4 ways to thrive with social media

Most ministries out there are plugged into some form of social media. Most of use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or have some kind of blog but the question you need to ask is are you using it effectively. The answer for most ministry leaders is no. Most churches, kids ministries, and student ministries simply have no strategy for how they use social media. My friend Terrace Crawford just wrote book that I hope you will check out that can really help you develop a social media strategy called #GoingSocial. Terrace helped me figure out how to leverage social media years ago and we have both been leveraging the technology to make a difference for our ministries for years. Finally he put all he has learned in a book to help church leaders navigate the world of social media. Yes it can be confusing but trust me this is a topic you need to process with your ministry team. How are you utilizing social media in your context? Here are 4 quick tips for all of you processing how to get better at leveraging this communication tool for ministry...

1. Learn from others using social media well >> Find some people you respect using social media well and learn from them.
2. Be Consistent >> Using social media well only happens when you use it consistently. Make it a part of your routine.
3. Be Responsive >> Social media is about relationships and that only happens when you are responsive to others. Leave comments, make new friends, communicate with others. Make sure you are having an online conversation.
4. Be Strategic >> Know your target audience for every social media avenue you use and stay focused.

I hope you will take time to check out the book #GoingSocial this week. You can join the conversation on Facebook here and also on Twitter.

7 TRUST BUILDERS for your team

One of the foundational elements of a healthy organization is trust. When your parents, students, volunteers, or other staff members think of you and the ministry area you lead do they believe the best? Do they believe the ministry you lead is one that will be able to rely on? This past week our staff here at Grace Community Church processed the idea of what the trust builders are for our ministry teams. Trust is earned over time and can be eroded in the same way. Here are seven trust builders we landed on for our team...

• Follow Through > simple...deliver on what you say you are going to do.
• Consistent Feedback > our volunteers need us to help them know how they are doing as they serve. When we consistently give balanced feedback (good and bad) we enable to them to see we have their best interest in mind.
• Knowing People Personally > everyone loves to be known and cared for. When we get to know people on a personal level we advance the trust process.
• See Potential > when we can look into others and see the potential of what God can do through them people begin to trust us. This happens because we see what others can't see in themselves.
• Be Prepared > everyone is busy, always strive to be prepared when you are responsible for leading.
• Ownership of Ministry > be willing to own the good and the bad of what is going on with your ministry. No need to cover things up, just be real and keep improving.
• Clear Communication > this is the last on the list but it might be the most important. Communicating consistently and clearly helps people to know the direction of the organization. Clear communication can build trust because people have or can find the right information! People will never embrace the mission of vision of your ministry if they don't have clear communication from the leadership.

feuds, fights and the church you work at

We have heard of family feuds and recently many of watched the Hatfield and McCoy series the History Chanel produced. Feuds are messy and people always get hurt. The sad truth is that in many of our churches we have ministry feuds where people take sides and fight to win at all cost. One ministry area lines up against another and fight to protect their turn. Ministry feuds are fueled in two ways...

• BLAME // we want our way and when another ministry area gets in the way we blame them for our lack of progress. If "THEY" would just get out of our way then our ministry would be thriving. It even makes us feel good when we have someone to blame even if they work in the office down the hall.
• GRUDGES // we hold past struggles and problems over the other ministry forever. We never let anyone forget how the other ministry held us back. We our past memories of hurt as we negotiate to get what we want.

If you are in a feud I really don't care how your ministry feud started. There is simply no place for it in ministry and there is no way Jesus could or would ever endorse such an all too common behavior on church staffs. Feuds can only be stopped by brave leaders who will embrace humility and communicate. Embrace humility admitting you do not have all the answers and you are willing to fight for a healthy staff culture. Communicate by sitting down and working out a strategy that helps every ministry thrive in your church setting.

We have one mission and we are on one team. Let's start leading like it.

