This is by far the most major change coming to Scoops in the many years we have done them. So, be patient with us as we take a moment and explain both the purpose of the change and how Scoops should become even easier to use in the future.

When we began Scoops 15-20 years or so ago we had no idea how popular (and according to some) useful, they would be. We (Dale here), are just nosey and like to follow stuff and keep up with what all is happening. When we started there would be about 5 or 6 Scoops every month to 6 weeks. For varying reasons (all of which we cannot even understand), that number has doubled, and doubled, and doubled again. We now typically have about 20-25 Scoops every two to three weeks.

We post ANY church looking for any role as long as 1. They are not running from the name Church of Christ, 2. They are non-instrumental in their Sunday worship, 3. They do not use women in the public leadership of worship. While there are certainly theological reasons behind this, for the sake of space we will just call it a business decision. We are in the business of helping churches of Christ and Her ministers. If a person does not like that we are sorry. Sometimes people object to what we post, but our belief is that every church needs a good minister. Even a church that has hurt guys int he past, even a church that is “going a bad direction.” If you do not agree with that, feel free to start your own list. Others have. We are simply two brothers who love the Lord, His church, and His ministers, and want to help. We do not judge the “soundness” or “faithfulness” of a congregation, we do not have the time or position to do that. I like to say that we are the “want-ads,” it’s your job to kick the tires before you buy.

There have been a number of practical problems through the years. Among them is how to order or list Scoops. Do we post by state? by the order we received them? by role or position? etc. So, thanks (BIG TIME THANKS) to Blaine McKinney, who has helped us so very kindly and patiently with some other matters we are able to do this a little differently. Note: If you like the “way it’s always been,” we understand. Just scroll down through and it will look much like it has in the past to you. BUT if you are looking for a job, let’s say a youth ministry job, you can now click on “Youth Ministry” above and see only those posts. Or say you just want to see posts from churches in Alabama (cause who wouldn’t want to live in “the great state?”), in the search bar use the two letter abbreviation and you will find the openings in that state only.

There are a couple of other features here:

1. Click update to just see roles that have been filled.

2. We OFTEN get request at The Institute to get out information on various items available, surveys that we’ve been asked to help with, or other things we need/want to promote. We can’t do them all, but in this new format we did not want to lose that feature. So, these will appear at the top of the list and be called “Sprinkles.” Get it, like sprinkles on top of a scoop of ice cream. Thanks, for getting me Blaine.

3. To see MORE on a church that is listed you can click on the Scoop and it will take you to more information. This, we believe, will keep some Scoops from being way too long but still provide interested folks with MORE if they want to know more. As always, feel free to contact us directly if you want to know if we know more about it that is not listed or you want us to put in a good word for you, etc.

4. We will continue to send out the notice via email when a new batch of Scoops is available. You will automatically see the most recent 25 posts (even if the new batch is only 15 or 19.

Finally, we want to know how to continue to improve Scoops and make them more useful. Let us know what you think, and if you have further suggestions let us know. Thanks for helping make Scoops happen, they could not without your input. As always contact us at TJI@TheJenkinsInstitute.com.