10 Unique Ways to Use the Table for Ministry

10 Unique Ways to Use the Table for Ministry

The Table does a lot of amazing stuff for your Church. The people directory brings together faces and names, as well as interests. The prayer wall enables the community to lift each other up in the moment of need. The small group tools make communication easier and a little more fun. I am sure you have found all kinds of useful ways to use the Table but we wanted to get your mind going even more. Here are 10 unique ideas to facilitate community on your Table. 

1.  Organize a neighborhood potluck

The Table makes it easy to find people in your neighborhood that go to your Church. As a church, you could promote a "Meet your neighbors" weekend in which you encourage everyone to find their neighbors on the Table and host an event. Here how:

1) Go to the People Directory

2) Click on the map icon

3) Zoom in on your neighborhood

4) Create a neighborhood group

5) Invite everyone in your neighborhood

6) Use the Calendar app to schedule the event

 

 

2. Share Christmas cards on the photo app

Many of us send out Christmas cards to our friends and loved ones. Why not share them with each other at Church? Encourage your community to add their family. Here's how:

1) Go to the Photo App

2) Click Add photo

3) Add your Christmas card and create an album entitled "Church Christmas Cards"

4) Promote it at your Church

 

 

3. Encourage a stranger

The Table gives your community the ability to send notes of encouragement to people they may not know or have contact information for. Ask people to Quicknote 5 people they don't know and to encourage them in some way. These short messages can help people in your church meet someone new. Here's how:

1) Got to people directory

2) Find 5 people you don't know

3) Click on the "envelope" icon under their name and give them a word of encouragement

 

 

4. Organize a prayer movement

Choose a specific event, country, mission or people group to cover with prayer for 30 days. For example, 30 days of prayer for South Korea. Challenge your community to really learn about what is going on there and for them to post different prayer requests for that country. Ask your people to come around that country during it's time of need. Think big. Can we do 1000 prayers for South Korea as a community, 5000...10,000? Make a goal and ask everyone to pray daily and display what they are praying for on the Table to show the momentum.  

5. Flash Christmas Carol performance

Flash mobs are performances or events, usually coordinated through social media, that get a large group of people to do a random act at the same time and same place. If you are unfamiliar with Flash mobs, check out this example:

See if you can use the Table to orchestrate a flash mob. Maybe you do it just before the church service or at the local mall. Think beyond Christmas carols. What would it look like for your church to do a monthly flash service project? 

Here's how:

1) Use Quicknotes and the Broadcast Message tool to get the word out 

2) Create the event on the Church tab so people can RSVP

6. Start a "My Story" Wall

We all have a story. A story when God really did something in our life that changed us. It may have been a miracle or even just someone that spoke God's truth in our life.  Use the discussion board to learn your communities stories. These are the stories we don't hear about in the local news. God is moving, but it's sometimes hard to see it. What an encouraging thread this could be to hear all the work that God does and has done in your communities life. Here's how:

1) Go to the Discussion App.

2) Click on "New Topic"

3) Create a title such as "Our Stories"

4) Add any further guidelines you want, such as character limit

5) Get a few people you know to add their stories first so it isn't blank when you promote it

6) Get the word out

7. Awkward Family Photos 

We all have at least one awkward family photo right? Have some fun with this one and ask your community to post theirs. Here's some inspiration and now how to do it.

1) Add the photo app if you don't have it already

2) Add your awkward family photo and create an album entitled "Awkward Family Photos"

3) Promote

 

 

8. "Lift up the pastor" month or day

Pastors often do so much for the community and yet often we are all so busy we don't thank them or encourage them. Ask your community to shower your pastor or pastors with words of encouragement on a specific day or even for a specific month. Church leadership is so vital to overall community health and it is essential that they feel supported. Here's how:

1) Go to discussion board

2) Create a new topic entitled something like "Words of encouragement to Pastor __________"

3) Announce the day or month during the Sunday service and encourage people to log-in and share.

9. "Christmas Tradition" videos submissions

Everyone celebrates Christmas a little differently in their families. A lot of people have quite a few unique traditions that they do during this time of year. Ask your community to send in videos documenting their unique traditions. The two keys to this one are setting up the submission instructions and promoting it. Setting up the submission instructions can take a little time but once you do this, you can host all kinds of video contests!

1) Create a Dropbox account (to host big files) - its free at Dropbox.com

2) Create a SendtoDropbox account - free at Sendtodropbox.com (this will give you a unique email address that people can send large files to.)

3) Post email link such as holidaytraditions@sendtodropbox.com via the "Broadcast a Message" tool, and print it in your bulletin. People can now record themselves talking about their tradition, and email it right to you.

4) Upload the videos you received to your Youtube channel 

5) Add youtube videos app on the Table and display this channel. Title the video app "Holiday Traditions"

10. "Pay it forward" 

The "Serve App" is coming along nicely and is really built to do this exact thing. But in the meantime, you can use the discussion board as a place for people in your group or church to post needs.  Ask your community to post a need and when someone completes that need, they can post another one. See how long your service chain can go. Can your church complete 50 needs in one month?  

 

Have you used the Table in a unique way already?  Or do you have a story about how the Table has impacted your church?  Email it to stories@tableproject.org