PLANNING CALENDAR

I. GATHER

___ Your committee – identify the persons that will assist in the planning and promotion of the Week of Compassion offering.

___ Your resources – this year's packet of materials including poster, leaders' guide, ordering forms; also gather materials from previous years; talk to those who have organized this program in the past.

___ Your community of faith in prayer – ask your congregation to hold your planning group and the Week of Compassion offering in their prayers.

II. REVIEW

___ Review your Leader's Guide.

___ Familiarize yourself with the material – begin to match people with particular responsibilities.

___ Check the Week of Compassion Web Site: www.weekofcompassion.org

III. INVOLVE

___ Select your readers for the Minutes of Mission.

___ Talk to pastor(s) about their role in WOC program.

___ Select worship participants.

IV. CHALLENGE

___ Review the history of giving to WOC set a goal for your congregation.

___ Set your goal to be generous and sacrificial – i.e. add 10% to your largest WOC offering in the last five years.

V. ANNOUNCE

___ Let the community know about the Week of Compassion.

___ Hang posters through out the building in areas of high traffic.

___ Write a newsletter article for at least the three weeks preceding the offering.

___ Send out a letter to the congregation inviting everyone to participate in the Week of Compassion offering.

___ Use the clip art in the Church newsletter, Worship bulletin, and other congregational publications.

___ Log on to the WOC web site for the most recent updates about the people and communities in which our gifts are making a difference.

___ Create a special display for Week of Compassion during the weeks leading up to the offering.

VI. CELEBRATE

___ Plan special events to raise your congregation's awareness of the Week of Compassion. Be sure to look at the "Creative Ideas Page" .

___ Ask a special speaker to be a part of your worship or share during an outreach fellowship dinner.

___ Contact the WOC office about one of the videos that could be shown in Sunday School classes, at fellowship dinners, or during youth meetings.

___ Plant the "seed paper" and present the cups to the congregation during worship.

VII. PROCLAIM

___ Share the materials with the pastor(s). Ask them to focus their sermon on the 2000 theme, Gifts of Living Water.

___ Work with worship leaders to incorporate the worship resources offered in the Leader's Guide into the morning worship of your congregation.

___ Include a Children's Sermon about the Week of Compassion.

VIII. GRATITUDE

___ Give thanks. On the Sunday the offering is taken consecrate the offering. Ask God's blessing upon these gifts that they might bring help and hope to hurting people throughout the world.

___ Give thanks. The Sunday following the offering give thanks to God for calling us to share; give thanks to the congregation for their sharing; give thanks by name to those people in the congrega- tion who participated in the planning and carrying out of the Week of Compassion offering.

___ Give thanks for the difference the Week of Compassion offering makes in the lives of people throughout the world.