5 favorite conferences for next generation leaders

I believe every next generation leader needs to get away at least once a year and hit a conference. At a conference you get to network, refuel, question, learn, worship, and reflect. It's worth the time and the resources. If you are thinking about hitting a conference this year here are my 5 favorite for next generation leaders.

1. The Orange Conference / seriously there is no other conference out there where your entire next gen team can connect and grow together.
2. Catalyst / really does not matter East, West, or one day versions. This is a conference every leader needs to hit.
3. National Youth Worker Convention / every year the team at Youth Specialties does a great job of helping student pastors refuel and gain a bigger perspective in ministry.
4. Kidmin Conference / our team has not found a better conference that focuses on reaching kids for Jesus. Amazing experience.
5. Drive / this is a conference that North Point Community Church hosts to allow people a glimpse into their culture. Best conference I have been to hosted by a church.

What are your favorite conferences?

community of innovation

Innovation doesn't happen in a vacuum because it always impacts other people. I know we all think that innovation happens when we hole up in isolation and come up with the next great idea. Sometimes innovation happens that way. Great ideas also happen in the midst of community when we see what others are doing, learning, teaching, and thinking. Other people help us see new possibilities and many times take our original idea to entirely different level. We all need a place where we know we will be pushed to think strategically, dream bigger, and take risks.

For me one of those places has been the Orange Conference because it's there every year I get to link arms with a larger Orange family and be encouraged to embrace innovation. During those few days we all embrace the idea that innovation is possible at every level of our ministry. We are pushed to go further, faster because we are surrounded by other people headed in the same direction we are. My staff, volunteers, and my Orange friends spread out across the country have become my community of innovation. We are pushing each other to take the risk innovation brings. That is my community of innovation...do you have one?

You can join our community or innovation! Registration opens for OC13 next Thursday, September 27. For more information, please visit www.TheOrangeConference.com.

Making Exponential Change

When I go to conferences I am the guy who loves to hit every session and every breakout. I know I am sick but you never know what God has for you. This past year at the Orange Conference I had the chance to hear one of my favorite leaders, Carey Nieuwhof,  process the idea of leading our organizations through exponential change. Here are my notes from that session...

Leading change is one of the hardest things any leader has to do. Most next generation leaders love change. We love change because we know it will help the ministry grow. The people you lead are not always as excited about change because you are changing their routine. Our team at Grace Community Church understand this process because we are a little addicted to change. We also have experienced the pain of change when the people resisted the process. Today at The Orange Conference Carey Nieuwhof talked us through the process of making exponential change in our church culture. Check out these 5 steps to take and look for his ebook on this process summer of 2012.

1. Start by casting a vision bigger than yourself (your organization)
Outward vision attracts people.
A bigger vision implies bigger change.
Plot and share trajectory. Reveal where we are doing and what happens if there is no change.

2. Focus on the why behind the what.
Why is the best question a leader can answer.
Why unites.
How and what divides.

3. Set realistic expectation for everyone
Understand but don't be deterred by the cost.
People will leave.
Change before decline. Courageous leaders ask questions in their best days.
Changing what's working can create greater long term success.
Asking questions early leads to a season of conflict.
Conflict is not fun but you will have to make change before others see the need.
The greatest threat to your future success is your current success.

4. Communicate in concentric circles.
Make sure the people most invested have the most information.
Dialog with the core. / Don't make changes in isolation.
Get input from the committed. / Many times people don't want to make decisions they just want input.
Get information to the congregation.
Vision to the crowd.
Invitation to the community.

5. Be prepared to change again. You are never done.
Don't rest on your success. Don't trust in your success more than the need to change.
Stay committed to the vision but not necessarily to the methods.
Hold your model loosely and your mission tightly.

Why not unite?

What would happen if student pastors, kids pastors, college pastors, and all our volunteers united behind one unifying idea? What if we all worked together to reach the next generation for Christ and partner with parents? Truth is that this is happening all over the country as segregated ministries inside the church begin to work together instead of fighting against each other. Great things happen when we unite. There is one place every year I go to gather with next gen leaders so I can process what family ministry can be and that place is the Orange Conference. In seven months thousands of leaders will unite for several days and you join the movment by registering your team next week when registration opens. This week we have an Orange Blogger's week and several of my good friends are going to be sharing some thoughts about the process of thinking and leading Orange. Check these blogs out this week and follow along with the discussion!

