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Build a Next-Step Ministry Culture

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Build a Next-Step Ministry Culture



Too many times, our team has made the “giant leap” ministry mistake. Instead of providing an easy and obvious step into ministry or discipleship, we’ve made things more complicated than they had to be.

Churches have a tendency to overprogram as they build layer upon layer of new ministries over time. That produces complex ministry schedules and programs that make it harder for someone new to break in.

The answer, as so many churches have discovered, is to simplify your ministry approach. That doesn’t mean that you leave out the important things, but it does mean that you’re more focused on Scripture-based, life-changing priorities. Here’s how the North Point team describes a next step ministry culture:

When you think steps you start by asking, “Where do we want people to be?” That question is followed by a second, more strategic question: “How are we going to get them there?” The result is a ministry that works as a step—it has been created to lead someone somewhere. This way of thinking makes a lot of sense in the light of what the church is called to do.

Most people won’t or can’t take big steps. But almost everyone can take smaller steps. For some, those steps are first steps. For others, they are next steps. The key is thinking about where you want people to be and how you’ll get them there.

Building a next step culture might include these, well, next steps:

  1. Think steps instead of programs. Instead of creating programs to meet needs, create ministries to lead people somewhere. Ask: “Where do we want people to be?”
  2. Clarify points of entry in every area of ministry. Guests, attenders and new members should have clear paths to participation in a ministry. Each ministry department should know how that happens for someone new.
  3. Evaluate ministries on “usability” or “ease of use.” Evaluate how easy it is for a new face to join the chorus of existing faces in a ministry.
  4. Ask leaders to consider the next step question. The next step question is a “how” question. It clarifies how a person goes from step 0 to step 1 in any ministry.
  5. Communicate next steps clearly (and often). Promote first steps and next steps with a full range of communication channels. Use technology to make signing up for something easy and intuitive. And make information requests meaningful with quick follow-up and follow-through from your team.

So what’s the Big Idea?

Simplify your ministry approach with first steps and next steps. The key is thinking about where you want people to be and how you’ll get them there.

Resources


Source

Andy Stanley, Reggie Joiner and Lane Jones, 7 Practices of Effective Ministry (Colorado Springs: Multnomah Books, 2004), 89.

Ministry Interviews and the 5 C’s

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Ministry Interviews and the 5 C’s



Making good ministry hiring decisions is both an art and a science.

On the subjective side, you have to discern whether a candidate has the intangible likability, relational skills and emotional intelligence to succeed in ministry. On the objective side, you have to be satisfied that a candidate can do what needs to be done with the requisite skill, integrity, energy and team chemistry.

Ministry interviews are unique in their requirement that both the interviewer and the candidate seek God’s will throughout the process. Since calling is essential for any ministry hire, both parties have to exercise spiritual wisdom, discernment and prayer at every turn.

After initial resume screening, the first two candidate steps in a ministry interview process often include an initial phone call and a formal phone interview.

The interviewer does most of the talking on the initial phone call, and candidate questions are usually limited. A typical initial phone call follows this pattern:

  • Introduce the church and community.
  • Preview the ministry department and team.
  • Profile the position.
  • Understand why the candidate is interested.
  • Ask the candidate to pray about the opportunity.
  • Confirm the candidate’s desire to enter the process.

Consider using a rating system to score ministry candidates on the first phone call. This mitigates against becoming too attached to a particular candidate too early in the process (the “halo effect”). It also helps prevent emotion from driving your hiring decision.

If the candidate is interested, and scores well on your rubric, then the second step is a formal phone interview. This is the time to have a prolonged first conversation with the candidate. It’s usually the first opportunity to ask significant questions about the full range of issues that determine ministry effectiveness.

James Emery White’s 5 C’s remain the gold standard for evaluating potential staff members:

  1. Called – Is the candidate called to ministry, your position and your church?
  2. Character – Does the candidate exhibit a habitual pattern of integrity?
  3. Competence – Does the candidate have the essential skills needed to get the job done?
  4. Catalytic – Does the candidate bring energy and create activity to make things happen?
  5. Chemistry – Is the candidate likable and a team fit?

I ask candidates a series of questions in all five categories with a phone interview Q&A worksheet. The goal is getting answers to important questions about calling, character, competence, catalytic energy and team chemistry.

So what’s the Big Idea?