5 Ways to Set Your Volunteers up to Thrive

Volunteers...chances are the ministry you lead is filled with them and you need to know that a healthy volunteer team leads to a thriving ministry. Your volunteers need to be set up to make the biggest impact possible. You may not know it, but you play a huge role in that process. Instead of complaining about what your volunteer team is not doing make sure and process how you are setting them up to thrive while serving. Here are a few ways to set your volunteers to do big things in the ministry you lead...

• Communicate consistently >> Make sure you are giving your team the info they need at the right times in the week. The right information can free a volunteer to lead with confidence.
• Celebrate what matters most >> What is celebrated will be repeated. Make sure you and recognizing behavior that you want repeated and integrated into your culture.
• Give your team the needed tools to succeed >> Fight to give them what they need to accomplish their mission.
• Do what you say you are going to do >> Building trust means that you follow through with the promises you have made. Work hard at delivering on your commitments.
• Give away significant opportunities >> Make sure your volunteers are actually able to do challenging and rewarding ministry. You want leaders not chaperones!

Healthy volunteers can make a huge difference in the ministry you lead. How are you trying to set your volunteers up to thrive?

Give your idea away!

A few years ago I was able to start a family experience at Grace Community called Cross Street Live. Once a month we gather kids and parents and create a worship experience where families and can worship and learn together. Since we started that years ago I have been on a journey to give my idea away and let others make it better. I was reminded of the process yesterday when our kids pastor showed me a new logo he was having made for the our FX. Honestly, for just a minute it was hard to see a new look. I felt a little sad seeing the logo we had made years ago being replaced...then 2 seconds later after that thought I was pumped because new leadership has embraced the idea. I have given the idea away and trust me, our FX is 100 times better because of it because we have an amazing team leading it. The more you can give your ideas away and let others advance them the better your organization will be because of a few reasons...

• Your idea can always be improved > Allowing other people to shape your idea allows for more creativity and faster innovation. You may have had the idea but that does not mean you are the one to advance the idea. Be willing to allow ideas you have to be shaped and carried out by others.
• You maintain balance when you let things go > If you don't give away ideas then you will become burdened by ideas of the past. You can only keep advancing a limited number of projects. To maintain balance and keep your vision aimed ahead you have to let some things go.
• Giving ideas away will reveal new leadership opportunities and new leaders > If you want to find great new leaders then give your ideas away to them. Nothing reveals leadership potential like having to work on a project. Giving away ideas allows you to invite more people into the leadership process!

I'm HURT...and it's my fault

Sunday after church my youngest daughter was headed out the door to go play. That's pretty normal because both my girls love to play outside. What was different Sunday was that when she closed the door she did not use the door knob and the door closed on her hand! It closed hard, she screamed loud, and her had was pretty banged up. She was hurt and it was her fault. We hugged her, got her an ice bag, and lovingly reminded why people invented door knobs. Hurt is something next generation leaders have to face often. We walk with teens and kids who have been hurt by life. We encourage parents who are hurt by the choices their kids make. And many times we are hurt because we feel we are not supported or people we are trying to help turn their back on us. Hurt happens. Truth is many times we experience hurt and we only have ourselves to blame. We often bring hurt into our own lives when...

• Our pace is out of control. // Busy does not equal productive. Being BUSY opens you up to hurt because you lose connection with people. Busy will ask you to sacrifice everything for one thing. An out of control pace will lead to hurt and it will be your fault. You control your calendar.
• Our focus is in the wrong place. // Hurt will sneak up on us when we lose focus. Are we trying to impress people with our leadership? Are we trying to push people to do what we want rather than what is best for the organization? Are we trying to be somebody we are not?
• We try to fix people. // You can't fix people. You can't make everything right. When you try to fix people you invite hurt into your life. We walk with people in the mess and lead them out of the mess; we don't own their hurt in a repair process.
• We ignore God. // Hurt is right around the corner when we have no time to be with God. When we stop hanging out with God daily we choose to see the world through our eyes and not God's.
• We choose happiness over trust. // Happiness leads us to make choices in the moment to make us feel better. Trust says wait on God to deliver us and bring peace. We bring hurt into our lives when we make excuses for sin in the name of happiness.

