The UU Congregation of Delaware County (UUCDC) in Media, PA has a wonderful model of inviting people into service and leadership through their Growth Through Serviceprogram.
They began with a Statement of Theological Grounding:
As Unitarian Universalists, we live out our faith through our service to others. True spiritual growth, in ourselves and in our congregation often arises through our connectedness with others and through serving a higher purpose that is greater than our own individual needs.
How the GTS Program Works
Service is a cornerstone of Unitarian Universalist identity, and of UUCDC membership. Through service, not only do we play our part in healing our broken world, but we also find the opportunity to grow our own faith and spirituality, and to enhance our relationships with others.
The Growth through Service (GTS) program enables UUCDC to better bring service opportunities to you, our members, that are fulfilling, feed your passion, and grow your soul. We hope you can joyfully serve, gaining a deeper connection to your faith and our church.
Attend a Conversation with a GTS team member, one-to-one, as a couple or with a group, to explore your spiritual journey and the role of service in your life.
Consider service opportunities that match your interests, skills and available time, using the Open Service Opportunities online list or suggestions by the GTS team.
Take on an exciting service opportunity helping others, for personal and spiritual growth and share our experiences with the GTS team.
Overview of the Growth Through Service Program
Workshop: Cultivating a Culture of Service in Your Congreation
(Presented at the 2014 General Assembly)
Overview and Education/Communication Documents
GA Workshop slides 6/27/14: The presentation slides from our GA workshop. Use this document to get an overview of the project and the steps we took to achieve culture change as we implemented it. Please use the GTS video as an accompanying tool to the presentation.
Concept Document: The document that we originally prepared to help our Minister, Board and Lay Leadership Council to understand what we were proposing. Note that this document is now 3 years old and thus somewhat outdated, but it should give you an idea of how we presented the idea of GTS to our leadership via a document.
Development Team Overview: During our design phase, we had five teams. This document contains descriptions of each of the teams, as well as the skills needed and responsibilities of the team members.
Development Team Descriptions: Early service opportunities that provide the details of the five delvelopment teams with skills needed and responsibilities of the team members.
Timeline: An overall timeline for the design phase of the project.
Technology Overview: A document describing how we use technology for this project and the workflow we use within that technology.
Program Implementation Documents
GTS Conversation Scripts
Conversation Handouts that we use during GTS conversation
Definitions: We’re not always on the same page with terms like “spirituality” and “service”. We use these definitions at the beginning of the Conversation to assist in clarity of terms.
My record of my GTS conversation: A short form for the Conversation participant to fill out to remember the plans and commitments made during the Conversation.
