth our faithful response and it is God’s grace which brings such transformation in our lives.