Turnaround Churches

2010-03-29T15:56:00.001-04:00

Turnaround Churches has moved from this site. Please visit www.TurnaroundChurches.com for more up-to-date advice on helping your congregation be more effective at reaching your community and remaining vital to the Kingdom.

2008-02-17T13:11:00.002-05:00

Carl Holmes has a post where he quotes Richard Baxter:

“It is not improper to illustrate a little the manner in which we have describe this duty of mediation, or the considering and contemplating of spiritual things. It is confessed to be a duty by all, but practically denied by most. Many, that make conscience of other duties, easily neglect this. They are troubles if the omit a sermon, a fast, or a prayer, in public or private; yet were never troubled that they have omitted meditation perhaps all their lifetime to this very day; though it be that duty by which all other duties are improved, and by which the soul digests truth for its nourishment and comfort. It was God’s common to Joshua, “this book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on therein day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein.”

What really struck me was Richard's summation statement:

"Meditation turns the truths received and remembered into warm affection, firm resolution, and holy conversation."

This helps me understand that for scripture to be most effective, it needs to seep into the crevasses of my soul, to wash out the secret sin and water the dormant dreams. As Psalm 1 says "the righteous man's delight is the law of the LORD, and on that law he meditates day and night."

The struggling church that turns first to management books and church growth models should reconsider their methods. Yes, buy my book (if I ever get it published), but don't wait to preach the authentic Word of God, to spend time in prayer and meditation, and lead your congregation to make these things a habit. No method will energize a church more than God showing up.

I have learned to be content in all things...

2008-02-17T12:57:00.003-05:00

I followed one link, and then linked from there, and then again, and stumbled across this video. It warns us to be generous in small things, and to be on the lookout for unintended consequences. Enjoy!

Being Aware

2008-02-17T08:21:00.003-05:00

Small churches tend to be better at welcoming people. Most church folk really are generous people living busy lives, and it takes time to really know someone. Small churches can get "cliquey" too, but it's hard to not be noticed in a congregation of 50.

My membership in in a church of 2500, and it's easy to get lost. I left a couple of years ago and it was several months before my "friends" knew I was gone. I'm back now, and they've taken steps to at least greet people who walk in the door, and the new pastor stands by the door in the 'mall' area and makes himself available to talk.

In the Messianic fellowship I'm helping start, we know one another and watch out for each other, but it's not yet "church", meaning we only see each other every other Friday unless it's in some other association. (hmmm - maybe I need to suggest more interaction!)

I talk to people all the time about getting lost in large churches. Walk in, walk out, leave no footprints. That's why my connections are loose, and why I'm spending Sunday evenings helping revitalize a struggling small church.

I find that in doing, my being comes clearer. James 2:18 is my motivation and the smile of my heavenly daddy is my reward. I don't get that when I just sit.

People want to serve

2008-02-10T00:04:00.000-05:00

I was walking the neighborhood this afternoon. The GracePlace restart has its first service tomorrow, and I needed to be among the future congregation.

Traditionally, I'd be stuffing a flyer in every door. I'd be posting notices on every bulletin board I can find. But today, God said to walk the neighborhood and pass out flyers to people. Most people will take a flyer and look at it. A couple talked with me. One lady had moved here from N Carolina, and had been having trouble finding a church. The big church was too big and full of cliques. Lots of very small, dying churches. Not many mid-sized, active congregations. She said it would be exciting helping create the right kind of churches.

What I have found is that most people want at least to be listened to. The church I was in when I began this research was systematically excluding anyone who wasn't in the inner circle. The deacons are the ruling body. They choose who gets to join their body. They choose all the committee members, including the committee that chooses teachers. And despite all the tricks and gimmicks they've tried, attendance is flat. In fact, it takes constant effort to STAY flat.

Research shows that most people would volunteer more if asked, and given meaningful jobs that matter. Our job as leaders is to listen, and to find places to use them.

Lessons from Hatii on Effective Worship

2008-02-05T18:49:00.000-05:00

In a post titled "Church Marketing Lessons From Haiti," Gary Abare explains that in effective churches, it's not so much about the physical needs, but about "preaching the Word passionately and boldly." He says:

"The earth is just a temporary landing pad--they know eternity is what matters. And they want to make sure Heaven is crowded! I struggle with how easy it is for me to slip into the mode that says the Bible is all about me and solving my problems when it's really a lot less about me and a whole lot more about God. "

In the final analysis, he says that it's not about show. He says that an effective message is better than slick production.

"If their services become more pre-packaged, pre-scripted, or pre-planned, the pastors will lose their enthusiasm, joy and anticipation for what God might do. The Haitian people want environments that make room for God's agenda, not theirs."

Brad also mentions the importance of meaningful worship. "In environments where outsiders and newcomers abound, need to understand what's being said in the music, or it loses its purpose for being."

Say no to Volunteers

2008-02-01T23:58:00.000-05:00

In this week's choir notes, Worship Pastor David Oliver reminded us that we were more than volunteers at an activity of our choosing. Instead, we were reminded that we were the called, gifted for leading worship and placed by God in the worship choir.

The wisdom there is that we should not simply cast wide for "whosoever" to take our open jobs, but instead define the jobs in spiritual terms, and then look for those members of the congregation that God has already gifted to do those kinds of jobs.

