~Going Deeper~ Part 7

You Fail to Equip God’s People!

It’s easy to get caught in the trap of growing your staff without proportionately cultivating your volunteer assets. There are certain common refrains I hear as I’m talking with growing churches across the country. This is one of them—we fail to equip God’s people to do the work of God.
I’ve heard many leaders in recent months acknowledge that they’re trying to shift the ministry to volunteers rather than continuing to hire more staff. Likely, the economic challenges have precipitated that shift in strategy. Whatever the case, I think it’s a good thing.
Eric Geiger offered this thought as it relates to engaging volunteers in ministry. He explains how pastors and other paid staff may actually be hampering spiritual growth by holding on to ministry:
People who are gifted by God and called to serve Him are put on the bench as they watch the professional ministers make the ministry happen. Instead of fostering a serving posture among believers, this kind of "ministry" develops consumers. By keeping ministry from the majority of the people, they are taught to be moochers and consumers of the faith rather than participators and contributors. As their spiritual gifts go underutilized, they miss the joy of experiencing Christ by serving others.
Wondering where your church stands on this topic? Do a little math. Take the number of people who volunteer somewhere in ministry at any given time each month. Divide that by the total number of students and adults at your church. That’ll give you a percentage. Here’s my suggestion:
• If the percentage of students and adults serving is over 45 percent, you are in a healthy range for engaging volunteers in ministry.
• If you are in the 30- to 45-percent range, you’re doing okay but there’s room for improvement.22
• If you are under 30 percent, you need a volunteer strategy adjustment.

Now, I can hear the critics and skeptics already. They’re probably saying, "The larger a church gets, the more likely they are to have a big staff team handling the ministry of the church." It might surprise you to learn I see the direct opposite. For whatever reason, smaller churches I work with have a tendency to rely on the pastors and paid staff to carry the ministry load.
Many churches have a vision for getting more people to volunteer and serve in the ministry. Fewer churches actually make it happen. One of the reasons is because they lean on staff to do ministry.
With that in mind, Lifepoint Church in Fredericksburg, Virginia, needs to be on your radar. They’ve grown by over 50 percent in the last twelve months. But that’s not what’s most unique about this ministry.
What’s unique about Lifepoint is their commitment to giving ministry away to volunteers. They have several strategies for making that happen, but let me highlight the most obvious one—they don’t hire staff to do ministry.
Of all the churches I’ve worked with over the last couple of years, Lifepoint has the lowest staff-to-attendance ratio. They only have 1 full-time equivalent staff member (that includes all staff, not just ministry staff) for every 150 people in attendance. Only about 35 percent of their budget is spent on staff expenses.
Because they have very few staff, they are forced to empower volunteers to do the ministry. Almost 70 percent of their adults volunteer. That’s the highest percentage of adults volunteering of all the churches I’ve worked with.
So, if you’re following at home: Lifepoint has the record for the fewest staff compared to attendance, and they also broke the record for the most people volunteering. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
This is another simple reminder that you can have a strong vision, but it’s good systems and strategies that shift behaviors. This is just one example of that principle.

In His Grip,
Pastor J

~Going Deeper~ Part 6

You Focus on Activities Instead of Outcomes!

While many church leaders are full of vision and passion, they lack an effective strategy to accomplish their mission. That leads to a feeling of disorganization, and ultimately they feel stuck. When this happens, you’ll spend more time focused on activities instead of outcomes. How do you know you’re focused on activities? When you find yourself focusing on bigger versus better.
Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A, said, "when we get better the customer will force us to get bigger!" In the church world, this means that we must take time to improve what we do, not just come up with bigger versions of what’s mediocre. Instead of trying to outdo your last event, set design, or sermon illustration, get together with your team and improve the little things.
You’ve got too many ideas and too little action. It’s more fun for leaders to brainstorm and dream, but that’s not the hard work of the ministry. Real effectiveness comes when we organize volunteers around a mission, create processes to follow up with guests and givers, and lead our staff with intentionality and intensity. Visionary leaders often make the mistake of thinking that their church can grow on vision. While vision is helpful and necessary, getting organized may have more long-term positive effects.
At some point, you have to just do the hard work and stick with it. A quote from Calvin Coolridge noted in the program at his memorial service in 1933 described it this way:
Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.Are you distracted? As a church leader, there are many things that you can do. Even good opportunities can sidetrack us from doing what matters most. Instead of chasing new opportunities, go to work on your worship services, children’s ministry, and community service. Keep your eye on the ball. Don’t let too many new ministry opportunities dilute your core purpose.
Stop and ask if the activities on your schedule contribute to, or support, your core values and mission. If you don’t know your core values and mission, you’ve discovered one of your most glaring weaknesses!

In His Grip,
Pastor J

Happy New Years!

Happy New Years 2012!!!

May you have a safe and blessed year.

Monday we will get back to our "Going Deeper"

In His Grip,
Pastor J