Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew & Matthew (SsAM)

Seeking to know and love God in every person, here, now.

  • Welcome
    • News & Upcoming Events
    • Online Calendar
    • Visit SsAM on Facebook
    • eMail Sign Up
    • Welcome to SsAM Booklet
    • Worship at SsAM
    • Sunday Documents: Leaflet, Bulletin, Weekly Vision, Readings
    • Our Unique Approach to Music and Liturgical Design
    • The use of Expansive (inclusive) Language at SsAM
  • Who We Are
    • Diversity
    • Clergy
      • Clergy Transition
      • Rev. James Bimbi, Interim Rector
      • Rev. Canon Lloyd S. Casson
      • Sermons
    • Vestry
      • Vestry Statements, Photos
      • Scott Serota, Treasurer
    • Staff
      • D-L Casson, Church Administrator
      • David Christopher, Music Director
    • Children’s Ministries
    • Youth & Young Families at SsAM
    • Episcopal Church Women – ECW
    • History of the Parish
      • Father David’s Blog
      • History, Diocese of Delaware
      • History of Slavery in Delaware
      • History of Wilmington Garden Day
    • Member Photos
      • Photo & Video Archive
    • People Who Pray
  • What We Do
    • Services of Worship
      • Sunday Documents: Bulletin, Weekly Vision, Readings
      • Baptisms
      • Weddings
        • Wedding Guidelines
        • Wedding Fees
      • Funerals
    • Children’s Chapel
    • Adult Education
    • List of Health / Wellness Posts
    • Season of Creation
    • Sacred Jazz at SsAM
    • Art Slam at SsAM
    • Annual Reports
    • Website Maintenance
  • Get Involved
    • eNewsletter Sign Up
    • Volunteer in the Community!
    • Volunteer at Worship!
    • Volunteer Behind The Scenes!
    • Health / Wellness Posts
    • Invite Welcome Connect
    • Financial Contributions
    • Stewardship Posts
    • Pledge Form, On-Line Payment Link
    • Member Resources
  • Music
    • Katherine Esterly Organ
      • DONATE and become a FRIEND of the Katherine Esterly Organ
      • Friends of the KEO
      • Tonal Specifications
      • About the Organ Renovation Project
    • Choirs at SsAM
      • Choir Member Resources
    • Chorister Training Program
      • Chorister Advancement Levels
    • Sacred Jazz at SsAM
    • Drumming Circle
    • Music Staff
      • David Christopher, Director of Music
      • The SsAM Staff Singers
      • Jonathan Whitney, Director of Drumming Circle and Artist in Residence
      • Tina Betz, Director of Children’s Chapel Music
      • Berna Holcomb, Music Librarian
    • Artists in Residence
      • Jonathan Whitney
      • Delaware ChoralArts
    • Our Approach to Music and Liturgical Design at SsAM
  • Contribute
  • Contact Us
    • Directions

Evangelism Brainstorms, 20 October 2018

Here are 82 ideas written on Post-It notes during SsAM’s brainstorming sessions at the “Invite, Welcome, Connect” conference on Saturday, October 20, 2018. Twenty-three members of the Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew participated, throwing out ideas, their imaginations sometimes going wild!

How can we Christians best invite others to join us, welcome them when they arrive, and connect to them when they return? As you can see, we spent most of our time on the first question, how to better invite people to SsAM.

