We decided to meet with the pastors of the church to introduce ourselves to them so that they could become familiar with who we are. During the meeting, the pastors asked us where we felt that we could help out in the church. Obviously, they are not wanting a family to come into the church without serving in some manner but at the time, neither me or my wife intended to jump into a new ministry so quickly. After all, we had a new member of the family that needed our attention. However, we briefly discussed with them some possible areas for us to help out in the church and that's when I mentioned we could possibly help in visual arts (like photography or videography).
A couple weeks after that meeting, we were asked about setting up a photo booth for an Easter community outreach. I was a little hesitant at first since we are by no means expert photographers but we decided to give it a try to help out. Even though the weather didn't cooperate, the results of the photo booth were a success. The church was very pleased with the pictures that were taken. My wife did all of the work on the pictures so I can't take credit for that aspect. I helped out in the administrative position by meeting the families, documenting their information, and keeping track of the order of arrival for matching faces to names during the editing process. I can say that we work well as a team in this environment.
A few more weeks later and the members of the church are starting to ask my wife for more pictures. There have been families seeking her out for shooting family portraits. There have been requests for artistic and candid pictures of other church ministries for use in the church's magazine that is distributed to the community. There have even been discussions with the school administrator for taking the spring school pictures. I try to help her in terms of the technical aspects of photography when I can.
So, it seems that there has been a new ministry dropped onto our laps. We are glad to serve in this capacity. This ministry caters to our desire to be creative and will also help further our skills in visual arts.
"As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ." - 1 Peter 4:10-11 (NIV)
...and to whoever photographs, as one who captures visions of God's kingdom for His purposes.
