Female Ushers

[BustedFlat]

There is nothing scripturally wrong with women ushers. We have had a woman usher in the past, as a small church we take everybody that offers help within the bounds of scripture.

The first job of an usher is to quickly and quietly take care of any thing that may be interfering with the worship of our Lord and the teaching of the Word. We are not bouncers, and in most situations what is needed is a clear eye to see the distractions before they develop, and an empathy for what people need within the framework of corporate worship to keep everything flowing smoothly.

You always need someone that can do the heavy lifting when needed, but being able to anticipate and avert problems always works out better.

 

[Supplanter]

Wow.

 

[Criada]

Um..
I had never heard of ushers until I read this thread.
From what I can gather, they are not in a position of spiritual authority..
In our church we hand round the bread and wine and people help themselves.. if there are guests whoever is leading the meeting will explain who should take it, but that's it.

 

[PreachersWife2004]

Wow.

care to expound on that?

 

[NorrinRadd]

It occurs to me in retrospect that in the sorts of Pentecostal and Charismatic churches where "falling under the power" is common, and where ushers serve as "catchers," it would probably be prudent to use mostly male ushers.

 

[Supplanter]

care to expound on that?

Sorry, not really, I just wanted to subscribe.

 

[PreachersWife2004]

Sorry, not really, I just wanted to subscribe.

Oh, ya know, you can always go to 'thread tools' and subscribe there, that way you don't have to post to subscribe. I call it 'stealthy subscribe'.

Heh.

Well, welcome to the thread anyway...

 

[CruciFixed]

I don't know. I really like having a male usher. It'd probably throw me off to see a woman usher. But I wouldn't want to see too many dudes in the nursery either.

 

[MrJim]

I don't know. I really like having a male usher. It'd probably throw me off to see a woman usher. But I wouldn't want to see too many dudes in the nursery either.

I help out because we have so few people in our congregation; I've never had more than one youngster ever...but it's not my favorite duty there, and if I was a parent I'm not sure how I'd feel dropping my little one off to some 6' giant dude, though little kids love me, what can I say

No nursery duty today for me...

 

[PreachersWife2004]

On a somewhat different note, and maybe I should start a different thread, but are there those who don't believe that a church should a have a "nursery"?

When I was in my teens, my home church had one where the youth group kids would volunteer to watch the kids. The youth group dried up for awhile and so did the nursery and it never came back. All the churches that I've been a member of have had a cry room of sorts, but no nursery.

I personally would not use a nursery because I want my children to understand what church is like and I believe the holy spirit can work in them, too, even if we don't see it. I use the cry room sparingly if I need it, and it's often more out of courtesy for those sitting near me than it is for my child.

 

[MrJim]

On a somewhat different note, and maybe I should start a different thread, but are there those who don't believe that a church should a have a "nursery"?

When I was in my teens, my home church had one where the youth group kids would volunteer to watch the kids. The youth group dried up for awhile and so did the nursery and it never came back. All the churches that I've been a member of have had a cry room of sorts, but no nursery.

I personally would not use a nursery because I want my children to understand what church is like and I believe the holy spirit can work in them, too, even if we don't see it. I use the cry room sparingly if I need it, and it's often more out of courtesy for those sitting near me than it is for my child.

This POV is why some don't have a "Junior Worship" for the younger kids. There is merit particularly if the preacher is able to communicate well; some speak as though it's a collegiate lecture

 

[dies-l]

But I wouldn't want to see too many dudes in the nursery either.

This actually kinda bothers me a little. I think we need more men working with children of all ages, now more than ever. In this society, too many kids grow up without any real positive male role models in their lives. And, this lack of positive male role modeling, I think, perpetuates a wide range of societal problems, including those that are behind the severe lack of male role modeling in the first place (absent fathers, apathetic Christian men, the belief that men cannot or should not be "nurturers", etc.)

On a somewhat different note, and maybe I should start a different thread, but are there those who don't believe that a church should a have a "nursery"?

When I was in my teens, my home church had one where the youth group kids would volunteer to watch the kids. The youth group dried up for awhile and so did the nursery and it never came back. All the churches that I've been a member of have had a cry room of sorts, but no nursery.

I personally would not use a nursery because I want my children to understand what church is like and I believe the holy spirit can work in them, too, even if we don't see it. I use the cry room sparingly if I need it, and it's often more out of courtesy for those sitting near me than it is for my child.

