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8 reasons why project management belongs in your church
Deborah Ike Religious CommunityProject management is a term we don't use much in ministry. It sounds very corporate-y, so it tends to be tossed aside. However, I know from personal experience that planning ahead and managing a project well can reduce the burden on church staff while enabling you to pull off great events and launch new programs.
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Church storytelling tips: Social media edition
Mark MacDonald Religious CommunityWe've all been there. You're in a church service listening to the teaching. Your mind wanders to the game that'll happen in the afternoon or where you'll eat after the service. Then the pastor pauses and starts, "The funniest thing happened to me yesterday at the grocery store" and almost audibly you hear everyone's attention directed to the stage. We all love a good story.
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7 steps for a more productive church staff
Deborah Ike Religious CommunityOne of the challenges in ministry is that there's always more work to do — and it's unlikely you can hire a small army anytime soon. In light of that reality, here are a few practical tips to help your team be even more productive.
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Seriously, churches! Stop using Facebook this way
Mark MacDonald Religious CommunityThis month we say happy 10th birthday to Facebook. Since Facebook has 1.2 billion active users, it assures that almost everyone is on it. It makes sense that a lot of churches have a page that communicates to their congregation. But why do people follow you? If we understand that, we'll understand how to get more followers and what content to develop.
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How to ‘fire’ a church volunteer
Deborah Ike Religious CommunityOne question I frequently receive when talking about recruiting and retaining church volunteers is what to do about a volunteer who isn't working out. In other words, how do you "fire" a volunteer? This is obviously a delicate situation and needs to be handled with great care. This individual is donating his time and efforts; he's part of your congregation and a brother in Christ. You don't want to offend him or damage the relationship, but his performance in the volunteer role is hurting the team. So, what to do?
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Is your church jumping the shark?
Mark MacDonald Religious CommunityEvery service or product has a life cycle. It's rare that a successful product starts out with an instant "win" and maintains it. There's a natural bell curve that occurs throughout a life cycle. And it all takes a lot of hard work. Sometimes gimmicks work to attract a big crowd. Until you "jump the shark." How about your church?
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Are you working for God or with God?
Deborah Ike Religious CommunityThere's an interesting dynamic that occurs when you earn a paycheck in ministry. Your work, and particularly, your performance on the job becomes tied into your relationship with God. When I worked for a ministry, I struggled with viewing my relationship (and right-standing) with God through the lens of how I felt I was performing on the job. Looking back, I realize how dangerous that mindset can be to our faith.
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Construction cost is only part of the church project budget
Robert C. Foreman Religious CommunityThe task of preparing to build a new church facility may seem overwhelming to the steering committee. There is much to do and much to plan. However, with experienced professional help, the task can be accomplished. In this article, we will briefly summarize the major items that make up a project budget. At the end of this article is a checklist to help with preparing such a budget.
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Mind the gap: Stepping carefully from vision to implementation
Deborah Ike Religious CommunityIf you've ever traveled to London and used their subway system, you've heard the phrase "mind the gap." It's their way of alerting you so you don't trip over the gap between the platform and the train. There's another, much larger gap we frequently deal with in our churches. It's the gap between vision and implementation.
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4 nonprofit board responsibilities that may surprise you
Maria Huntley Association ManagementDoes your nonprofit board really understand what it means to be a board member? Having worked with more than 40 different association boards during my career, I have experienced some pretty interesting perceptions about what it means to be a board member, on each end of the spectrum.
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