Make good hiring decisions with initial phone calls and formal phone interviews. Then use the 5 C’s to evaluate a candidate’s calling, character, competence, catalytic energy and team chemistry.

Resources


Sources

“Six Steps to Smart Hiring Decisions” by Max Messmer, Business News Daily (March 20, 2013), http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4181-hiring-tips.html.

“The Five C’s for Picking Staff and Volunteer Leaders” by James Emery White, Church & Culture (March 10, 2014), http://www.churchandculture.org/blog.asp?id=5645.

Celebrate the Win

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Celebrate the Win



The political thriller Argo portrays the successful rescue of six U.S. diplomats from Iran during the 1979-1981 Iran hostage crisis. With the leadership of the Canadian ambassador and support from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the escapees left Iran with agent Tony Mendez under cover of a fake movie production.

When Mendez returns to the United States with the American hostages, his success is celebrated with the CIA Intelligence Star. But there’s no fanfare and no official recognition. In one of the last scenes in the film, Mendez’ CIA handler, Jack O’Donnell, explains:

O’Donnell: You’re getting the highest award of merit of the Clandestine Services of these United States. Ceremony’s two weeks from today.
Mendez: If they push it a week, I can bring [my son] Ian. That’s his winter break.
O’Donnell: The op was classified so the ceremony’s classified. He can’t know about it. Nobody can know about it.
Mendez: They’re gonna hand me an award, then they’re gonna take it back?
O’Donnell: If we wanted applause, we would have joined the circus.

Mendez and his team had accomplished something no one thought possible, but they didn’t receive the credit and they couldn’t celebrate the win.

Celebrating success in many organizations feels a lot like a secret CIA operation. We don’t celebrate as publicly or as often as we should. But just like Tony Mendez, we have an emotional need to revel in our accomplishments.

So what should we celebrate? Celebrate team success. Praise individual accomplishment. Mark important victories. Celebrate the small things. Celebrate the big things. Find something to celebrate!

Consider a few ideas to get the ball rolling:

  1. Create a culture of sharing. Your staff team should feel the freedom to share when something is working. Encourage that in volunteer leaders and staff. If needed, prompt your team to start sharing with your own stories. Then, go around the table and ask them to share a win with the group.
  2. Share wins or stories in weekend services. Do it on video or in person. Focus on vision-aligned, values-focused stories that reinforce who you are and where you’re going.
  3. Celebrate success in one paragraph (or less). Attention spans are shorter than ever, and you have to contextualize for that when you celebrate the win. Practice the art of casting vision and celebrating success in one or two sentences. Provide links to the full story for those who want it, but summarize the win concisely.
  4. Celebrate success frequently. Frequency beats length any day of the week. Share less content more frequently to capture the attention of more eyes and ears.
  5. Recognize wins in weekly communication. This is usually some kind of digital or printed newsletter or weekly bulletin. Make that piece about more than announcements. Use it to tell short stories or report a significant accomplishment.
  6. Use your website to tell the story. Use video, blog posts and stories to keep everyone in the loop about your success. Link back to your site in social media posts.
  7. Use social media to celebrate the win. Be creative in the images and words you use. Remember that photos, videos, web links and hashtags increase engagement.
  8. Use photographs to celebrate success. Show people living out the organization’s strategic vision. Show them working, serving and preparing. Highlight volunteers and celebrate their service as they live out the organization’s vision and values.

So what’s the Big Idea?

We all have an emotional need to celebrate the win. Celebrate the small things. Celebrate the big things. Find something to celebrate!

Resources


Source

Terrio, Chris, Argo, Directed by Ben Affleck, Los Angeles: Warner Brothers Pictures, 2012.

6 Steps to Better Staff Meetings

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6 Steps to Better Staff Meetings



A few of my favorite demotivators from Despair, Inc. are the ones describing the pointlessness of meetings, committees and teamwork:

Meetings. None of us is as dumb as all of us.
Teamwork. A few harmless flakes working together can unleash an avalanche of destruction.
Committees. Just like teamwork. Only without the work.

All sarcasm aside, the laughter in those statements belies an underlying truth about meetings. You’ve probably been a part of meetings that obscured the solution and created more, not less, confusion. If your meetings resemble those statements, then you’re not alone.