Is Bigger Better #OC12

Is bigger better? Sometimes yes and sometimes no. I know that it's hard for all next generation leaders to deal with because we are addicted to growth. We find joy in growth. We find our identity in growth. We find affirmation in growth. Sometimes we love bigger more than Jesus. I know that because I have experienced it. I have found more joy in growing numbers than my relationship with Jesus. Today Doug Fields helped us process how many times we are blinded by growth, blinded by our pace, and blinded by comparison. Here are his thoughts from the session...

Many time we focus on the wrong things. Here are some spotlights that blind us...

Numbers / when bigger is better you feel the pressure to feed the beast

Pace of life / ministry becomes a sprint, you skim on relationships

Constant comparison / outside the church, inside the church, how we speak, how they speak

When you focus on these things too much you get burned and drained. The majority of us focus on these way too much.

With healed / corrected vision...

Bigger is NOT better, better is better / people do not want to be a number they want to be known, people want to be a part of a thriving organization not a big organization,

Hurry is the enemy of depth / business comes with a price tag, depth of people, myself, and Jesus comes when we slow down

Replace comparison with effectiveness / we need to stop comparing and start abiding in Jesus, effectiveness helps us find peace in giving our all

We need Jesus to open our eyes. He is the real light of life not artificial light.

Just a few more ideas Doug through out...
When people talk about how busy they are something is broken.
Every leader, ministry, and church looks better from a distance than is in reality.
When you look to the future do you like the kind of leader you are becoming.

Get and Keep Alignment #OC12

As a family pastor there is nothing harder than helping our team stay aligned. My job is to help our preschool, children's, youth, and college leaders fight together for a common vision instead of just for the ministry they lead. Our team at Grace Community is always working on this. It is a constant battle because we are moving at such a fast pace as we reach families. This morning I had the chance to hear Todd Clark, lead pastor at Discovery Church in California, and he helped us process how to get and keep alignment. It was probably the most helpful session on alignment I have every heard. Check these notes out from the session.

Here are seven insights into gaining and maintaining alignment...

1. Develop a proper reference point. / balance is needed! Balance our busyness with the proper goal. Not programs but it's people and a person Jesus Christ.
2. Constant corrections / we lose balance when we refuse to make needed corrections. People on the team come together when problems are solved and forward motion is gained!
3. Clearly and constantly articulate your mission, vision, and strategy. / use every opportunity to share the stories that matter. It will take years! Alignment is a process.
4. Foster and atmosphere of input / true alignment is fostered and not coerced. Every team member needs the freedom to have a voice. We ask people to buy into the dream. When staff have influence they can buy in to the team's direction. When a big move comes we have to ask how we will be do this and get input! 2 meetings instead of 1 meeting! Acceptance and agreement are not the same thing as alignment. Acceptance is the bottom level of alignment, agreement gives you their mind, alignment happens when you have the head and the heart!
5. Trust your instincts and confront mis-aligned team members. / if you feel like someone is pulling in a different direction I bet they are! Confront it. Mis-aligned team members are not going to align themselves and they will draw other team members off track.
6. Little deviations in direction are devastating over time. / the faster pace our organizations run means being off course just a little can be devastating to the church. Growth demands alignment.
7. We vs. Me / alignment means we have to constantly push people to think we because we are drawn to focus on me. Alignment happens when a team member, regardless of position, gives precedence to the team they belong to over the team they lead.

change the pace

Every year you will have a season when you have to choose to change the pace of your ministry because the variables of your ministry change. We all have variables we face. School, sports, parents, and jobs are all variables and at different times of the year they come into play in different ways. For the student ministry I lead spring is a difficult time to connect with and invest in teens because the variables are INSANE. Honestly spring sports really have a impact on us from March to the first week of May and we have learned we have to change the pace. For two months the pace is different so our team has to choose to adjust. This is reality in our culture and we are called to serve teens in this culture. Here are a few things we do to change the pace...