Participating bloggers include:
Amy Fenton Lee, The Inclusive Church
Benjamin Kerns, Average Youth Ministry
Ben Read, Youth Min
Cass Brannon
Henry Zonio, Youth Min and Culture
Jared Massey, Small Town Kid Min
Jenny Funderburke
Jeremy Lee, Uthmin
Matt McKee
Matt Norman, It’s Pastor Matt
Michael Bayne
Nick Blevins
Sam Luce
Tom Pounder, Ministry Blackboard

Registration opens for OC13 next Thursday, September 27. For more information, please visit www.TheOrangeConference.com.

reactivating the family in student ministry

Had the chance to do my first Google Hangout with Jeremy Zach and Andy Broad this morning to talk about the process of reactivating the family within the context of student ministry. At some pint we have to step back as student pastors and understand that our mission has to include partnering with the family...being for them...letting our guard down and inviting them to work with us. In this hangout we talk about some practical ways we are trying to reactivate the family in the student ministries we lead. Jeremy is on the XP3 team at Orange and Andy is the student pastor at Eastern Hills Church in Buffalo, NY. The hangout is around 15 minutes and I would love to hear some ways you are working to partner with families in your student ministry...

4 marks of a great small group leader

It's fun to watch new small group leaders start the year off leading their groups. With the new school year cranking up this is the time when the foundation for a great year is constructed. I use the word constructed because a healthy small group never happens by accident. An effective group happens when a small group leader takes some intentional steps as they lead, right from the beginning. I have never met a group leader who walked into group with out a plan and had things go well. Great small group leaders have a few things in common. Great small group leaders are...

• Consistent // great small group leaders make being present a priority. We only have a limited amount of hours to invest in our groups so not showing up leads to a lack of connection. The best group leaders try to block off time and make group a priority.
• Prepared // great small group leaders walk in with a plan. It is amazing how being prepared helps bring confidence when you sit down with your group. Being prepared allows you to be fully engaged with the group.
• Flexible // the best group leaders stay flexible. Group dynamics change over time and flexibility allows you to be effective as the group changes. Great small group leaders understand that even when all the plans change, God can still work!
• Connected // effective small group leaders work hard to stay connected to the group. Texts, connecting at church, visits to ball games, Facebook, and email updates to parents all help group leaders stay connected and available.

When group leaders are consistent, prepared, flexible and connected to the students and parents they are leading they are going to be used by God. Help your leaders focus on these four areas and your team is going to thrive!

What in the world is FAMILY MINISTRY?

What is family ministry? Great question! After five years of leading our family ministry team at Grace Community Church I have been asked that questions often by people who see my title or hear our staff talk about serving families. Today I am going to join a ton of other family ministry leaders across the country doing an online Family Ministry Blog Tour. You can check out how they answer the question over the next few weeks by just checking out the tour site linked above! Some of these men and women are close ministry friends and you will love hearing their ideas. I guess I better get to answering the question...how do I define family ministry? What is it? I define family ministry as the effort of the church to partner with families in order to lead a generation of children, teens, and college students to follow Jesus with all their life. How we carry this out looks different at every church much the same as how the staff structure and leadership differs at every church. The one unifying element to true family ministry is the concept of partnership. The base for every family ministry plan is founded on the influence of the family (whatever that messy modern family looks like today!). God dreamed up family long before He chose a people, gave the law, created the Nation of Israel, sent a prophet, or revealed Jesus to our world. We simply trust God is honored when we partner with what He created. God wants to work through the influence of every family to lead this generation to Himself and we want to be a part of that process. Family Ministry at our church has led to a few anchors that guide our effort to serve families...