My belief is that nurseries and other children's programs are a good thing, provided they are used to teach rather than to entertain. Children should be taught at the level that is developmentally apporpriate for them.

 

[Cris413]

This actually kinda bothers me a little. I think we need more men working with children of all ages, now more than ever. In this society, too many kids grow up without any real positive male role models in their lives. And, this lack of positive male role modeling, I think, perpetuates a wide range of societal problems, including those that are behind the severe lack of male role modeling in the first place (absent fathers, apathetic Christian men, the belief that men cannot or should not be "nurturers", etc.)

I agree....single parenting seems to be growing in society....and it's good for kids to have that positive male roll model wherever and whenever they can.

My belief is that nurseries and other children's programs are a good thing, provided they are used to teach rather than to entertain. Children should be taught at the level that is developmentally apporpriate for them.

And I totally agree. Children tend to get distracted sitting with the adults and more often than not...spend more time trying to entertain themselves until it's over...that's just what kids do when grown-ups get together...their little attention spans only last so long.

Where as teaching them the Word directly focused on them....at a level they can understand tends to their needs specifically and even then....it's about continually keeping their attention focused.

Our church is evangelical....so much of the teaching is geared toward new believers...so it rarely flies right over peoples heads. Home fellowships and such is where we dive more deeply into the studies....

Our church teaches Scripture chapter by chapter and verse by verse...and some of it is quite "adult" in content which little ears may not understand and perhaps shouldn't be exposed to before they reach an age to process it appropriately.

Churches where teaching is more topical in nature can be a bit more ....for lack of a better word...selective....when presenting the Scriptural support and composing sermons geared toward being edifying and beneficial for all family members....taking into consideration little ears are also present in the congregation.

IMHO...neither way is right or wrong....as it's all about coming together in fellowship...to worship and serve our our awesome God and grow as Believers.

 

[Sketcher]

I personally would not use a nursery because I want my children to understand what church is like and I believe the holy spirit can work in them, too, even if we don't see it. I use the cry room sparingly if I need it, and it's often more out of courtesy for those sitting near me than it is for my child.

There are some churches with no nursery and no cry room. And one or the other is certainly needed.

I lean in favor of the nursery/children's church approach. Our children's ministry has a history of sometimes being overcrowded, and know what I've observed? Kids playing their DS during the service. When I was that age, it would be drawing or coloring, or when I was a little older, reading Revelation because it had some cool stuff in there. But now it's the DS, or perhaps the iPhone. Might as well have something to do with God that won't bore them into stuff like that.

 

[PreachersWife2004]

There are some churches with no nursery and no cry room. And one or the other is certainly needed.

I lean in favor of the nursery/children's church approach. Our children's ministry has a history of sometimes being overcrowded, and know what I've observed? Kids playing their DS during the service. When I was that age, it would be drawing or coloring, or when I was a little older, reading Revelation because it had some cool stuff in there. But now it's the DS, or perhaps the iPhone. Might as well have something to do with God that won't bore them into stuff like that.

I'd never let my kids play video games during a service. It was always coloring, and the coloring books were always religious in nature.

The nurseries I've seen aren't teaching anything. It's just a couple of youth group kids watching the kids while they play with toys and just maybe the church service is piped through but that's it.

The very fact that my three year old knows, without us really ever telling him, that he goes to church to see Jesus shows me that these kids retain things even when we think they're not.

 

[Boazonfire]

I'd never let my kids play video games during a service. It was always coloring, and the coloring books were always religious in nature.

The nurseries I've seen aren't teaching anything. It's just a couple of youth group kids watching the kids while they play with toys and just maybe the church service is piped through but that's it.

The very fact that my three year old knows, without us really ever telling him, that he goes to church to see Jesus shows me that these kids retain things even when we think they're not.

I'm sure that your three year old also sees Jesus at home.

 

[PreachersWife2004]

I'm sure that your three year old also sees Jesus at home.

True, but he is vocal about going to church to see Jesus. He knows the routine. At first, he went over to see Daddy, and now he goes to see Jesus. He doesn't really talk about seeing Jesus here at home, although he gets excited about devotions at night so that's a good sign. We're getting ready to transition to "Little Visits with God" as their nightly devotion rather than using our adult Meditations, though. I actually prefer the Little Visits series over the Meditations, for a devotion anyway.

Whew - this sure got off topic! Thankfully it's my thread!!