• mix it up // when it is time to change the pace it is a great tome to mix up what you do in your weekly environment. The leaders I serve with have great ideas and change of pace seasons are a great chance to try some new things. Taking some risks can really help keep people engaged.
• embrace the surprise factor // kids show up and things are totally different. Seriously just do something crazy to surprise teens when they are get to be with you. Yea if they miss it they will regret it!
• keep connecting // keep texting, keep calling, keep Facebook messaging...you just have to keep connecting with teens even if they are too busy to be in your weekly enviroment.
• show up on their turf // yea go where they are! Show up at a game, a play, a recital, at schoo, or at their job!
• stay focused // our goal is to invest in each life not just draw a big crowd. Focus. Serve the teens who can be there each week and don't stress in a change of pace season. You have a mission, go for it no matter what is going on that distracts you.
  

 

Raising Expectations

Getting better is hard! We all want to see improvement in the ministries we lead but it's strenuous work. Raising the bar is difficult in any organization but it begins with raising the expectations of the people on your team. It starts with your key staff and volunteers choosing to do the needed work to improve. When you look around and decide that normal is not enough you have to raise expectations for everyone around you and you can't give up. Most of the time we raise expectations, someone complains, and then we lower them again. Improvement only comes when we push through complacency. The truth is most of us forget that leading people toward Jesus is the most important thing we can do with our lives. In 100 years what we do with Jesus will be the only thing that matters. We view ministry as a nice option, a thing we do on the side when in reality it's what matters most in life. We raise expectations because seeing the lives of kids, teens, and college students transformed by Jesus Christ matters. We raise expectations because partnering with parents matters. We raise expectations because mentoring the next generation is the heart of life change. We raise expectations because next week may be the week for someone to discover the unfailing love of God for the first time. Never apologize for raising expectations, it really is the only way to improve.

Leading Young Leaders

I used to be a young leader but now at 35 (one month away from 36) I look around and find myself surrounded by leaders who are younger than me. It's an odd feeling but it's also encouraging to see how God is raising up the next generation and using them in huge ways. Next week one of my former students will be our speaker at an event we do every year in our student ministry. This was a kid I was investing in when he was a middle school student. There's no greater joy than watching God use young leaders. At our church we have made an intentional effort to empower young leaders and along the way we have learned a few things about how to and how not to lead them. Here are a few reminders when leading young leaders who are in high school, college, or are young professionals...

• Young leaders are in process // We have to remember that young leaders are on the journey and are still figuring out who they are. Who a young leader is today is not who they will be a year for now. We have to be patient and keep investing because they are in process.
• Young leaders will make mistakes // Empowering young leaders can get messy. They will make bad choices. Sometimes they say the wrong thing at the wrong time. Sometimes they really make some bad mistakes. It's our job to walk them through the consequences and push them forward as they heal. A young leaders current mistake has the potential to teach a lesson for a lifetime.
• Young leaders need the freedom to question and dream // We have to give young leaders room to question and tear apart our organizations (respectfully of course). Jesus is the only thing that is unchanging! Sometimes young leaders need a break to get away and think. Sometimes they will not agree with the direction we choose to go with the ministry and that is fine ad they are fine as long as they have a voice.
• Young leaders need real opportunity and responsibility // At some point you have to choose to give young leaders opportunity but with that you also have to give real responsibility. Leadership is hard work and it comes with real responsibility. We help young leaders grow when we give them both and see what happens.
• Young leaders need mentors // Every young leader need someone to hear them and someone to push them. They have questions that they need to process with you. They have ideas that need careful shaping. They have dreams and need direction. Mentors walk with young leaders and simply remind them they have someone in life that believes in them.

