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Shoebox Ministry Charter

MAYFLOWER CHURCH

Shoebox Ministry Charter

Streamline System 06 — Team Charters

DRAFT for consideration by the Servants Council at its meeting on July 11, 2026. Not yet ratified. Upon ratification this becomes a standing charter, reviewed at each August Leadership Summit and re-ratified on material change.

Governing Principle

A small gift, packed in love, carries the gospel where we cannot go.

This ministry gives the whole congregation a simple, tangible way to send mercy and the good news of Christ to children in need. The work is seasonal and concentrated, but the heart behind it is the church's outward calling, kept small enough to strengthen the priorities rather than drain them.

1. Oversight (the home)

Overseeing board: Elders. Day-to-day point person: Senior Pastor. Every team has a home; this team works first with the elders. (See Review note: a formal change is pending to align the System 07 position description, which currently names the Deacons, with the placement under the elders.)

2. Purpose

This ministry exists to give Mayflower a simple, shared act of gospel mercy: the church's participation in Operation Christmas Child, packing and sending shoeboxes of gifts and the good news to children in need. It is a seasonal supporting ministry. It does not stand alongside the five priorities as a rival; it serves the church's outward calling in a small, concrete way, and it must strengthen the priorities without draining the church's people or capacity (System 01).

3. Priority-ministry link

This ministry serves the church's outward calling, which overflows from the Five Priority Ministries We Guard (System 01). As a supporting ministry it exists to feed that calling, not to compete with the priorities for the church's limited capacity.

4. The Commission

The elders commission this ministry to lead Mayflower's participation in Operation Christmas Child each year, concentrated at collection time. The work is seasonal: a small core ministry that, for one season a year, mobilizes the wider congregation to pack shoeboxes, then handles collection, sorting, and handoff to the partner organization. The scale is deliberately modest. The core stays small the rest of the year and grows only seasonally through congregational participation, so the effort lifts the whole body for a season without becoming a standing draw on the church's capacity. As a supporting ministry, its measure is whether it strengthens the church's outward heart, not whether it grows into a year-round program.

5. In scope / Out of scope

In scope:

  • Leading the church's seasonal participation in Operation Christmas Child (Operation packing, collection, sorting, handoff).
  • Mobilizing the wider congregation to take part during the collection season.
  • Communicating the ministry to the congregation and fostering a spirit of generosity and service.
  • Coordinating with the partner organization on logistics and deadlines.

Out of scope:

  • Becoming a year-round or expanding program. This is a seasonal supporting ministry by design; growth in scope is an elder decision, not the team's to assume.
  • Carrying the church's benevolence or mercy budget, or local benevolence cases. That belongs to the Deacons.
  • The broader missionary support and the larger outreach event teams. That is the Missions Team's charge (see Coordination).
  • Drawing on the church's people or capacity in a way that competes with the five priorities. A supporting ministry serves the priorities; it does not drain them.

6. Scale

Shape: a small permanent core ministry that mobilizes the wider congregation seasonally, concentrated at collection time, drawing commitment categories from the Volunteer Chapter (System 06). The core does not staff the whole effort itself; it recruits and mobilizes the body for the season. Leadership is one appointed Shoebox Ministry Leader (System 07, "30 — Shoebox Ministry Leader").

7. Key responsibilities

  • Organize the church's seasonal shoebox effort: packing, collection, sorting, and handoff.
  • Mobilize and equip the congregation to participate during the season.
  • Communicate the ministry clearly and on time so the body can take part.
  • Coordinate logistics and deadlines with the partner organization.
  • Keep the ministry seasonal and right-sized, flagging to the elders before any expansion of scope.
  • Communicate with the elders on plans, timing, and needs.

8. Coordination

  • Missions Team (Elders): Shoebox sits within the same outward-calling family. Missions carries the broader missionary support and the larger outreach event teams; Shoebox carries this one seasonal, concrete act of gospel mercy. The two coordinate so the church's outreach calendar is not overloaded in any one season and the ministries reinforce rather than compete.
  • Elders: approve the seasonal effort and any change in its scope, and receive reports at season's end.
  • Trustees: facilities needs for packing and collection space are coordinated here for space only.

9. Resources

Budget line: Outreach Fund, administered by the Elder Chair (Purchasing Policy). Facilities needs for packing and collection are coordinated with the Trustees. Scheduling and volunteer requests run through Planning Center.

10. Health indicators

Faithfulness-shaped signs the ministry is alive, not a box-count scoreboard. The year's specific targets live in the System 11 annual goals, set with the elders each August.

  • The seasonal effort happens well and on time, with the partner organization's deadlines met.
  • The wider congregation takes part, so the ministry lifts the body rather than resting on a few.
  • The ministry stays seasonal and right-sized, not quietly expanding into a year-round draw on capacity.
  • The work is held as gospel mercy, not as a logistics drive, and the congregation understands what the gifts carry.

11. Review and approval

Standing charter, reviewed annually at the August Leadership Summit. Re-ratified by the Servants Council on material change. Escalation beyond the team's or elders' authority follows the Decision-Making Framework (System 09). Leadership succession follows the Leadership Handoff Guidelines (System 12). Review note: a formal change is pending. The current System 07 position description ("30 — Shoebox Ministry Leader") names the Board of Deacons as the accountable board. This charter places the ministry under the Elders to preserve the bylaws' pattern of missions and outreach under the elders (Art. II §B 1.c.2). A proposal will be brought to the Servants Council on July 11, 2026 to formalize the move from Deacon to Elder oversight and update the position description to match.

Commissioned by: Elder Chair ____________________________ Date __________

Ratified into the operations documentation by: Servants Council ____________________________ Date __________

Sources

  • Mayflower Church Constitution and Bylaws, Art. II §B 1.c.2 (board oversight of ministry); Art. II §B 4.c.7 (Servants Council receives and approves Ministry Team charters).
  • Streamline System 01 — The Five Priority Ministries We Guard (supporting ministries must strengthen the priorities without draining capacity).
  • Streamline System 06 — Team-to-Board Oversight Map (Shoebox assigned to Elders; note that deacons "could equally be argued"); Volunteer Chapter.
  • Streamline System 07 — Role Clarity, "30 — Shoebox Ministry Leader" (names Board of Deacons; conflict flagged in Review note).
  • Streamline System 09 — Decision-Making Framework; System 11 — Annual Goals; System 12 — Leadership Handoff Guidelines.
  • Purchasing Policy (Outreach Fund, Elder Chair).
  • Missions Team Charter (sibling form for parallelism); Team Charter Standard, this folder.
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