Local Witness Teams
Serving our community. Sharing the love of Jesus.
What are Local Witness Teams?
Local Witness Teams are small groups serving our community together. These groups share the love of Jesus by focusing on building relationships and being a witness for Him.
Why Local Witness Teams?
Jesus commands us to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:19), to go together (Luke 10:1–17), and to know God better and express our love for Him by serving (1 Peter 4:1–11).
Engaging with others through Local Witness Teams give us an opportunity to have a positive impact on our community by showing love in practical and sometimes intangible ways. Serving together is not only central to that goal, but it also provides resources and accountability to feel empowered to step into the lives of neighbors. By loving people together, others can see Jesus reflected in us!
Why join a Local Witness Team?
Connect with believers who share similar interests, invest in others while utilizing your gifts, and build relationships with non-believers for the sake of the Gospel.
Is God inspiring you to start something new?
We love fresh ideas and new opportunities!
Starting a new Local Witness Team is easy. We will help you through the process by refining your idea, connecting you with others at Grace, and setting you up with organization and communication tools.
Frequently Asked Questions
In what kinds of activities do Local Witness teams participate?
Any group activity the members are passionate about! The goal is to find others with a similar passion and turn that passion into action. Here are some examples:
- Gardening Invite the community to plant a garden and teach them how to grow flowers, vegetables, and more.
- Fishing Frequent popular spots where others are fishing.
- Pick-up Sports Games Find local pick-up games of basketball, Pickle Ball, Spikeball, Soccer, etc., and attend regularly.
- Lawn Service Assist neighbors of Grace members or attenders by taking care of their lawn/landscape needs.
- Travel Warriors Develop and share evangelizing strategies when traveling for work.
- English as a Second Language Classes Help those in the community who need assistance with English.
- Hands-on Trade Skills Training Teach a skill such as sewing, mechanics, woodworking, computers, etc., to help someone get a job.
- Conversation Partners Meet regularly with international students on The Ohio State University campus.
- Food Pantry Volunteer Serve at a local food pantry ministry as a team on a weekly basis.
- Work Outreach Develop and share strategies and encouragement on evangelizing at work.
- Jam Session Encourage others through song by playing music at a local park or coffee shop.
Are there any activities Local Witness Teams should avoid?
Local Witness Teams have a wide range of whom they serve and how. The key is looking for ways to get involved with people in the community and work towards building bonds of friendship. However, if serving requires you to engage in activities not aligned to Grace’s beliefs and identity, then it’s probably not an opportunity for a Local Witness Team. Additionally, opportunities will be considered a bad fit if they are focused solely on meeting physical needs or would be considered a one-time event.
How much time is involved when I am on a Local Witness Team?
The amount of time needed will depend on the Local Witness Team and how it is serving. The great thing about being part of a team is the burden of serving is shared by many people. If you have a lot of time to serve, you may want to participate every week (assuming the team gathers weekly). If your schedule changes and you need to scale back, talk with your team and work out a new schedule, perhaps once a month instead. Serving with a team provides flexibility and opportunity for right-sizing your involvement while still fulfilling God’s purpose.
Can I start a new Local Witness Team?
Absolutely! If God has gifted you with a particular passion, we strongly encourage you to use it to serve Him. We believe you’ll find others at Grace who have the same passion. Starting a Local Witness Team offers you a way to connect with these people and determine how you can use your shared passion to serve the community. This could be as simple as being a friend and listening. Other times it could be organizing a class and educating people on a topic or skill. Or perhaps it could be meeting a need and offering hope. Whatever it may be, we encourage you to seek relationships that open doors for sharing Jesus.
How are new Local Witness Teams formed?
Local Witness Teams are started by a leader or coordinator who fill out and submit this form. The information needed to get started is minimal, so there’s no need to provide all the details up front. New team ideas will be evaluated for alignment with Grace’s beliefs and values as well as to identify any needs you may have when getting started. Once the evaluation is completed, your team will be equipped with tools to help you organize and communicate.
Once set up, your Local Witness Team will be listed as “forming” to give you time to refine your idea and recruit team members. Coaching will be available if you need help working through the details. Once you have all the details determined and team members found, you can change your status to “serving” and get busy serving and loving.
Can I join an existing Local Witness Team?
Definitely! Local Witness Teams will be listed as either “forming” or “serving” and both will accept new members. Forming teams are in the refining and recruiting process, and serving teams are already out in the community.
Is there training available to help me be a better witness?
Sometimes it can be challenging to know how to engage people to share the love of Jesus. If you feel this way, you’re not alone. We want to help and have put together a training class for this very purpose that will focus on how you can better know, love, and serve God. During the class, you will be engaged in thoughtful reflection, challenged to step forward in faith, and instructed on how to engage people who don’t yet know Jesus. Click here to check our class offerings and register.
What tools are available for Local Witness Teams?
Each Local Witness Team is equipped with a webpage that can be used to track members, schedule events, communicate with team members, and record what happened at your events. As an optional tool, you can also get a Slack channel for your team. Slack is a communication platform for all kinds of teams and enables members to communicate with each other via messages on any device. Our goal is to keep your team connected with each other so you can organize and serve effectively.
What if I am currently in a Grace Group or other church ministry?
For those already involved in a Grace Group, we want to challenge you to consider also joining a Local Witness Team. Grace Groups are a fantastic way to connect with fellow believers and make a large church feel small. We need that community.
On the other hand, Local Witness Teams are geared towards a different purpose. They are meant to take you out into the world and build relationships with those who don’t know Jesus. Building these relationships offers you the opportunity to be a witness to them. If your Grace Group or other ministry is providing these same opportunities, you may want to consider not joining a Local Witness Team but focusing on existing efforts.
Either way, living for Jesus means sharing our faith while serving our community. How you do that is up to you!