• Family Ministry is the anchor for teamwork with our staff // if you serve the next generation in our church then you serve with one unified team who are all striving to partner with parents. Preschool, children's, student, and college ministry work on a team together and support each other as we serve parents and their children. We are friends and we are a team. Sure we serve different ages but we work together.
• Family Ministry has helped our team focus // we realize that we can't do everything if we want to serve families with excellence. We constantly say NO so we ca better focus on doing a few things really well for families. Doing next generation ministry well requires focused effort and the concept of family ministry acts a filter who what we do and do not do. The questions becomes, is what are doing really helping parents have the best shot at modeling Jesus for their kids? That is a powerful filter!
• Family Ministry has expanded our influence in the life of every child // When parents and ministry leaders are saying the same things, modeling the same effort to follow Christ, setting the same goals then Jesus gains more influence in the life of every child. When we help parents have resources, trusted mentors for their kids, and a safe place to ask questions then the church is having influence with the people who most impact the choices of kids. When we work together with mom and dad both the home and church multiply their effort to lead the next generation to Jesus.

The week after a conference...make a plan!

I'm coming off an incredible experience last week at The Orange Conference. I learned so much and connected with so many incredible leaders from across the country. In the past there have been many weeks following a great conference that I almost got overwhelmed from all the ideas and thoughts I wanted to share with others and implement in my ministry setting. What I have learned is you need a post conference plan ad much as you need a plan going into a conference. When we attend a conference we choose breakouts, set up meetings, and circle the main sessions we know we don't want to miss. We have a plan! You need a plan coming off a conference to make sure you are able to squeeze as much as possible out of the experience without letting what you learned push you off course or bring you discouragement because you can't implement things as fast as you want. Here are few ideas to help you move forward...

• If God have you something specific for your life, share it with one other person. // This is big in two ways. When God speaks we need to share it with someone so go ahead and find someone you trust and process what God said to you with them. Also when we go ahead and have the courage to share what God said we are less likely to push it away and just forget what God tried to communicate to us. Many times getting busy leads us to push aside God's mission for our life.
• Looks back over you notes and decide what's most important. // When you look back over what you learned some things are going to stand out. Make those things your priorities and take action. Also make another list of things that can wait. Great ideas have to trump good ideas.
• Decide what you learned that your team needs to hear. // The people (staff and volunteers) back at church can't hear or understand everything you learned so choose what is most important and share it with your team.
• Allow what you learned to bring focus not discouragement. // Sometimes coming back from a conference makes us wonder why people around us just don't get it? Why are things not moving faster? That is a trap so move forward ASAP! Get focused, not discouraged. True leadership means we step out and lead our team in the right direction and that will take time.

Making Exponential Change #OC12

Leading change is one of the hardest things any leader has to do. Most next generation leaders love change. We love change because we know it will help the ministry grow. The people you lead are not always as excited about change because you are changing their routine. Our team at Grace Community Church understand this process because we are a little addicted to change. We also have experienced the pain of change when the people resisted the process. Today at The Orange Conference Carey Nieuwhof talked us through the process of making exponential change in our church culture. Check out these 5 steps to take and look for his ebook on this process summer of 2012.

1. Start by casting a vision bigger than yourself (your organization)
Outward vision attracts people.
A bigger vision implies bigger change.
Plot and share trajectory. Reveal where we are doing and what happens if there is no change.

2. Focus on the why behind the what.
Why is the best question a leader can answer.
Why unites.
How and what divides.

3. Set realistic expectation for everyone
Understand but don't be deterred by the cost.
People will leave.
Change before decline. Courageous leaders ask questions in their best days.
Changing what's working can create greater long term success.
Asking questions early leads to a season of conflict.
Conflict is not fun but you will have to make change before others see the need.
The greatest threat to your future success is your current success.

4. Communicate in concentric circles.
Make sure the people most invested have the most information.
Dialog with the core. / Don't make changes in isolation.
Get input from the committed. / Many times people don't want to make decisions they just want input.
Get information to the congregation.
Vision to the crowd.
Invitation to the community.

5. Be prepared to change again. You are never done.
Don't rest on your success. Don't trust in your success more than the need to change.
Stay committed to the vision but not nessesarily to the methods.
Hold your model loosely and your mission tightly.

What kind of kids are we raising? #OC12

What kind of kids are we raising? That's a question every parent, educator, and next generation pastor asks often. This morning we started the day off at the Orange Conference with Craig Groechel asking us that question. I know if you have kids or you serve kids then you probably have a few thoughts about the question. Here are the notes from today's talk!