Motivating Volunteers

In 2011 I went to the first pre-conference day I have ever been to at any conference. I never thought I would be a "pre-conference" kind of guy but it ended up being my favorite part of the Orange Conference last year. Session after session I was able to slow down, meet other leaders, have meaningful conversations, and learn about some issues that I might miss when the conference starts. Kendra Fleming is an amazing leader and these are the notes from one of her conference sessions which focused on motivating volunteers. This session is ministry GOLD so check it out...

Motivating volunteers is a constant challenge for every ministry team. How do we keep our leaders tuned into our mission? How do we keep volunteers energized? This morning Kendra Flemming reminded us that what motivates volunteers connects back to what attracted volunteers to our ministry in the first place. Of course none of us are motivated by the same things but these are 7 principles that attract volunteers to our ministry and can keep our teams motivated.

We are initially attracted to things that are visually appealing //  Some volunteer connections are bound in relationship but many times we are drawn in simply the look and feel of an environment. Branding, clear communication, and environment matter.

We are naturally attracted to excellence // No one wants to feed time, energy, and talent into something that is mediocre. Be committed to progressive excellence.

We are increasingly attracted to things that are celebrated // What we celebrate becomes attractive to our volunteer teams. Celebrate what matters most.

We are relationally connected to dynamic communities // Excellent leaders attract other great leaders. Dynamic attracts dynamic.

We are selfishly attracted to things that are personally beneficial //  leaders stay when they are serving and growing at the same time. Make sure your volunteers are growing and being rewarded!

We are attracted to fun! // Environments that are fun, where we laugh, attract people! We have to create margin for fun.

We are ultimately attracted to leaders and organizations with integrity. //  Know what we value and live what we value

These attraction factors help to motivate our volunteers. The end goal is to empower volunteers for the long haul. Motivated volunteers are going to thrive and serve longer. What are you doing to motivate your team? In this list of 7 is there one that stands out?

 

Our big move in 2011

2011 was a year that pushed our family ministry team to make some big moves. God used the Orange Conference to help us see the direction we needed to go, and God used a specific breakout, led by my friend Tom Shefchunas, to help me see we had to get better are empowering volunteers to lead ministry and not just fill roles on Sunday. Here are my notes from that session. They still inspire me months later so check out these ideas from Tom about freeing volunteers...

"Freeing your volunteers." That statement can mean a million things and it really sounds good when you say it. This afternoon Tom Shefchunas helped us wrap our minds around creating ministries full of volunteers who are pumped to be there, using their talents, and seeing progress. Many of our ministries simply just have volunteers serving out of obligation. Freeing volunteers means we are actively create a culture where leaders thrive. Freeing your volunteer team is not about changing people it is about changing the culture. Here are some steps to creating that kind of culture...

Resolve yourself that this will take time. // You don’t see a culture change your realize it has changed, change takes time. Changing a culture takes intentional long term attention and focus! 

Get great people in the room. // organizations have to get the right people on the team, the right people off the team, and the right people in the right seats. Nothing defines your team like the people on your team. A healthy culture can push people to be more! Look for people with time (willing to give their time), mature faith, and character.

Decide this is not your ministry // Leadership is a stewardship and I am just leading once small part of it. We often build our ministry around our personality with no other foundation of a volunteer team. Not a good idea. Will my ministry outlast my time leading it? We have to empower team to the point when we leave it moves forward with strength!

Simplify your strategy and define the volunteer’s job and role. //  If you want your leaders to feel like they are important give them something important to do.

 

Don't go to your next conference ALONE!

There is nothing like a conference with your team to inspire, refuel, and provoke change! With the Orange conference coming up in a few months and time to register, this is the perfect time to plan a conference for your team. We have done this several ways here with our family ministry team but every time we have had a mix of staff and volunteers with us. Every time it's paid off in big ways. When we go as a team we make sure and create time to connect with each other, space for each other to have alone time, and time to network with other leaders. When that combination happens we all gain more from a week together. There is a kind of synergy that can happen when a team of leaders (preschool, children, students, and college) get away to a conference to dream together. Here is what we see happen every year when we get away together...

