A Head Usher

Three Usher Captains

Ushers assigned to three ushering teams.

The authority of the Usher Ministry flows from the Pastor and Board. During the Service, the Pastor has responsibility for the direction of the Service. The Usher Captain in charge of that Service will respond to the requests and directions of the Pastor, who may utilize the ushering team present in any manner he deems appropriate.

The Head Usher.

At the Pastor and Board's pleasure, this may be the Deacon with the ushering portfolio, a member of the Board of Elders, or someone else raised up by God whose call to this ministry is recognized by the leadership of the church. He should be a member in good standing in the church, and have ushering experience. He should possess the kind of leadership qualities that would edify the ministry of the Usher, promote the ministry within the church and establish ushering of the highest standards.

The Usher Captain.

An Usher Captain shall be an experienced Usher with leadership qualities and a member in good standing of the church. He shall head one of three ushering teams and be responsible to the Head Usher in practice and directly to the Pastor during his assigned service. The three assignments are:

1. The Sunday Morning Worship Service

2. The Sunday Evening Praise Service

3. Wednesday and other special Services.

The Usher.

An Usher is a recognized man of God who serves the church by enhancing the worship Service by the carrying out of his duties. As a representative of the church, he should be a member or at least a regular attendee and adherent in submission to the leadership of the church. He provides a friendly, cheerful greeting to all those who pass through his post and maintains order in his section according to the policies promulgated by the Pastor and Board.

USHERING NOTES

1. The ministry of Ushering is a vital part of our church ministry. Ushers represent the church in a very visible way, and help set the tone in preparation for the worship service, as well as assist with the smooth operation within the service. With this in mind, ushers need to come prayed up so that they can be prepared to minister in each and every service.

2. While people enter the Sanctuary, ushers should also give a warm greeting, calling people by name when possible, and helping them with seating once the Sanctuary begins to fill up. This may include asking people who sit near the aisles to move in toward the center of the section when others come to be seated. It also involves keeping aware of where the vacant seats are within the particular section.

3. When the Order of Service calls for the doors to be closed at a particular time, it means that no one should be allowed to enter during that period of time. Folks should be kindly asked to wait for the completion of the prayer, Scripture reading, or song. This applies as well to the balcony, with folk being asked to remain at the back of the seating area until movement is once again permitted. When someone needs to leave the service after it has begun, the ushers should be sensitive as to when they would be permitted back into the sanctuary. Perhaps the person would be asked to sit in the back for a few moments until an appropriate time for them to move. These guidelines are designed to minimize distractions for others who are wanting to enter into worship and/or listen to the preaching of the Word.

4. The offering will normally be received from the front to the rear. Ushers on the main floor will walk together down the center aisle, and stand for the prayer which will precede the receiving of the offering. They will then go to their assigned aisles for the collection. Ushers in the balcony will come to the edge of the balcony and stand until the completion of the prayer.

5. To better enable Ushers to see those who are raising their hands, the distribution of the information packet to visitors will also begin at the front of the sanctuary. One usher for each aisle will come to the front with packets in hand, and then work towards the back as they see hands raised. An appropriate number of ushers will do the same in the balcony sections when they are opened.

6. Plans are being made for ushers who are on duty to sit in a marked reserved seat near their particular station. At the close of the service they will be prepared to open the doors and greet the folk who immediately leave the sanctuary. If they wish to sit with their wife or other members of your family, they may invite them to sit in the pew where their reserved seat is located.

7. If name badges are available the Usher Captains will make them available to the men who serve in their respective services.

8. The encouragement of ushers who are presently serving, as well as the recruitment of future ushers is a responsibility that can be shared by all of those presently serving. Ushers should take time to become aquainted with other ushers with whom they are serving, and always be on the lookout for men who would be capable of serving, asking them to pray about it, and receivin gpermission for their name to be given to one of the Usher Captains or the Head Usher.

9. Ushers should never be reluctant to ask questions concerning various aspects of the ushering ministry. These questions will help the Usher Captains address an area of need, as many others will no doubt have a similar question.

10. The dress requirements for the ushering ministry may at times seem inconvenient or perhaps uncomfortable. However, not only does it add dignity to the ministry, but also provides unity as well as less of a distraction to people who are gathering to worship. If this is a sacrifice, certainly men who are willing to make it will be blessed as they do it as unto the Lord.

11. Even if detailed policies have not yet been worked out for emergency situations, ushers need to be ready at all times to respond as directed when there is a disturbance, illness, or other situation that requires special attention. The Head Usher and Usher Captains, along with the Pastor, should develope policy guidelines for such situations.

12. Those ushers who are serving in the balcony must give special attention to the movement of people during the time that slides are being projected onto the large screen, so as to avoid the situation where someone inadvertently walks in front of the projector and blocks the words from the screen.

13. It is the church's sincere hope and prayer that three teams of ushers will be developed. Each of these will consist of men who are committed to this ministry, not merely men who are spontaneously called into action in a particular service. This will require a certain level of discipline and determination to be faithful to the Lord and His church, being accountable to the leaders that are being raised up. It will be required that each man present himself to his appointed place on time, and in a very consistant manner. Each person involved should be diligent to pray and believe that the steps that the strengthening of this ministry will be effective, with the result of great blessing for the entire congregation that gathers at our church.

USHERS

1. Each usher is responsible to the Usher Captain assigned to his team and will take direction from him.

2. The "uniform" of the Usher at all services is a shirt, tie, and if not a suit, at least a coordinated sport coat and pants. Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the Usher Captain in consultation with the Head Usher.

