We drove an hour to participate in the Arcadia Branch meetings today. Arcadia is located almost directly east of us in the central part of the state. This is one of the two branches in the Sarasota Stake without missionaries. Both of these branches (Wauchula is the other) had been using the missionaries for regular branch assignments; home teaching, teaching classes, etc. They are both struggling branches, so the missionaries were a strength to them. However, that is not the role of the missionaries for the Tampa Mission. The units are expected to be functional and the missionaries are supposed to teach, and find if needed.
After letting the Branch President know we were coming, he asked that we speak in Sacrament Meeting. As instructed by President Cusick, we spoke on missionary work. I emphasized that members are responsible for missionary work. Not having full-time missionaries assigned to their branch does not mean they no longer have that responsibility. I also suggested that if they want to have missionaries re-assigned to the branch, they need to improve their home and visiting teaching (demonstrating they can fellowship new members) and overwhelm their branch mission leader with referrals of friends and neighbors who want to be taught.
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