by Gina | Apr 29, 2020 | Blog, Podcast, Volunteers
We can band together around this one.
We want great volunteers.
We want volunteers who embrace the vision of our church. Who show up and love each other in ways that demonstrate who the Church really is. We want not normal volunteers. But that doesn’t happen on its own. There are keys you want to have in place to foster a team people want to be part of. And that’s what Adam Duckworth does so well.
[bctt tweet=”We want great volunteers. We want volunteers who embrace the vision of our church. Who show up and love each other in ways that demonstrate who the Church really is. We want not normal volunteers. But that doesn’t happen on its own.” username=”gina_mcclain”]
This conversation was fun listening to Adam describe the key components to building a thriving volunteer team. Don’t just recruit… retain.
by Gina | Apr 28, 2020 | Blog, Leadership, Ministry
If we’re honest… though we’ve developed a rhythm to our week… this new rhythm to ministry is something we’re still adjusting to. And my biggest encouragement to ministry leaders right now is… be graceful with yourself. You’re doing a great job.
As I talk to ministry leaders around the nation, it’s incredibly enouraging to hear their creative solutions to ministry in this season. In fact, I’ve pulled together a few ideas that seem to be momentum generators in this season. Five simple things you can do to create momentum in your ministry this week.
[bctt tweet=”Talking to ministry leaders around the nation, it’s incredibly enouraging to hear their creative solutions to ministry in this season. Here are a few ideas that seem to be momentum generators in their ministry.” username=”gina_mcclain”]
Rally Your Volunteers
When you offered weekly services, you had a rhythm to huddling your volunteer team. Maybe that huddle was weekly. Maybe it was monthly. You gathered them together to remind them of the vision, encourage them, and challenge them to more. That doesn’t have to change.
Get them on an FB live or video chat and continue to share vision, encourage and challenge them to more. In fact, you can be a source of consistency for them in a season where nothing feels consistent.
Check out this post on ideas to stay connected with your volunteer team.
Engage Your Volunteers
They signed on to impact the lives of kids/students. This season of COVID doesn’t change that. So, engage them in a new way. To make an impact in this new reality. The inability to open the doors of your church or host weekly events doesn’t have to be a hindrance. Connect them with the families in your church. Use them to build a network of connection so people in your church feel seen, heard and known.
Check out this resource to help you create connections between volunteers and families.
Know the Resources
There are resources parents, kids and students need in this season. Worry and anxiety are common themes when a lifestyle is abruptly disrupted by job loss, illness and social isolation. Our families need resources. Some of those resources are practical help with utilities and food. Some of those resources are connections to counseling options in your community, articles on students and anxiety, conversation guides on how to talk to kids about COVID19.
[bctt tweet=”Today there are more questions than answers. Equipping parents to navigate difficult conversations speaks volumes to how much you want to see them win at being a parent.” username=”gina_mcclain”]
These are times when there are more questions than answers. So equipping parents to navigate these conversations speaks volumes to how much you want to see them win at being a parent. Check out this free resource at Orange Leaders.
Connect Families in Prayer
Consider doing something like Mark Batterson’s #40DayPrayerChallenge to rally people around a central them of prayer. Nothing hyper complicated. Just simple and focused. In fact, when you engage your volunteers to help you connect with families, your understanding of prayer needs has greater focus. And greater focus mean greater impact.
Prepare for What’s Next
One day you’ll get to re-open your building. One day you’ll get to gather everyone together again under tha same roof. And there’s a lot to prepare in order to make that moment successful. In fact, here’s a great (free) resource you can use to help you prepare for launch.
But preparing for what’s next is not just when and how you reopen your doors. It’s about what needs to change in your ministry moving forward. Let’s face it. Church will never be the same again. In fact, I believe the greatest days for the local church lie ahead.
[bctt tweet=”Preparing for what’s next is not just when & how you reopen your doors. It’s about what needs to change in your ministry moving forward. The landscape is changing. And I believe the greatest days for the local church lie ahead.” username=”gina_mcclain”]
Why? Because there are things happening today within your church that you point to and say, “I hope this never changes.” That fruit is something you want to see grow even after our building reopen. Things like…
Personal connections between small group leaders and families.
Handwritten cards sent from kids to small group leaders.
Parents connecting with each other on a closed Facebook group.
So, identify what thost things are and do your homework. Start thinking through HOW you will restructure to ensure you can sustain and grow those outcomes. A mentor always told me, every tree falls eventually. No matter how big. It’s just a matter of how many swings you take. So, start swinging.
There’s a lot to think about in this season. A lot that consumes our attention and mental space. Yet I would suggest this is a season where we need to be more strategic than ever to create momentum for our ministry today and tomorrow.
Join the Connected Cohort and discover a community of leaders creating momentum in their ministries too.
by Gina | Apr 22, 2020 | Blog, Ministry
I have a habit of oversimplifying.
Sometimes its a gift. And sometimes it gets me in trouble.
But hear me out for a second. A friend made this statement the other day and I just can’t get it off my brain.
“What was a crack in our ministry is now a chasm.” -Robert Purvey
[bctt tweet=”What was a crack in our ministry is now a chasm. @repurvey” username=”gina_mcclain”]
What’s the crack?
Could it be our method of ministry? The assumptions we’ve made about how a kid or student grows in their faith?
Maybe we fought for the wrong formula.
Don’t have time to read right now? Download the pdf here and read later!
