Description

For faith communities of any denomination who want to examine how their congregation works, who gets things done through what channels, how members are welcomed (or not) into volunteer roles, and possible obstacles to success. "The Church Puzzle Game" is an interactive group activity - purposeful play. In this guide you get complete instructions and materials for playing the Game, including when and how to use it, preparation needed, step-by-step script for the leader, discussion questions, and reproducible Puzzle pieces. Everything you need to run and analyze the Game!

Table of Contents

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Brief Excerpt

Faith communities in North America and in many other parts of the world are voluntary associations made up of volunteers. Except for the clergy and some specialized staff who are paid a salary, congregation members who do the work of the church do so by choice, without monetary pay. The techniques of coordinating volunteers that have been tested and proven in other settings also work in faith communities.

Unfortunately, there is still resistance by some to anything that uses the vocabulary of "management" in relation to a religious institution. This is based on a belief that attention to process and structure interferes with true spirituality and worship. There is also concern that "business-like" organizing demands more from congregation members than should be expected from volunteers. The Church Puzzle Game is based on the perspective that acting from the heart is best supported by thoughtful organization.

As Game leader, you must be prepared for your participants to have many of these conflicting feelings. The important thing is to permit such ideas to surface and be discussed.

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