3. He shall be at his post at least ten minutes prior to the start of the service.

- Sunday AM reporting time 10:35

- Sunday PM reporting time 6:20

- Wednesday reporting time 6:50

- Other Services will be coordinated through the assigned Usher Captain

4. Prior to reporting to his post, he will report to the Usher Captain for a briefing on any changes in the Service deviating from the normal.

5. He will ensure he has an adequate supply of bulletins and applicable handouts to be distributed by him at his post.

6. When available, he will wear an identification badge, leaving it at the designated location before leaving the building each Sunday.

7. He will ensure that he has the proper amount of offering bags for his post prior to the Service and notify the Usher Captain if he is missing any.

8. He will assist in the reception of the tithes and offerings of the congregation in the manner prescribed by the leadership of the Church.

9. When delegated to do so, he will immediately proceed to the assigned area and assist the Usher Captain in the deposit of all monies into the safe.

10. He will return the offering bags to his post so they will be ready for the next Service. If the adjacent post is assigned to stay in the sanctuary during the collection deposit procedure, he will return that post's bags to the applicable usher.

11. When instructed by the Usher Captain, he will allow late entry (or re-entry) into the main floor sections only at those times designated for that Service.

12. He will remain standing at his post until the sermon begins and then be seated close to his post in his section (in the reserved seat, if it is available to him). If he is needed to maintain order or fulfill other ushering duties, he will respond in the appropriate manner.

13. He will report to his post at the close of the Service to facilitate smooth and personable egress from the sanctuary.

14. He will greet people by name whenever possible, and be especially hospitable to visitors and guests allowing the love of the Lord to shine through him.

15. He will provide visitors with welcome packets (proceeding from the front to the rear) if called upon to do so.

16. An usher must be aware of any change in policies and procedures, as well as, assist in the fine tuning of the ministry. Therefore whenever possible, he should attend usher meetings and training sessions.

17. He will seat, assist in or facilitate seating patterns in his section. Particular attention will be paid to seating from front to rear, and to placing visitors if possible with people who are friendly and outgoing.

18. He will be attuned to the Holy Spirit and the Order of Service so he does not impede the flow of either.

19. He will control the people seated in his section according to policy, so there will be no disruption of the Service or move of the Holy Spirit.

20. He is to know the policies of the church regarding special situations that might arise during a Service, such as evacuation procedures, medical emergency, loss of lights, and the like. In particular, he is to be thoroughly familiar with the assigned duties of his post during any emergency, including any change of location of that post that is assigned in the event of certain emergencies.

21. He will observe particular situations that require him to respond to help other ushers, such as a disorderly person, distress or confusion.

22. If he finds it impossible to report to the post at the service to which he is assigned, he will find an Usher replacement from the Usher Ministry List and notify the assigned Usher Captain of his post number and substitution.

23. An usher not assigned to a service should report his attendance to the Usher Captain on duty, and let the Captain know where he intends to sit. In the event that an usher did not report for duty, a non-assigned Usher in attendance may be called upon to serve. In this event, the Usher Captain will follow up with the assigned usher to ensure his understanding of the importance of his ministry to the Church, as well as his understanding of the policies and procedures of the Usher Ministry.

HEAD USHER

1. All requests for supplies and materials necessary shall be submitted through the Head Usher, who shall coordinate their acquisition through the Assistant Pastor in charge of administration.

2. He shall oversee the recruitment and training of all ushers.

3. He will conduct periodic meetings at acceptable times to organize, train and motivate the ushers and foster an atmosphere of close fellowship among the men.

4. He will supervise, and monitor the Usher Captains in the performance of their duties, meeting with them whenever necessary.

5. He will communicate with the Usher Captains and promote an atmosphere of close camaraderie among all those men who are involved in the ushering ministry.

6. He will work with the Usher Captains in developing a schedule for all church services.

7. He will, over time, develop policy statements that will guide the ushering ministry. These statements will meet with the approval of the Pastor and Deacon whose portfolio is "Worship".

USHER CAPTAIN

1. With respect to the ushers, maintaining order and crowd control, the Usher Captain is in charge of the service, taking his direction and authority from the Pastor.

2. He is amenable to the Head Usher in the performance of his duties, but is responsible to the Pastor during the services.

3. He will assign the posts of the ushers on the teams to which he is entrusted. In this duty, he will give careful attention to maintaining the same usher at the same post whenever possible to build up a sense of intimacy between the usher and his section.

4. He will provide all assistance necessary to the individual ushers to enable them to carry out their assigned duties. This will include making arrangements for the picking up and distributing of the bulletins and any other hand-outs prior to the service, along with the printed Order of Worship.

5. He will work with the Head Usher in the training of each new usher in the execution of their duties and guide all Ushers to ensure the highest standard of performance.

6. He will accumulate all reports and statistics required.

7. When asked to do so, hHe will ensure that all tithes and offerings are properly collected and supervise their deposit into the safe, marking them appropriately. He will be careful to see that no one person is ever alone in carrying out any part of this duty. He will negotiate with a deacon, janitor, or other person with an office key to be available to open the office door after the offering has been received.

8. He will see to it that the sanctuary is never unattended by an adequate amount of ushers during the service, ensuring that certain posts are manned during the collection deposit.

9. He will ensure that all collection bags are returned to their proper post after the deposit.

10. He will be solely responsible for the maintenance of proper temperature control during the Service. He will instruct the posts necessary to ensure that ease of ingress and egress to the thermostats is maintained.

11. He will provide for the patrolling of the building at random intervals to ensure that proper order and security are maintained. He will handle any breach according to the policy. As a general rule, the door of the church nearest the parking lot will be locked 30 minutes after the Worship Service has begun. The front doors will remain unlocked.

12. If he finds it impossible to report to his assigned post, he will call the other Usher Captains to ensure his post is filled. He will also call the Head Usher to appraise him of the situation.