Every person has a calling. And it is the mission of the ARUMC Culture of Calling initiative to help guide every local church to create an environment in which every person is invited to discover their calling and to find out how they might live into that calling.
A few short weeks ago The Calling Kit was launched at Arkansas Annual Conference in Hot Springs. This new hybrid resource is made up of both physical items and online materials focused on helping every local church create a Culture of Calling through worship, conversation, and response.
Worship: This component provides a variety of resources to plan worship services that focus on Calling. You will find every part of worship that can be used altogether or in parts incorporated into an existing order of worship. Focusing on Calling in worship on at least one Sunday each year is the first step in creating a Culture of Calling in your church.
Conversation: This component provides small group discussion guides for children, youth, and adults. These discussions could be in Sunday school as a follow-up to Calling focused worship or could be used as a multi-week study for any age level.
Response: This component connects both clergy and lay members of each congregation to additional resources concerning Calling. Clergy will find a number of helpful tools for continuing to support those exploring a call to either lay or ordained ministry. Lay members will find resources for next steps in discernment, access to Spiritual Directors, and additional training for those who work with young people discerning a call to ministry.
The excitement surrounding this launch at Annual Conference was palpable and some churches are already incorporating The Calling Kit into their worship services and Vacation Bible Schools! Those who received their The Calling Kit box at Annual Conference will be contacted soon with additional resources and information about how to use this new resource throughout the coming year. Those who have not received their box are welcome to pick one up at their district office or by contacting Michelle Moore at michelle.moore@arumc.org.
To find out more and to access The Calling Kit online components visit www.arumc.org/thecallingkit.