Honoring Members with DSAs

 
How much of an event is the presentation Distinguished Service Awards (DSAs) in your church? If the person is truly “distinguished,” shouldn’t the celebration in which they receive the award be just as memorable?

 
A lot of money does not have to be spent on the celebration. (If you did that, you could have sent more money in for another DSA instead, and the missionaries would have been the beneficiaries.)

 
A “DSA Celebration” just takes forethought and planning. Read the suggestions below, mull them over, and send in your own ideas or adaptations of these.

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  • In your first Council meeting of the year, open discussion about the DSA recipient.

    • What needs to be considered when determining the recipient?
    • When are the best times of the church year to give the presentation?
    • Who will make the final decision of the recipient?
    • Where will the celebration take place? It doesn’t have to be during a church service.
  • Once the person is determined, form a group of four or five people to begin making plans. These people can be of any age and do not have to be on the Council.
    • Will the event be casual or formal, in a church service, at a missions event or youth event?
    • Contact a person who knows the recipient well to assertain if there are special events taking place in that person’s life during the year that will result in special guests visiting (wedding of a family member, special birthday/anniversary, holidays, etc.). The contact person should be able to keep a secret and maybe talk to family members to determine if the presentation would be appropriate around the time of the event.
    • Keeping these events in mind, decide when the DSA should be presented, ordered, and where sent.
    • Ask several people in the church who know the recipient if they would be willing to help with the celebration. Describe the event to these people, and let them know when the event will be so they can adequately prepare. Give specific time frames to those speaking.
      • A child can draw pictures of why the honoree is special to him/her.
      • A teen (or several) can sing a special song for that person.
      • Others can tell that person why he/she is special to the person speaking.
    • Always involve the pastor and NMI president in planning (unless either is to be the recipient…that situation would involve alternatives).
  • Special events of the church may determine when the DSA will be presented.
    • Church’s anniversary of when it was organized or homecoming
    • Christmas, Easter, or some other holiday
    • An all-church picnic or potluck
    • What ideas do you have?

Looking Up MR/DSA Histories Online

1. Go to the NMI Web site (<www.nazarenemissions.org>).
2. Under “Giving,” click on “Memorial Roll” or “Distinguished Service Award” (whichever applies).
3. At the bottom of that page, click on the “MR/DSA History” link.
4. Type the honoree’s or donor’s criteria.
   1. For an individual, type the person’s name in the “Honoree” box. If you do not type in a church or district, it will show all records with that name. If you do not know a complete name, just enter one name (first, middle, or last) and a list of those names will be shown. (For instance, if you type “Taylor,” it will show all the people who have Taylor as one of their names.)
   2. For a church, type in the church name—without “Church” or “Nazarene.” If the church has changed names in its history, include the most recent name. Leave off district name.
   3. For a district, type in the district name only and do not abbreviate. If the district name has changed, it will recognize older names but will only include those records that were entered while that district was in existence. To see a complete district history, include the most recent name.
5. Enter the years you wish included in the history. If you want a complete history, do not type anything in the “From:” and “To:” boxes.
6. Press “Search.”