Our Ministries

Workplace Chaplaincy
  • Smithfield Foods Sioux Falls (about 17 hours/week); 85% of the workforce of 3700 people were born in other countries
  • We are training & placing bilingual chaplains at commercial farms.

 

 

 

 

Educational Opportunities
  • Timothy Leadership Training (http://www.tlti.org). New Roots Ministry staff are trained to facilitate TLT. We continually offer TLT classes, both during day hours and evening hours.
  • Each year, special events are offered on subjects relevant to new Americans and to the Church. Some examples of these subjects include immigration policies & statuses, Gospel outreach to new Americans of other faiths, hearing life-stories of new Americans, and worship events. (Please email us at sfnewroots@gmail.com with questions about upcoming events.)

 

Everyday-Ambassadors Practicum

What is a big thing that, if removed from our life, would bring us much distress? As Jesus-followers, one of our top answers would likely be our faith in God and the goods that come with it. Yet, research shows that 65% of active believers have between 0-5 spiritual conversations each month with people who don’t know God personally, which is likely much less than we talk about other big things in our lives—family, friends, favorite activities.

Everyday-Ambassadors Practicum has a two-fold purpose: 1) to bless those who don’t know God and the life He has for them, and 2) to bless us Jesus-followers as we learn to more naturally and organically talk about our Savior with others. This will create an “I can do that” feeling, which will carry over to our interactions with acquaintances.

Questions? Text, call, or email Fred Wilgenburg at (605)376-6330 or sfnewroots@gmail.com.

    • The first 2.5 hours are educational & interactive:
      • Highlighting what in your personal journey with God gives you the most joy and fulfillment
      • Discovering what Bible passages about evangelism are most motivating to you
      • 20-minute theology class
      • Writing a personal, 20-second testimony, and practicing it.
      • Practicing the 3-Circles Gospel presentation
      • Discussing how to pray with a person soon after meeting them, and practicing it.
    • The next hour is for meeting people who may be struggling and/or who don’t know God, and conversing with them, including at a spiritual level. (Does the thought of that intimidate you? That’s normal. Please keep reading. . . .)
        • Equipped with helpful “openers,” this includes listening to people and praying with them, and/or sharing our personal 20-second testimony, and/or, sharing the Gospel in another way.
          • Experience is showing that a large majority of people warmly respond when they are offered sincere interest, care, and maybe a prayer.
        • This would be done safely with others in places with strong potential for visits.
        • Ambassadors are equipped with 1) bottles of water and light snacks, 2) social service resource guides, 4) resources such as Steps to Peace with God, 5) and contact information of the leaders if follow-up would be helpful.
        • . . . .If you still feel intimidated by the thought of talking about your Good News with someone who might not believe, that’s the best reason to sign up. MAYBE THIS WILL HELP: you would be paired up with teammates who have done this practicum before or who are not feeling as intimidated. And, if you just want to observe, that is fine.
    • The next 30 minutes may include having a cultural-experience as we visit a new American owned store like Mogadishu Store or other.
    • The final 30 minutes are to debrief, share, and celebrate.
    • FOLLOW-UP for a few months, including receiving other tools for Gospel outreach, resources for understanding those of other religions and how to reach out to them, resources for understanding those who seem unspiritual and how to reach out to them, and suggestions for keeping your faith fresh and shareable.

 

An Equipping Ministry

  • Many of our new American friends and their churches are reaching out locally, as well as to the needs of people in their former countries. Through communication, help with promotion, and non-profit set-up, we help them thrive.
  • We love hosting service groups OR individuals who want to meet our wonderful new American friends. We can host service groups up to 15 people on Saturday afternoons, probably having them help out stores owned by our friends, and visiting with our friends in other places. If you are an individual or two who would like to hang out with the Director/Pastor on a weekday afternoon, meeting a variety of fine people, please contact us.
  • We offer “Strategic Planning for Meeting Goals” in helping new Americans achieve education, career, and ministry goals.
  • We offer driver training for new Americans.

(For latest news, stay updated with us at https://www.facebook.com/sfnewroots)