• Our team is inspired >> Taking time to learn from other leaders is inspiring. There is something inspiring about discovering we are not alone as we strive to reach this generation. When we get away as a team we have a better shot of getting the inpsiration we need to keep fighting.
• Our team is refueled >> Something powerul happens when our team slows down to hear God's Word taught, pray together, laugh together, and worship together. Conferences are great places for teams to slow down enought to allow God to refuel our souls. 
• Our team is usually pushed to make changes >> Sometimes you just need a different perspective in order to see needed change. So many times God has used time away at a conference to help our team embrace needed change. Conferences are safe places to think through ideas that might lead to changes that could lead to ministry momentum. 

 

Experience or Education...you need both!

Many people find themselves graduating college and asking if the need to gain needed experience or move further in their education with a graduate degree. In reality you need both. One of the most dangerous things people in ministry can do is wait to serve. Your call as a pastor, leader, missionary, servant is not to get a degree, it's to make a difference in the Kingdom of God. Yes, you need education but you also need to get your hands dirty and filter your knowledge through serving. Here at Grace Community Church we are launching a program to help young leaders serve and learn at the same time. Yes we know it sounds odd but we’re calling it, for now, our Residency in Ministry program. Similar to a medical residency, we view this as a post-college “residency” where those in the program will be doing real ministry alongside pastors who are a little further down the road. They’ll be entrusted not with making copies (though, as we all know, that is a small slice of ministry, too) but with life-changing ministry. They’ll be viewed as full-on staff members, held to the expectations of the rest of our staff team. They’ll also receive a small stipend and have their housing covered.

In addition to doing the work of ministry, one major benefit of the program is that seminary tuition will be included. Clarksville is 45 minutes from the new Nashville campus of Southern Seminary. We’ve already had staff members (myself included) who have worked full-time at Grace and attended classes concurrently. And as I said above, I believe that this is a great way to learn and do ministry: in the classroom and in the “lab.”

We’re receiving applications now, looking to have residents in place by August, 2012.
If you’re interested, just head right HERE and start the application process. If you know someone who would fit the bill, send this info along. If you have any questions, we’ve tried to answer the most frequently asked HERE.

We’re stoked about this program, and are convinced it will be a great benefit to a great number of young leaders.

6 ways to be a BETTER staff member

Every leader on every church staff looks around and can see problems at the church they serve because they have an behind the scene view that not many others have. If you have problems where you serve now you are normal just like everyone else in the church world. I know we spend a ton of energy trying to help our churches improve but what if we took time to help ourselves get better at what we do. If every staff member at our church worked to be better I can guaruntee our church would begin to sense the difference. Many times when it comes to change we simply need to start by looking in the mirror. If you want to be a better staff member, add value.

• solve problems / Last week one of our staff took a problem that was not her problem, sat down at her computer, took time to think, and found our team a solution. When a staff member solves a problem in their ministry or another they help everything improve. See a problem, then stop complaining and work on a solution.
• encourage / The people around you need to be encouraged. It doesn't matter if you lead worship or not, when you see someone excell on stage tell them. If your pastor makes a great leadership move, thank them. If your volunteers excell on a Sunday, write thank you cards or send emails! Even when things are not going well be an encourager!
• take responsibility / When things go wrong or do not work and it's in your ministry then own it. Don't hide and don't blame. Taking resposnibility helps establish a culture where it's OK to try and fail but never OK to not get better.
• pastor your team / When you see people around you hurting or needing direction then be brave and help out...that is pastoring. You are called to care for God's people so never be afraid to take the time to care. Don't wait to be asked just step in and love on people.
• be a prayer warrior / Why do we expect God to bring hope and healing to our city when we are not praying for it. As a staff leader you should be praying for God to advance His Kingdom through your church every day. Don't complain when you have spent no time in prayer about a situation. PRAY!
• cast vision / Every chance you get cast the vision of your church and the ministry you lead to others. People will never catch the vision if we don't help them catch it.
  