As parents and as leaders what is success for the next generation?
Culture says: success is raising well rounded well educated happy kids
Jesus said: what good is it for a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul

We are called by God to release single minded, biblically anchored, Christ centered, kids who are world changers.
The quickest way to move off track in life is to be more concerned with what people think of us over what God thinks about us.

How do we raise kids that are single minded, christ centered, biblically anchored kids...

Enlist supporting voices. / the parents voice is always the most important voice but it can't be the only voice.

Raise the expectation / we reduce following Jesus to loving God with some of our heart and not all. We have to raise the standard. What are our standards for teens? Stay out of trouble. We have a generation we are raising who have low standards. Teens believe they can do what they are told they can do. They will rise to the standard we set.

When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. (1 Corinthians 13:11, 12 NLT)

Keep it real / make sure faith is real and consistent in all areas of life. This generation can sense fake. They will do what they see is real.

Get Messy #OC12

Tonight Reggie Joiner opened up the Orange Conference and even as I type this I am trying to wrap my mind around he full weight of his talk tonight. The truth is that what we do in family ministry is messy because the Gospel is messy. You can't serve teens, kids, college students, preschoolers, or parents and led them to Jesus and not get messy. Some of us have spent so much time eliminating the mess from our life and our ministry that we forgot the gospel is messy. Tonight we processed the idea of living in the mess and helping families learn to live their faith in a messy messy world. Jesus lives in the mess...why are we not joining Him there. I'm just gonna share these thoughts and let you process it with us here at the conference. Here are my notes...I'm still processing...

The gospel is messy. // Sometimes God places messy people in our lives to remind us that the gospel is messy!

There is no way to do what we do in ministry without getting messy

There was no way for Jesus to do what He did without getting messy. // Jesus did not die to make you happy just to make you forgiven.

There is no way to make disciples without getting messy. //The disciples were willing to get messy because they watched Jesus for three years do ministry in the mess. The gospel is not just about creating environments where Christians can become more Christian. The gospel is about stepping into the mess with the message of hope and salvation. This is not something we sign up for. We are called to this. Times are changing but we stand strong because we serve a Savior that understands messy.

There is no way to make disciples without them getting messy. // We must invite this generation into the process and get messy doing ministry so they are equipped to do ministry in a messy world when they leave. The gospel transcends culture. What would happen if the world around us actually believed we loved them. We raise kids who have faith in a God bigger than our church and our theology.

#Fammin events for churches who are in portable environments #OC12

At Grace Community Church we are a portable church. We rent 2 schools for our Sunday environments and we rent a local church on Wednesday nights for our student ministry. We live the portable idea every week. Sometimes we love it and sometimes we hate it. One thing we try to never do is allow our facility to limit our ministry possibilities. When God gives an idea we know He will make a way. I went to a great session today on how to do family ministry events even when you don't own your facility. Buildings don't do ministry, people do. In the portable church world we simply have to think outside the box. Here are some things we are doing at GCC and some ideas that I heard at the breakout today at the Orange Conference. Here are some ideas...

• Host a Preschool FX on Sunday mornings or after church at a local park.
• Have a Parade day in a neighborhood.
• Host a Live nativity at a park in December.
• At GCC we are renting out a skating rink for a skate night for families.
• Use a projector and screen and host a Movie night
• Host a easter event...call it something crazy like an eggstavaganza!
• Take your Preschool families to a local pumpkin patch during the week.
• Have Serve days at schools for parents and kids to serve together
• Have a Familt Experience for the community in a theatre or local park.
• Glow in the dark Easter egg hunt on Saturday night of Easter for the community!
• Karaoke night for families / dinner and dance!!
• Mother - daughter tea / Father daughter dance at a rented facility
• Have a Battle of the bands for teens with bands.
• Use the facility you rent to have a family experience after your last church service once a month.
• Chalk up the town / one street free chalk lots of art and yes get permission!

Ok, there ya go. Never let your facility determine how you serve families. Find a way, have fun, and go for it!

