In 2013 the bishop and ward missionaries of the College Station Ward in Texas had an inspiration. They wanted to infuse the internet with positive messages of Jesus Christ that would help the world understand the Mormon Church better. That led to the creation of Aggieland Mormons and now they have created hundreds of posts that is spreading the good word and making it easier for LDS members to share content about the Church.
In this interview I talk with Bishop Nate Sharp and former member of the College Station Ward, Brother Andrew Devey. We discuss their journey of stimulating the ward missionary program through this blogging effort and how it has helped excite their ward about missionary work.
This is a fantastic interview for bishops, ward missionaries, and ward council to listen to and consider ways you can start being a digital ward missionary.
Being a ward mission leader (WML) can be an exhilarating experience. If you desire, you can learn how the Lord wants missionary work to go forward in your ward and you can become an instrument in His hands. Being a participant on the front lines of the Atonement with all the highs and lows that go along with this great work…now that is really living!
We hear it all the time in sacrament meeting; the invitation, coming from the lectern, to “stand after your name is read.” This means members of your ward are getting a calling. Most callings that are extended to us require no leadership responsibilities.
Recently I had lunch with a friend. This wasn’t just a friend but also a past bishopric counselor of mine. At the time of our lunch I had recently been released as bishop and he had recently been called as bishop in a different ward. These scenarios led to a discussion about leadership vacuums.
Most of us reading this website have meetings, lots and lots of meetings. Sometimes meetings to plan a meeting. Over my 20+ years in LDS Church leadership, I have spent 100’s of hours sitting in meetings. The first thing I’d mention is meetings are necessary; however, meetings aren’t the gospel.
Calling management can be a distracting task for a presidency that is striving to connected individually with members of their ward. It’s an administrative task that must be done while also giving special thought to whom should fill which calling.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | EmbedSubscribe Email | RSS | MoreGreg Clawson, who you may recognize from the recent podcast on memory training, has served for 10 years in the Young Men organization, four years as Elders Quorum President, and has been serving...
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | EmbedSubscribe Email | RSS | More Chris Trendler is a BYU graduate, former Elder Quorum President, former missionary in Argentina and a executive consultant at ghSmart, a leadership consulting firm. We have a fascinating...
Larry Gelwix is widely known as the Head Coach of the Highland High School rugby team where he lead his team for 36 years with an overall record of 419–10 and 19 national championships. The movie Forever Strong is based on his experience as the coach of that team. Larry and wife Cathy have also served in numerous callings in the church and recently returned from serving as mission presidents of the California Fresno Mission from 2011 to 2014. They live in the Salt Lake area and are the parents of 5 children.
There is a constant passive aggressive struggle between auxiliary leaders and those that hold the keys to extend church callings to members. This struggle is also apparent between bishoprics, and stake presidencies when stake callings are needed in the ward (i.e. clerks, elder’s quorum leaders, high priest group leaders, etc.). A Relief Society president, for example, needs an instructor called for an upcoming lesson. She knows that if the person isn’t called with enough time to prepare the lesson then the responsibility will fall on her.
