The Spencerville Adventist Church celebrated its first Outreach Ministry Fair on September 8, 2018. This special event was organized by the Spencerville Adventist Community Services in conjunction with the pastoral staff to showcase the current outreach ministries provided by the church to its community.
The threefold purpose of the fair was to create awareness among church members of the numerous Spencerville outreach ministries, recruit additional volunteers from among Spencerville Church members to help facilitate these various ministries and to foster excitement among Spencerville members about the many opportunities to fulfill the church’s mission.
Eighteen outreach ministry exhibits highlighted the unique contribution of each in the church’s immediate community and beyond. Members were invited to interact with the various ministry leaders and discover ways that they could get involved to strengthen the impact of the particular ministry. Welcoming exhibits, engaging discussions, informational literature, giveaways, prizes, and a meal for all participants helped to create an atmosphere of excitement and celebration.
Over 143 individuals signed up to fill positions in the 18 ministries. Additionally, we hosted over 300 people for lunch in the food tent outside of the Fellowship Hall.
Some of the featured Adventist Community Services (ACS) ministries are collaborations by Spencerville Church with existing community organizations, such as the C-4 Clothes Closet, and Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless (MCCH). The Christmas Toy Drive collaborates with Shady Grove Medical Center and Washington Adventist Hospital. The Compassion Families project is a collaboration with Briggs Chaney Middle School and with Spencerville Adventist Academy.
ACS ministries initiated by Spencerville Church include Keep In Stitches, Lord’s Lunch, Hampshire Greens Outreach, Thanksgiving Food Drive, and Health Ministries. Other outreach ministries represented at the fair but not directly under ACS were Bible Studies, EndItNow, Evensong, HIS Team, Men’s Ministry, Prayer Ministries, Refugee Ministry, Sanctuary Choir, and Women’s Ministries.
We offer a hearty thank you to everyone who supported and participated in this event! In the wake of this positive Outreach Ministry Fair experience, we are looking to plan more of these fairs in the future to highlight other relevant internal and external ministries.