 

 

Understanding the middle school mind #OC12

My first breakout from Orange this morning was with Tom Shefchunas and we looked at how to understand the middle school mind. I'm pretty passionate about middle school ministry because I have seen it shape the lives of many great leaders over the years. Here is a thought I hope you will process that Tom reminded us this morning. When you don't understand where your kids are at physically and emotionally you begin to see them as problems to solve. The truth is that we are the last preventative ministry in the life of every teen. They are still forming their identity. They are in discovery mode and we get to invest in their lives. Here are a few things Shef reminded us about this time in the life of a middle school student...

A brain can only do what it is capable of doing.

For middle schoolers...Prefrontal cortex doesn't develop until people are 25 years old. It controls... Alertness and attention / Planning and forethought / Priority setting /Working memory / Multi-tasking / Regulating appropriate social behavior

For middle schoolers...theire Cerebellum is in a state of renovation.
Balance / Language / Motor coordination /Attention

Middle school students are experiencing synaptic pruning - the brain focuses on keeping what is repeated and getting rid of stuff that is not used. Ideas become hard wired by experiences and repetition. Extra info sometimes get lost! We have to teach less for more because the truth is that kids are only going to learn so much. You can't teach kids everything. You have to decide at the end of the day what is most important.

Middle school students are learning about this idea...Metacognition - the ability to have a conversation with yourself. / middle schoolers hear themselves for the first time.

They realize...
The world does not revolve around them.
Their parents are not perfect. They lose trust.
They are not perfect. They lose trust in themselves.
Others have ideas that are just as important as theirs.
They ask themselves for the first time. Do I believe in mom and dads god?

With middle school students we can expect...
A struggle with sense of identity
Moodiness
They are more likely to express feelings by actions and not words.
Close friendships gain importance.
Less affection shown to parents.
A tendency to return to childish behavior.
Developmental schizophrenia
Peer groups influence interests and clothing style.
A feeling of invincibility
Engagement in risky behaviorsPreference to be with friends over family.
Realize parents are not perfect and sometimes point that out.
A search for new adults to confide in other than parents.

6 ways to get the most out of the Orange Conference #OC12

It's the night before the Orange Conference and once again this year I am so excited about how God is going to work in the lives of next generation leaders. For three days preschool, children's, youth, and college pastors and volunteers (even a few senior pastors) are going to unite with one idea in mind. When we partner with each other and with families we can accomplish so much for the Kingdom of God. I'm blogging all week from the conference so I hope you will follow along on this Orange journey. This is also my 5th Orange Conference to be a part of and every year God uses this place and these people in my life. Let me throw out 6 things you can do over the next few days to get the most out of the Orange Conference. Here we go...

1. Join the discussion online // you can see what people are saying during the conference by following along on twitter with the hashtag #OC12. There are also about 15 bloggers here and they will be processing ideas online for you to digest. You can also join in live online with our backstage feed at Orange Leaders.com
2. Take some notes // we remember so much more when we write and listen at the same time. Make sure you capture ideas in a way you will be able to use them later.
3. Talk to the people around you // I have met some amazing people here at Orange who have become friends over the years. Talk to the people around you. Hear their story. Share ideas. Encourage someone.
4. Be willing to rethink everything // use the next few days to rethink what you do in your ministry and how you do it. This is a conference that will challenge you to think outside the ministry box. Drop your assumptions and dream a little this week.
5. Slow down // next generation leaders are always going 100 miles an hour. Please slow down enough this week to listen to the voice of God. He is speaking...listen.
6. Take time to worship // next generation leaders are usually busy leading others in worship..teaching others...serving others. Make sure this week you take time to worship our great God.

Still time to join 5,000 friends at Orange 2012!

In just a few days 5,000 youth ministers, senior pastors, volunteers, children's pastors, college, and preschool pastors are going to descend on Atlanta for The Orange Conference and there is still room for you to join us. By the time you read this post we will probably be 20 leaders away from going over 5,000 at Orange and if you are 5,001 you are going for free to the 2013 Orange Conference thanks to the team at Minister Search sponsoring the spot! The Orange Conference has been a part of my life for the past 5 years and I am such a better leader because of the time I have spend around this conference every year. Next week I'm taking some of our staff from Grace Community Church and I am blogging from the conference. Here is what I am looking forward to next week at Orange...

