When Churches Remember
Team worksheet · Chapters 4 and 12
Church Memory Map
A memorial is any intentional practice that preserves the meaning of what God has done so it can continue forming people after the moment has passed. The form is secondary. The function is.
Gather the stones
Six stones to begin with
Stone 1: Answered prayer
Churches often pray more faithfully than they remember. · Chapter 12
What happened
What it taught us about God
Who should hear it
Stone 2: Provision in crisis
A journal documenting how God provided during a crisis. · Chapter 4
What happened
What it taught us about God
Who should hear it
Stone 3: A moment of correction
God loved us enough to correct us here. We learned something here. · Chapter 4
What happened
What it taught us about God
Who should hear it
Stone 4: Hidden faithfulness
Who was faithful behind the scenes? · Chapter 4
What happened
What it taught us about God
Who should hear it
Stone 5: A turning point
What happened that our younger people would never know unless someone told them? · Chapter 4
What happened
What it taught us about God
Who should hear it
Stone 6: Our own
What has God done recently that we should remember?
What happened
What it taught us about God
Who should hear it
Not stones of shame. Stones of mercy.
There are lessons that should survive the people who first learned them. A leadership team may need to write down:
- Never allow growth to outrun shepherding again.
- Never make a major decision without giving prayer adequate time again.
- Never treat dissent as disloyalty.
Distribute the memory
The people who carry the stones
If the pastor is the only one who knows the stories, the stories are fragile. Spiritual memory should be distributed.
Older believers
Parents
Small-group leaders
Staff
Children
A memorial should answer one question: Does this help people remember God’s faithfulness? If yes, use it. If not, let it go.