INVITE IDEAS

  1. Business card or postcard on website to print at home
  2. Brochures at local hotels
  3. Prayer Walk around neighborhood
  4. Community organ concerts
  5. Use Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn
  6. Moo Cards
  7. Business cards with service times given to all members to hand out
  8. Reach out to mid-town residences
  9. Be more than a venue
  10. What is our brand?
  11. Good Friday walk
  12. Car magnet
  13. Friendly community
  14. Laundry night
  15. Coffee hour Facebook video
  16. Sarbucks meetings
  17. “Soul of the City” tag line
  18. Formation class about Episcopal Church and our traditions
  19. Facebook Sunday service
  20. Smart phone app with SsAM brand
  21. Community meetings at SsAM for local civic association
  22. Liaison to city government
  23. Combine forces with Trinity/Old Swede’s and Emmanuel Highlands. Find leadership and keep in contact.
  24. Welcome committee, ambassadors, pair extroverts and introverts
  25. Communicate what we are already doing with intentionality using unified media teams
  26. Welcome postcards with SsAM brand
  27. Embed videos in website
  28. Videos of how parishioners first came to SsAM and why they have stayed
  29. Take coffee to our new neighbors
  30. Mess church
  31. Review mission to City of Wilmington, healing service, 5-mile radius, “beat the bounds”, procession, parade, blessing, make more of Good Friday
  32. City Hall meetings
  33. Need to know what organizations and leadership positions our members already are already involved in
  34. Service on the Riverfront
  35. Frig magnet with photo of church, website, address, phone: “Draw you to our church”
  36. T-shirts with QR code on back
  37. Advertisement Coffee mugs, fabric shopping bags, car magnets
  38. Facebook Live welcome video
  39. Car decal with just QR code
  40. Potluck dinners with discussions: Saints, Sinners & Skeptics
  41. Specified people assigned to welcome visitors
  42. Rolls of nametags; nametags in pews
  43. Manual or booklet that shows what ministries the church is involved in such as Planned Parenthood, Christina Cultural Arts Center, Network
    Delaware
  44. “Walking The Word” slogan
  45. Spanish-speaking church
  46. Who We Are posters with Pacem in Terris, Delaware Futures, Racial Justice Coalition, Delaware Middle East
  47. People with welcome cards at all events
  48. Encourage members to go to city council meetings
  49. Ask Me! buttons for ushers and others
  50. Do You Know? meetings with congregation
  51. Community financial workshops
  52. Postcards with photos of pipe organ, windows, congregation, Carnival Sunday
  53. Merton Musings, Study of Paul
  54. Welcome pins for ushers and/or greeters “Ask Me!”

WELCOME AND CONNECT IDEAS

  1. We like to see Fr. David out in front of the church, vested and welcoming.
  2. Have members of the New Member Ministry (or anyone from our church) visit other churches to see what kind of welcome ministry (or lack of
    welcome) they experience and find out what it felt like and what would have helped.
  3. Get Welcome Packets prepared like those for All Souls.
  4. Have a retreat for all ministries.
  5. Let each group present at announcements.
  6. Assign members of the vestry to call new members as well.
  7. Process map (flow diagram).
  8. Handwritten note from rector to visitors.
  9. Communication.
  10. Develop Welcome Team and staff connection to connect.
  11. Process Map for Best Welcome Practices.
  12. Sign-up Genius for coffee and healthy food.
  13. Parking Lot Greeter.
  14. Welcome Team: say “Hi”, take to coffee, visit/call/text
  15. Process Map (flow map).
  16. Groom your replacement.
  17. What does the Welcome Team do?
  18. Greeters need to be on same page.
  19. A church is a community, not a building.
  20. “Ask Me!” shirts / nametags.
  21. Who is on the Welcome Team?
  22. Guest parking.
  23. Kids bags for the young children.
  24. Ministry contact information.
  25. Retreat for the ministries with the vestry.
  26. Leadership development.
  27. Transparency and flow between ministries.
  28. Vestry represents all at SsAM.

Other Invite-Welcome-Connect Posts

Click here to see all the posts on this website about Invite-Welcome-Connect.

Worship services on Sundays are in-person and via video, at 8am and 10:30am. Prayer services via video are offered on other days.
Click here to learn more about Sunday and weekday services of worship and prayer.

Ask Others To Pray With You
Click here or the button above to use our Prayer Request form.

Volunteer for a Ministry
Be part of a worship service, work behind the scenes to make the church hum, or reach out to the local community.

Support Our Efforts Financially
You can make a secure on-line donation using your credit card, make a pledge, or make other contributions.

NEWS

Worship with us this Sunday!

You are invited to praise God with us in-person and via video on Sunday at 8:00 and 10:30 a.m. Sundays at 8:00 and 10:30 a.m. is when we … [Read More...]

Reflection – May We All Be One

I was starting down a different path for this piece. And then the news of the school shooting in Texas hit and on the heels of the horror in … [Read More...]

First Friday Walks for Justice and Peace in Wilmington, Delaware

  First Fridays at 5:30 p.m. starting in the SsAM parking lot These walks are a public display of our belief that society needs … [Read More...]

