INTRODUCTION
In many denominations, a Church usher is the first official
representative seen when entering the church during any church services. The
role of the ushers is a volunteer position, and is often considered one of
honour, particularly if the church nominating committee selects an usher by
nomination.
Christ calls every member of the church into ministry. The church is
“a Kingdom of priest” (1 Peter 2:9). As an usher, you are a minister of
hospitality and caring in the church. When people come to church they are
sometimes burdened, sad or discouraged. Each person, member or newcomer, comes
with the hope that the worship will be an experience of uplift and inspiration,
a time of renewal and celebration. The skillful usher helps to make this a
reality for those in attendance. The ministry of ushering is one of the most
crucial because it is the most visible in the church.
BIBLICAL BACKGROUND
The concept of an usher is not new. In the Old Testament, there were
positions addressed as “Door Keepers” or “Gatekeepers” and their roles were
very similar. (2kings 22:4, 1 Chronicles 9:17-27, Psalms 84:10)
Jesus disciples can be considered ushers, in the sense that they do
the following.
a.
Prepared the way for Jesus.
b.
Kept order among those listening to Christ
c.
Serve food to the audience.
d.
Cleaning up after a service, such as the feeding
of the Five thousand
IN MODERN TIMES.
In the contemporary church, the church ushers have many duties.
Depending on the church’s denomination, size and preferences, ushers may
perform all, some, or a few of the following.
1.
Greet worshippers, making every attempt to help
them feel welcome and at ease.
2.
Escort members and guests to their seats
3.
Distribute materials related to the service or
meetings such as bulletins, hymnals, handouts etc.
4.
Receive offerings , delivering them promptly to
the treasury department of the church
5.
Maintain an alertness for any emergency that may
arise, relivering the need or contacting the person (s) needed to provide the
proper assistance.
6.
Prepare the alter for worship
Ushers are required to be punctual and time conscious as they are
required to be in the church far earlier than the rest of the congregation,
since they are part of the service, they need to meet early in order to pray.
Adequate spiritual preparation by the usher ensures a service full of the
presence of God.
QUALIFICATIONS
1.
An usher should be born again. He or she should
have personal experience of Jesus Christ.
2.
Christian’s Lifestyle: The life of an usher
should be an example of Christian living in everyday life. Usher as the one who
stand at the door, greet, and distribute pamphlets, can be considered an
ambassador for the church.
3.
He or she must not be a new Christian. He or she
must be a mature Christian.
CHURCH PLANTING
Church planting is a process that results in a local church been
planted and established. C. Peter Wagner describes church planting as “the
single most effective evangelistic methodology under heaven”
MODELS OF CHURCH PLANTING
1.
A church planter and family may move to a new
settlement to start a church from the scratch.
2.
Also an existing church (mother) or an
organization provides the initial leadership and resources (finance/human
resources) to get a daughter church started.
3.
A group may organized open air crusade in an
area which may lead to planting a church.
4.
A cell group or house fellowship may metamophed
unto a church.
5.
Sometimes conflict may split an existing local
church and it will lead to planting another church(es).
THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH
USHERS
Some people think that the duties of the local church is restricted
to the four wall of the local church. But in modern times, the duties of the
ushers should go beyond the worship services.
1.
Whenever the church or group of people move to a
new location to start a church, some ushers should be on ground to perform
their duties. The skillful ushers helps new members of a new church to experience
the love of Christ by giving them a worm welcome.
2.
When there is a crusade or a revival aimed at
church planting, the ushers should be there to perform the following:
a.
Greet people, making attempt to help them feel
welcome and at ease.
b.
Escort people and guests to their seats.
c.
The usher should make sure that place is well
arranged before the arrival of the people
d.
Maintain an alertness for any emergency that may
arise, relieving the need or contacting the person(s) needed to provide the
proper assistance.
e.
Keep order in a mature way.
f.
Distributing and collecting decision cards
g.
Cleaning up after a service.
DO’s and DON’T’s of the
Ushers
a.
The usher should dress appropriately. He or she
should not put on tight or short clothing. Immodest dress, transparent clothes
etc.
b.
He or she should not force a hug when greeting.
c.
Families should not be separated when seating
them.
d.
They should not be rude to people
e.
They should not be angry with people even when
they are provoked.
God supplies each
person in the church with the resources for ministry. An usher is equipped for
his or her ministry by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These spiritual gifts are
special abilities giving by the Holy Spirit to make their ministry effective
and build up the body of Christ.
CONCLUSION
The only avenue for
the people to experience the presence of Jesus Christ is the church of Christ.
When your Church meets the need of the people, it is an expression of the love
of Christ. The Church should conduct proper training for the ushers in order to
have an effective ushering ministry that will enhance the church planting
ministry of the church
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