A Few First Steps in Member-Missionary Work

I was called to serve as a ward mission leader while we still lived in Logan, Utah, in the Logan University 52nd Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

On a side note, our ward was miniscule geographically.  The congregation lived in apartments within a four square block chunk of town next to the hospital.  But, given that there were a lot of married student church members there, our ward was normal-sized for meeting attendance.

Utah is kind of a tricky place for missionary work.  One tends to expect that everyone has heard of the Church in some way or another, and some residents who are not members of the Church, who have already decided that they will never want to join, can be frustrated by the continual exposure to Church culture and by the frequent attempts at proselytization.  So it's easy to expect that if one is to approach a neighbor with a message about the restored Gospel, the neighbor will know about it already and will either already be a member or will be aggravated by the message.  Truthfully, there are still quite a few people who will be glad to hear the message, but it's still a challenge to know how to approach missionary work in the area.

As a ward mission leader I had to create a ward mission plan, hold regular meetings with ward missionaries, and then actively provide guidance during Sunday meetings.  There are a few things I did that I truly felt were inspired, and which I believe still are or would be useful today.

I made the ward mission plan in three parts.  The first page was a plan for the entire ward, and it was more general.  The second page was specifically for ward missionaries, and it including activities and goals for the ward mission.  The third page was for me, and it again contained specific goals.

One of my favorite items on the plan was that ward members "3. Meet our neighbors in the immediate neighborhood and know at least their names," which would be made easier as we would "4. Sit with another family at church and know at least their names."  It's a simple thing to just know someone's name, yet it's usually a prerequisite to any other extensive conversation, especially about the Gospel.  Perhaps unsurprisingly, a reluctance to actively share the Gospel with others was seen first in members' reluctance to merely go out of their way to learn someone else's name.  As church members made this first step at church they would become more enabled to do so elsewhere.  I always felt very confident that God was pleased with this simple goal.

One action I took during church meetings, specifically during an elders' quorum meeting as I recall, was "Giving each person present a small piece of paper and instructing them to silently pray and meditate for one minute, and to write the name of someone who would be blessed if that Church member shared the Gospel with them."  The single minute of silence was invaluable for seeking the guidance of the Holy Ghost.  It was a low-pressure activity, because everyone knew that they weren't going to have to give an accounting of their thoughts to me or anyone else, and consequently people seemed to feel little or no discomfort at the exercise.  At the same time, the simple act of quiet meditation and active seeking of revelation was something I felt had become too rare for many of us.  Of course, there are many steps to be taken beyond simply writing down a person's name before that person can be brought into the Church, but again, the simple act is both a useful and largely necessary act that is frequently neglected.  I remember feeling very distinctly that I had taken a correct action as the leader of missionary work in the ward.

Last thoughts for now:
I hope to strengthen my faith.  Someday I hope to find that I've been instrumental in helping others in their personal conversion to the Gospel.  Maybe my thoughts from my old ward mission plan will be useful to others someday, but either way, I hope to always be ready to take simple first steps (and then all the remaining steps as well).