Let’s simplify this and view it as a mathmatical formula. (For my fellow Liberal Arts majors… I get it… math does NOT equal simple. But hold tight. I’m getting there.)
If we view our weekly kids and student experiences through this lens, they can look remarkably similar. Set aside the contextual elements that make a church experience in one area of the city unique from another… this isn’t about the style of music, the method of teaching, the topics of scripture you focus on… it’s about the way we assume faith develops and the setting we create to foster it.
[bctt tweet=”This isn’t about the style of music, the method of teaching, the topics of scripture you focus on… it’s about the way we assume faith develops and the setting we create to foster it. ” username=”gina_mcclain”]
We all have a similar process. A combination of gather + games + songs + teaching. If we offer a small group element then there’s a discussion opportunity somewhere in there.
If we really break it down, we see a very simple formula playing out. An assumption made.
Information = Transformation
Somewhere along the way we adopted this idea that if we can share biblical truth (information) in a compelling, relevant way then we’ve set the stage for faith decisions (transformation) to occur. And because we believe this to be true, we’ve invested most of our creative attention in crafting a remarkable experience centered around transferring information.
Don’t get me wrong. We’ve done a pretty amazing job doing it. Big budget or small. Video or live. Full band or acoustic. The church has talent and it’s on display every week.
But what if we’re wrong?
Maybe wrong is too strong of a statement. How about this…
What if our formual is incomplete? Could this be where our crack exists?
What if the formula we should fight for is…
(Information + Conversation) x Relationship = Transformation
You see, I would suggest that if we sat down over coffee and you shared your journey, the highlights center around significant moments. Decisions you made in your life where something shifted. Something changed.
And each of those moments involved more than information.
They involved a relationship you trusted.
And a conversation you had.
And a space that was held for you so you could wrestle with what you wanted to do with that information.
[bctt tweet=”Life-changing moments involve more than information. They involve a conversation you have with someone you trust who holds space for you to wrestle down truth.” username=”gina_mcclain”]
Information (aka Biblical Truth)
Don’t hear what I’m not saying. I’m not saying that God’s Word doesn’t hold power. No. I believe the Word holds the power to do all God sets it out to do (Isaiah 55:11). What I’m suggesting is there are a few additional steps we need to fight for to hold space for transformation to have a chance.
Conversation (aka the Wrestle)
When I think about significant decisions I’ve made… ones that really cost me… ones that required I leave something behind and move in a new direction… these are moments I identify with Jacob wrestling with the God.
Returning to that story, we get a birds eye view of Jacob fighting to leave something old in order to embrace something new. I’d suggest we can all identify. I think Reggie Joiner is known for saying, “We need to wrestle with truth before we can embrace it as faith.”
That makes the conversation critical.
[bctt tweet=”We need to wrestle with truth before we can embrace it as faith. @reggiejoiner” username=”gina_mcclain”]
Relationship (aka Safe Space)
Let’s go back to those significant moments of life-change in your own story. There’s a face you know. A name attached to that moment. A person you trusted who was present. And they listened. Asked questions. Shared their insight.
They didn’t try to solve the problem for you. They understood the power of the wrestle you were in. They simply held a safe space for you so you could wrestle. The work was yours.
This makes the relationship powerful.
In a season where we’re fighting to offer a digital experience that amplifies the information as our live experience did… I can’t help but wonder if it’s exposing the crack in our ministry.
The lack of relationships between a kid/student and a mentor who knows God.
The lack of protection around a safe space to ask hard questions that don’t have clean answers.
The lack of focus on championing and resourcing parents. Leveraging their relationship and equipping them for the most relevant conversations they’re having in their home. Where faith intersects with every day life.
It’s more than a crack. It’s a chasm.
That kids and students are falling through.
The question before us is deafening.
How do we close the gap?
by Gina | Apr 16, 2020 | Blog, Ministry, Volunteers
The buzzing notification on the phone.
The familiar ding of a text message begging to be read.
The random kid screaming in the background.
Chances are good, as a ministry leader, you’ve experienced one of these videos calls. You’re talking to your volunteer team. The conversation is progressing and someone on the call doesn’t realize how their surroundings aren’t just a distraction to them… they’re a distraction to everyone else on the call. I’ve sat in on a few this week myself.
Though there’s a ton of grace for these distractions…(in fact some are terribly entertaining)… they can detract from a productive conversation.
Here’s the thing. Video conference calls are probably more foreign for your people than we think. Yet knowing video conference calls are likely to be our key mode of interaction in this season of ministry, consider how you can make it easier for your people. Don’t be afraid to share some simple tips and tricks to help them win and create the opportunity for the most distraction free call.
In fact, if you share a meeting agenda prior to the meeting, add these to the top:
- Use headphones whenever possible.
- Choose a quiet place with minimal interuptions or distractions.
- If using a computer, close unnecessary apps or set it to “Do Not Disturb”.
- Mute your mic unless you are the one talking.
- Choose a place with good lighting. Sit across from or next to a window, when possible. Avoid sitting with an open window to your back.
- Set your phone in a different location. A buzzing phone sitting next to your computer is equally distracting to all.
I’m not an expert on video calls. But the more I’ve led video or audio conference calls with volunteers, the more I’m reminded that conference call ettiquette is not common knowledge. So, don’t assume they Zoom… lead with simple tips that will make your calls as productive as possible.