I have a confession to make. I’ve been a bad meeting leader. Whether it was meeting too long or too frequently, ending without a next step or attempting to do too much, a share of my meetings have been ineffective. But while I’ve made every mistake in the list below, I’m learning to make the right adjustments to become a good meeting leader.

Consider a few lessons that I’m learning:

  1. Make it fun. Praying for personal needs, recognizing important life moments and celebrating team wins are all part of healthy staff culture. Make staff meetings as much about motivating and encouraging people as about the meeting’s agenda.
  2. Be prepared. Set a clear agenda and focus the meeting. It can be frustrating to attempt to do too much in a meeting. Limit the scope of the discussion and save “rabbit holes” for sidebars or e-mail.
  3. Be efficient. Everyone should know what’s expected of them before they set foot in the meeting. Communicate a meeting’s purpose in advance so the team can be prepared. And don’t be afraid to cancel a scheduled meeting when it isn’t needed or when the team just needs to take a break.
  4. Keep it moving. Meetings should be brief, lasting only as long as needed to accomplish their purpose. Manage the length of meetings and consider ways to maintain forward momentum. Scott Dobroski, community expert at Glassdoor, advises: “If you’re going to meet in person, determine how much time you need and then challenge yourself to slice it by 50%.”
  5. Detail the action plan. Making assignments to team members (and the team leader) reduces the length of meetings and provides accountability for next steps. Identify items and ideas that require follow up and clarify who’s responsible for making it happen.
  6. Encourage your team. Did everyone leave with a sense of accomplishment? You may not have all the answers you were looking for, but you should have a takeaway. Summarize what was accomplished so everyone leaves the meeting encouraged, motivated and satisfied.

So what’s the Big Idea?

Make the right adjustments to become a good meeting leader. Make staff meetings as much about motivating and encouraging people as about the meeting’s agenda. Be prepared and efficient, maintaining forward momentum. Encourage the team with a summary of what your meeting accomplished.

Resources


Sources

“Demotivators,” Accessed May 4, 2015, http://www.despair.com/demotivators.html.

“Say No to Meetings” by Andrea Murad, Fox Business (April 29, 2015), http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2015/04/29/say-no-to-meetings/.

Create a Culture of Accountability

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Create a Culture of Accountability



People and churches respond to accountability in one of two ways. Either they pull back from the prospect of increased attention or they embrace the opportunity to reach their potential and achieve better outcomes.

Many of us don’t have effective mechanisms for accountability in our personal and ministry lives. For one thing, accountability is difficult. We would rather not push people and staff—paid or volunteer—to go further, do more and be more strategic. Most people don’t naturally seek to do more than standard operating procedure requires.

It’s also true that accountability requires hard decisions and choices that many church leaders don’t want to make. It’s easier to kick the can down the road and hope for the best. But it usually doesn’t work out for the best.

A real culture of accountability can’t skip over any of the truly important things. It has to be practiced regularly and cover vital parts of Christian life and witness. Churches need staff ministers who are accountable for:

  1. Personal Spiritual Growth & Family Time
  2. Professional Growth & Development
  3. Organizational & Ministry Objectives

Consider whether ministry leaders in your church are held accountable for those things. If not, it may be time to consider a few adjustments.

How can you build traction for a culture of accountability? Start with:

  • Clear Vision and Values – Each staff member knows who you are and who you want to be. There’s no substitute for being on the same page. Accountability begins with clear vision.
  • Global Objectives – Each team member knows what you’re trying to accomplish and how you plan to get it done. With clear global objectives, the team is rowing in the same direction.
  • Ministry Objectives – Proper accountability can’t happen unless departments harmonize their plans with “big picture” vision, values and strategy.
  • Realistic Goals – Ministry goals should be achievable with available resources. It’s futile to expect outsized outcomes from insufficient resources.
  • Regular Interface – Ministry staff and volunteers need honest feedback and coaching. A coaching discussion with accountability should happen at regular intervals.
  • The Freedom to Make Adjustments – Ministry plans are written in pencil not pen. Because plans are adjustable, fear and anxiety about accountability is reduced.
  • The Freedom to Fail (and Succeed) – New initiatives and ideas are encouraged, even when they might not succeed. Expect that a certain percentage of new plans won’t go as planned.

So what’s the Big Idea?

Church leaders should be accountable for personal spiritual growth, family time and professional development, as well as church and ministry objectives. Build a culture of accountability in each of these areas with clear vision, realistic goals and regular interface.

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