Ushering Ministry
From left: Lydia Tabucon, Bella Figueras, Josie Malijao, Baby Biglang Awa, Divine Victorio, Sofia Ga, Linda Garcia
What is the Ushering Department all about?
The Ushering Department is tasked to maintain discipline and order in Church services while providing warm welcome to all those who attend NCF gatherings. Its other roles are to guide and provide information regarding Church services and activities, and to assist the Pastor and other leaders as necessary during the services. In cases of need and emergency during a church-related service, the Ushering Department is assigned to extend assistance.
Ushering is more that leading the people to their seats or packing them in pews. Ushers have the all-important task of giving the first impression of the Church and ultimately, the Lord that we serve. In Biblical times, the counterpart of the usher is the doorkeeper or the shamar, which has the root meaning “to exercise great care.”
What do you do in the Ushering Department?
The responsibilities of an usher in the worship service:
- Know the order of service.
- Greet the people.
- Concentrate on the visitor.
- Master the art of introducing people to each other.
- Develop the skill of remembering names.
- Call people by name.
- Change your greeting.
- Never have partiality in your greeting.
- Seat the people.
- Assist people to be seated only at times when their entrance will not disturb the service.
- Seat the people as near the front and center as seems appropriate. Rear pews should be saved
for latecomers. - Walk slowly down the aisle, stopping at the pew where the people are to be seated and form a
gate into the seating area by placing the hand on the back of the pew in front. - Give a church bulletin or other material to the worshipper just before he is seated.
- Assist persons to be seated. Do not leave individuals to push their way through the crowded
pews to sit. Quietly ask those who are already seated to move toward the front or help clear
passage for those who need to be seated. - Seeing to it that order and solemnity are maintained during altar call.
- Carry out after-service responsibilities. When the congregation stands for the invitation song, the ushers
should station themselves at exits. This helps discourage people from leaving this time. - After service, the usher performs these:
- Remain at the assigned post until the congregation has dispersed.
- Aid the pastor in speaking to the people during this time.
- Be alert to any evidence of concern on the part of a worshipper, which indicates a spiritual need
that warrants attention. - Watch for the opportunity to assist visitors and newcomers interested in seeing the church
buildings and grounds. - Be alert to the needs of the aged or the handicapped.
- Be alert to extend courtesy of an umbrella and escort persons to their rides in case of rain.
- Assists, as needed, in leaving the auditorium tidy and closed.
Ushers that are in the Department should also be equipped to handle difficult situations during worship, such as: illness during a service, emergency phone calls, seating latecomers, disturbances created by small children and chatters, and persons with special problems. Among such “people with problems” are beggars, drunks, bums and other persons of this nature sometimes drift into churches expecting to reap the benefits of Christian humanitarianism.
What do you require to be a member in the Ushering Department?
The usher should be a Christian and whose practices in business and personal conduct should be consistent with what his lips and actions say in Church. The greatest sign of sonship is love. Therefore, the usher should be known for his love for others. As maintaining a commitment in Department is required, faithfulness and prayerfulness should also be virtues of an usher.
The appearance of a man says something to others. Laziness is often detected first in a man’s posture and manners. Ushers should be mature in ways and must be presentable in appearance. The usher should seek to glorify God with well-mannered control of spirit and body. He or she should not seek to draw attention to him or herself.
An usher should have a pleasant disposition and be able to control his emotions. The joy and peace of the usher will be contagious to the congregation. When in duty specially, the usher should be wide awake. Only an alert person can cope quickly with the demands of a normal day in church. Being a frontliner, the usher must have an understanding heart and seek to have a measure of the mind of the Christ as set forth in Philippians 2:3.