1. Connecting with other leaders // there is no better place like Orange to meet tons of next generation leaders. I am so blessed every year as I get to connect with and learn from so many leaders passionate about reaching the next generation!
2. Dreaming with our staff // every year our team walks away with significant ideas that we get to bring back and implement in our church.
3. Evaluating, evaluating, evaluating // love having time to get away and just evaluate how our family ministry team is doing...sometimes you just need time away to get better perspective.
4. Laugh, celebrate, and refuel // a great conference allows you to do all three! Can't wait to do all three!

That'a what I'm excited about. There is still time to jump in and it's worth it even if you can only come to pre-conference or to Thursday and Friday sessions only. Get registered today and join us at Orange 2012!

 

 

Try the ORANGE EXPERIENCE...Free!

This month I am going to be blogging about some curriculum thoughts we have here in our family ministry at Grace Community Church. Six years ago we linked arms with a group of writers who had a new idea of how curriculum should function. After six years of working with the team at Orange we have learned so much about how to actually partner with our curriculum provider instead of just allowing them to send us material. We have discovered that curriculum moves from good to great when you actually embrace a strategy. When our family ministry team talks about curriculum we are always processing ideas with our strategy in mind. The team at Orange makes curriculum for every age group but first and foremost they are helping churches embrace strategy before material. With all that in mind I will be talking some about some curriculum ideas we have as a team, some reasons why we partner with the Orange team, and some ideas of how you create better curriculum if you write your own. This month you can try out the Orange experience for yourself for free. Click on the graphic here on this post and it will take you right to their website and you can check it all out for yourself. I know changing curriculum partners is difficult so this is your chance to ask questions, dream, and evaluate with no strings attached. I look forward to thinking curriculum with you this month!

Let's connect at Orange 2012

You need to see this video for 2 reasons. One, I'm hoping if you are at the Orange Conference this month we can connect. Two, one of my good friends gets hurt in this video and it is pretty funny. Seriously I hope we can connect at Orange. This year I will be blogging from the conference and one of my favorite things about the week is getting to connect with other family ministry leaders and hearing how God is working around the country. The video here talks about a great networking event for student ministry leaders that XP3 Students is hosting. Check out this video and know there is still room to join us at the conference, just click on the add here on the blog to link over and get registered!


XP3 Networking Event 2012 from Orange on Vimeo.

Take your kids on a mission trip! Here's why...

Involving kids in mission work is vital to helping them understand the mission of the church. We try to get kids plugged into missions as soon as they hit Kindergarten and enter our kids ministry by serving as families in a yearly missions experience we call Operation Serve. We want them to understand that the church was formed to serve the world, to spread the message of Jesus, and to join God in bringing healing where there is hurt. I have been taking my family on our high school mission trip to New Orleans for the past three years and I have watched that week shape the hearts of my little girls. Yes, I know taking kids on mission trips is risky. Yes, kids can see some crazy things. Yes, our work in New Orleans is hard. When we serve as a family we get to shape their perspective of what it means to serve others and the necessary risk it takes to obey the call of God. If you are a pastor and you have kids then here are a few reasons you should take them with you on your next mission trip...well this also goes for any of you who are parents...

• Kids need to see other adults and teens serve // I have been so blessed to have so many amazing teens and adult leaders model what serving looks like to my kids on mission trips. My kids have found their ministry heroes by watching other adults, teens, and college students on mission trips. Kids need to see other people who get it besides mom and dad.
• Kids need to understand what other people in our world go through // My kids have seen other children who don't have shoes. They have met other little girls who don't have any new clothes. My girls at 5 and 8 have seen poverty. When you take your kids on mission trips you get to help them process how God calls us to be part of the solution to poverty and injustice.
• Kids need to see parents serve and sacrifice // You are the greatest influence in your kids life and they need to see you serve and take risks. I am convinced that when our kids see us serve they have a better shot and embracing mission work for the rest of their life.
• Kids want to do ministry with you // Your kids want to be a part of your adventure. They see you serve week in and week out in the church so why not take them along when you go outside your normal routine to experience ministry in an entirely new setting. Some of our families greatest memories have come out of serving others during the summer in New Orleans. Those are memories of significance because they are connected to Jesus!

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.