Create a card ministry in your church!

Well Written Words Stampin Up who needs card Lyssa encouraging scripture verse stamps

if you LOVE Jesus and you LOVE to make cards to cheer people up, you’re in the perfect position to start a card ministry in your church! No matter the size of your congregation, there will always be those who are sick or hurting. Every Sunday we see their names in the bulletin or hear them from the pulpit and think, “I should send them a card.”

If you’re like me, you don’t always remember later, however! If that happens to you, it’s time to gather the papercrafters in your church and be a little more systematic about your cardmaking!

Here’s some of my best tips for putting together an official card ministry for your organization!

  1. Get permission from your church authorities, and become an authorized key-holder if necessary.
  2. Settle how/who is paying for the supplies and postage expenses.
  3. Get it on the calendar! That way you have a start date and can work towards your first gathering.
  4. Have an announcement added to your bulletin or website. Print up postcards to hand out or mail.
  5. Invite EVERYONE. And keep on inviting them even if they don’t come at first.
  6. Make sure it’s clear that the cards will be EASY and there will be work for them to do even if they “just aren’t creative.”

About the projects:

  1. Keep the cards SUPER SIMPLE. The cards are not really the point; the encouragement is. Simple and sent is better than a big stack of half-completed cards still waiting to be mailed.
  2. Design the cards in advance. Otherwise it turns into a free-for-all with the supplies.  Crafting newbies freeze up without guidance or samples to look at.
  3. Cut everything in advance so it won’t slow you down at the event or waste cardstock with inaccurate measurements.
  4. Assembly-line crafting is more efficient than individuals making cards one at a time. This also has the advantage of creating many steps along the way that “anyone” can do, regardless of their crafting abilities.
  5. Keep the cards gender-neutral or have two color options or two different focal point images.

At your first meeting, consider the following ideas to solidify the plan:

  1. Choose a set night of the month or quarter, so people can plan in advance
  2. Pass around a sign up sheet for snacks.
  3. Assign the writing to people with a gift for encouraging words.
  4. Assign the mailing tasks to someone reliable.
  5. Choose who will design and bring the cards each month on a rotating basis.
  6. Assign clean up and lock up duties. Leave the place looking better than it did when you arrived.

Keep the main thing the main thing!

  1. Cardmaking is a ministry not only to those who get one of your creations, but to those who come to chat and pray while crafting together. Make it a sweet time of creative fellowship. Have snacks!
  2. In my former church, our monthly card night was also the time we prayed for missionaries and read from an inspiring missionary biography. If your church is very busy you might be able to add cardmaking to an existing schedule by combining it with an auxiliary club or group.
  3. Cardmaking nights can be an outreach activity! Challenge your regular attendees to bring a friend from the community along with them. Developing those friendships may lead them to feel comfortable visiting for one of the services or allowing their kids to come to fun activities.
  4. Have at least 2-3 people in charge (that way it doesn’t all fall through if you are ill). Consider having “officers” only so that you can rotate the duties when it becomes a chore. It’s exciting now, but mid-winter when you’re scrambling for a design and no one signed up for the snack, or you’re left with a giant stack of cards no one wants to write in, you’ll need the help!
  5. NEVER criticize anyone’s finished card, even if it’s not up to your standards. God is not concerned with the perfection of our papercrafts, but the compassion and humility in our hearts.

Do you have a tip for card ministry? Leave a comment below! And please feel free to use any of my easy card designs in your own efforts to spread sunshine. I’d love to know if they have inspired you to send more cards on a consistent schedule. Chat soon!


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8 thoughts on “Create a card ministry in your church!”

  1. Lyssa, thank you for these fabulous tips on running a successful card ministry. I have been running my churches card ministry for 5 years and in turn have been truly blessed by the experience. People who are isolated at home right now especially look forward to receiving cards of celebration, get well, thinking of you, and even sympathy. I have 5-8 women who regularly help with card making in my church. We also make candy boxes for special events and extra special giant cards for the special people in our church. We have great fun and fellowship when we meet. I’ll be glad when we are able to gather together again.

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  2. I will file this away as our church is not open because of Covid. It is a good idea though. Hope you and your family are doing much better. How did you get it?

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  3. I actually am an avid stamper and SU Demo today because of my church’s card ministry. I was employed by the church, and just as I was getting ready to leave for home, I discovered three women making cards in one of the classrooms. I had no clue our church had a card ministry. I kept going back to see what they were doing, and they put me to work the second or third time I came. That was in the fall of 2000; now I have a room full of stamps and have been a demo for almost 13 years!
    My tip would be to pick a name for your card ministry. Our name was Caring Cards. We had a custom stamp made for our signature stamp with Caring Cards and the name of our church.

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  4. Thank you for this timely information. I was scrambling again for some ideas. You always come though for me.
    Jacque
    P.S. I hope your family recovers quickly from Covid. Prayers winging their way to you.

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  5. Thank you so much for sharing how you run a card ministry!! The level of detail and suggestions are fantastic <3
    Last April through August I set a box in my church narthex with a bunch of hand stamped cards I had acquired through swaps or stamp-a-stacks I had attended over the years but never sent. I also made some of the SU Covid-19 Make A Difference PDF sentiments and added them to the box. Then I posted on our church Facebook group that they were there for any member to take and share some encouragement to anyone they knew but especially asked them to focus on the shut-ins/elderly and at risk people in our church and small town.
    I had several members thank me and they left the clear protective sleeves behind in the box so I could keep refilling. I pulled the box by September since interest had slowed down as did my supply of cards. With the uptick in cases and that my county has made national news for our high case per capita count it may be time to set out more or try to make some kits to go.
    Again, thank you for sharing this amazing ministry opportunity with us!
    Blessings on your business and to you and your family!! Stay well!! 🙂
    Denise

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  6. I love this idea. Now I send handmade cards out to all of the congregation a couple of times a year. It is anonymous but some have guessed it’s me. I figure if even one person is lifted up or blessed by my little old card then it is worth it. Our church is going through restructuring and I am hoping to do something like this once to get others involved once we are allowed to go back to face to face activity.

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  7. What a wonderful post. I think that you have done an excellent job of detailing how to start this ministry. I have been sending cards to fellow parishioners for several years. One recipient told me that she displayed the cards where she could see them daily. They reminded her that the whole parish was praying for her husband who had cancer. For people of faith, knowing that they are recipients of pray can be very comforting. Thank you for reminding everyone that small things can give great joy.

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  8. What a wonderful tip Lyssa, thank you for all your time in putting this together for us, I truly appreciate it.
    I have been a S U Demonstrator 1 year and truly love stamping!!! I make “Thinking of You—Birthday Get Well &Just Because cards” for our Seniors Homes as several of these residents do not have family and do not receive cards. I can only imagine the surprised looks on their faces when a card is delivered to them! I have been working on organizing a group of my neighbors to help out and never did think about our church members.
    Thank you again for a very well written Post.
    Yvonne

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