Scholarships Available for SsAM Members

Deadline: July 15, 2022 The Community Advocacy Committee is again sponsoring scholarships for students entering college in the fall of 2022 … [Read More...]

SsAM Presents: Upcoming Events

Here is a list of upcoming events at SsAM or recommended by our church. Worship This Sunday You are invited to praise God with us … [Read More...]

Dr. Joseph E. Johnson Recognized by City of Wilmington, Delaware

Highlands Elementary School has been re-named for Joe Johnson. Highlands Elementary School was re-dedicated and re-named for Joseph E. … [Read More...]

Music Concerts in Wilmington, Delaware

Postponed: Music of America Concert by Delaware Choral Arts Due to illness, the DCA concert scheduled for May 29 has been postponed. The … [Read More...]

2022 Walk to End Epilepsy

Run with Team Johannes on June 4, 2022 at Glasgow Park. Valerie Chow shared the following: What is epilepsy? Is it contagious? What … [Read More...]

Johannes Chow wins Earth Day recognition

Johannes Chow, a 12-year-old seventh grader at Brandywine Springs School in Wilmington, was recognized for the video “We Have Only One … [Read More...]

Reflection – We All Deserve A Chance

by Mary Lou Edgar. Many of you know that I worked in adoption and foster care for my entire career. May is Foster Care Month and I … [Read More...]

Support For Ukraine

Episcopal Migration Ministries Episcopal Migration Ministries welcomes refugees, educates communities, and mobilizes congregations to … [Read More...]

National Issues and the Episcopal Church

Women’s Health May 7, 2022 — Since 1967, The Episcopal Church has maintained its “unequivocal opposition to any legislation on the part of … [Read More...]

Reflection – Listen to the Word Proclaimed

Imagine yourself at the theater, you've settled into your seat, ready for the curtain to open. You have your script of the play open and … [Read More...]

See all the News & Upcoming Events posts

Worship Services

We will be delighted if you worship with us in-person or via video on Sundays at 8:00 and 10:30 a.m. Click here to learn more!

Visit Us

719 N. Shipley Street
Wilmington, DE 19801
with free parking weekends and evenings next to the church at 713 N. Shipley Street. Click here to learn more about parking and directions.
Office Hours
Monday – Thursday, 9:00 to 4:30
Friday, 9:00 to 1:00

OUR MISSION

To be an inclusive Christian community which worships God, follows Christ in all aspects of our lives, and serves the Greater Wilmington area through actions and ministries which promote peace, justice, reconciliation and empowerment for all people.

Contact Us

PHONE: 302 656-6628

EMAIL: Click here to use our email form.

FACEBOOK: Click here to see our Facebook page. You don’t need a Facebook account to see it.

YOUTUBE: Click here to see our YouTube Channel. Some smart TV sets will allow you to stream YouTube, so you can watch in your den or living room. Search for “Saints Andrews and Matthew”.

Are You New to SsAM?

If you are new to SsAM, please click here to see the Welcome to SsAM booklet in PDF format. The Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew is a dynamic and diverse congregation in downtown Wilmington, Delaware.

Our Vision

The Episcopal Church of Sts. Andrew and Matthew seeks to be a dynamic, spiritual center that is active in the pursuit of peace and justice in the community and a place where all God’s people are honored.

LINKS

  • Worship at SsAM: Sunday Documents, Church News, and More
  • eNewsletter Sign Up
  • YouTube Service Videos
  • SsAM on Facebook
  • Recent Announcements at SsAM
  • Clergy Transition
  • Recent Sermons
  • Episcopal Church in Delaware
  • Episcopal Church USA
  • Michael Curry’s blog: the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church
  • Episcopal Digital Network
  • Forward Day By Day
  • Book of Common Prayer
  • Camp Arrowhead, Delaware
  • Congregational Development
  • Calendar
  • Visit SsAM on Facebook
  • eNewsletter Sign-up

Donations Are Welcome, and a Necessity
Our ministries are dependent on financial donations. Click here to make a secure credit-card donation on-line or to learn

Our main focus is ministry, not money!
We offer a host of ministries for which you can volunteer. You can participate in worship services, help make the church hum, or offer your time and talent to the local community.

SsAM Logo

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2022 The Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew & Matthew · Log in