Courage

Joshua 1:6-9 (NLT)
6 “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them.
7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do.
8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.
9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” 

Needed to read this today, maybe you need it too. This week I have been processing courage, what it means, why we need it, where it comes from. I have been reminded that courage is not the absence of fear but rather being willing to do what is right in the middle of fear. In the Bible Joshua knew what he had to do and still God reminded him to be strong, to be courageous, to trust Him, and stay focused. Joshua would face many challenges and at the same time God promised to be with him.

When you know what God has called you to do have courage and do what you need to do even when faced with fear. That is the place God will show up.

Asking the right questions about 2011

I am blessed to work with some amazing leaders on our family ministry staff here at Grace Community Church. These guys and gals could be doing ministry anywhere and God chose to place them here on our team. This past week I had the chance to do "end of the year" meetings with 2 of our team. After both meetings I was reminded how blessed our church is to have these leaders here and I was thankful to be able to do ministry with such great friends. When it comes to end of the year reviews I think it's so important to ask the right questions. Asking the right questions helps to make sure we talk about the things in ministry that matter the most. Asking the right questions helps give staff a chance to dream and process out loud. Asking the right questions reveals that we actually value the people we are meeting with. Every year I try to change the process up but here are the questions I asked this year. Maybe asking yourself these questions will help you gain a better perspective of how 2011 went and how you want 2012 to begin. Here they are...

• How is your relationship with Jesus right now?
• How is your family life and what changes do you need to make to make it better?
• What is the most important lesson you learned this past year?
• Are you having fun doing your job here? If not what do you think needs to change in 2012?
• If you could only accomplish one thing in 2012 in your ministry area what would it be?
• How can I help you have a great 2012? (I guess this one was for my team only, ha!)

Now is the time to process and reflect on 2011. Now is also the time to dream about some goals for 2012. Make 2012 count by asking the right questions about 2011.

Christmas Dodgeball 2011

Every year we do a Christmas event and for the past two years that event has involved dodgeball. Why dodgeball? I'm just allergic to traditional Christmas events. Really if I never go to another tacky sweater or white elephant gift party I will be just fine. Two years ago a leader named Matt Bucy came up with this event and it was an instant hit. It's now a Christmas tradition! We doubled attendance this year and doubled the energy of the night for sure. We added awards for best team costume and a baking completion. If your looking for a Christmas event that will create some buzz and help make some memories then try this out. Here are some pics from last night...

setting up others for success

This season Chelsea and I watched X Factor along with a few million other people. It has been interesting to watch because basically it is a new version of American Idol but with some changes. We have watched American Idol for years and there are many things that the team at X factor do to make their contestants stand out. Basically X factor has done a better job of helping their performers succeed by giving better tools and coaching. As I have watched over the past few months it got me asking myself if we are setting up our volunteers to succeed. Are we really doing what we can to help them serve with success each week. What they do matters more than any TV show ever will because they are shaping the spiritual lives of kids, teens, and college students. We are talking about eternal impact not wining a contest. Here is how we can set our volunteer teams up to succeed.

• Provide the right tools. / To do any job you need the right tools. Our volunteers need the right curriculum, environment, supplies, and time in order to carry out their mission.
• Give good feedback and encouragement. / In order to emotionally thrive volunteers have to have the right feedback. Ministry is difficult. Feedback and encouragement are gold for every volunteer.
• Make the goal clear. / Volunteers have to always have clear wins to celebrate and we have to continually share them with clarity!
• Provide significant opportunities. / Volunteers need to have ownership and opportunity. If a volunteer is giving time they want it to be spent on things that matter.