We know that we are most successful when we operate in accordance with our own giftedness . Why would we do any different with others in our congregation, with our parishoners? We know that when they are properly placed, and when they see even the most menial job as operating according to their own giftedness and in accordance to God's will for them (and not just for our convenience), they are energized. And energized people are natural evangelists.

Asking for Volunteers

2008-01-31T19:09:00.001-05:00

Amy Simpson over at BuildingChurchLeaders.com opened a discussion on how to encourage volunteers. This is a favorite topic of mine (the original topic for the first book was on recruiting volunteers, before I got redirected into helping strugging churches.) She asked "Should You Stop Asking for Volunteers?"

Her contention was that church leaders should take better care of their congregants, and not continue to push them to volunteer when the volunteering does not serve the church's mission purpose, or when the volunteer if frankly doing too much.

In my reply, I started with a rhetorical/satiric question:

"If you mean "stop broadcasting a generic appeal for 'someone' to help out in an undefined future ministry opportunity" or even "come volunteer to do a job none of the staff wants to do", then yes, we need to stop that kind of activity. "

I am convinced that the church should treat volunteer opportunties as regular jobs, with specific duties and measurable goals, and then "hire" people into the positions.

The IRS treats non-profit labor as having a specific value (with benefits, the IRS's national estimated average is $18.77 per hour); we should treat each volunteer job as if we were paying a salary. We should give them honor and encouragement and thanks for the gift of labor.

And we should allow them to vacation - or even resign from their responsibilites if the work is not appropriate - without making them feel guilty that the kingdom of God will fail unless they continue.

There is a great (free) training resource on handing volunteers over at the FEMA website. But most important, if you make people feel valued, they are more likely to ask to volunteer, than you have to cajole their efforts.

How much light?

2008-01-27T23:57:00.000-05:00

I was checking facts for my almost-finished book From the Brink - Hope for Failing Churches. My concern was what the appropriate level of lighting. I found a good discussion at PraiseBuildings.com. Especially appropriate for today's discussion was

"At least 20 footcandles of light throughout the seating area. This is the minimum light level for reading, but also the minimum level as a sign of life. Some churches have been amazed at the improved spirit in the services when the light level was made adequate."

That's for the congregational seating. PraiseBuildings goes on to say "The light level over the entire platform should be at least 35 footcandles without hot spots and dark spots."

I can't confirm, but I remember hearing a builder say that many old buildings have barely half the lighting recommended. This is even more disconcerting with an older congregation. As we age, our eyes harden and it takes even more light to see clearly. This is why older people develop "night blindness"

It may take an engineer to do an accurate measurement, but it's probably worth it. Just be ready to spend a few thousand dollars to upgrade your lighting.

It will be money well spent.

2008-01-26T21:59:00.000-05:00

Leadership Magazine's online discussion forum - OutOfUr.org - has a post by David Swanson titled "Disarming the Boomers." A good article, but I found the most value in the comment by Nicholas van Oudtshoorn:

"the most important point: to build relationships with people. If you want people to trust you, you have to let them see your heart. In my experience (26 y.o. sole pastor), it's not that the older generation don't want to see the church do marvelous things. Most (with a few exceptions, of course!) do. Once you come to the point of sharing a vision (or, as David puts it, you see the future together), everything is possible. The older members of our churches are an incredible resource."

Never forget that most churches are filled with people who want - even crave - to be partners in a grand adventure of the Gospel. But too many are suppressed by pastors schooled in the latest church growth fad. Those pastor believe the lie that opposition to their vision of God's plans is sin, and that they (the pastor) has the authority to show them the door.

Instead, many of these people simply do not understand where you are going. They just have not caught the vision yet, and you haven't taken the time to ask for their insight about how to implement God's plan.

If you want to help your church regain its vitality, learn to listen.

Understanding the Unchurched

2008-01-21T23:16:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend, I did my first reading of Thom S Rainer's Surprising Insights from the Unchurched . Rather than simply looking at growing churches and copy what they do, or survey people who don't attend church, this book describes the attitudes of the formerly unchurched, now active in a local congregation. And that's who we all want - new believers excited about the faith.

(Too many of the "fastest growing" churches do so with transfer growth. Members of small or dull churches leave and join the one with lots of programs. Rebaptizing the current population based on the emotion of a revival moment.)

What Rainer found was that the formerly unchurched used to ignore church because it was dull, or wimpy. Why take time out of their schedule to sit through an unprofessional hour? He found that they are willing to listen to more deep theology than we give them credit for. As one lady said, she didn't understand all those financial terms when she started watching CNBC, but she kept at it because it was important to managing her investments - so why shouldn't she take a little time learning Christian concepts to satisfy a spiritual need?

I was thrilled he quoted Dean Kelly's Why Conservative Churches are Growing (NY: Harper & Row, 1972). Kelly also found that the most successful churches were unapologetic about doctrine. Rainer found that formerly unchurched actually indicated greater interest in doctrine than those who had been in the church a long time. And he found that churches that stressed "doctrinal certitude" hold onto these converts and are more successful in teaching the new people how to evangelize.

If you haven't read Rainer's book, do so. It's not the best available, but certainly worth the read. Once you've got the introduction from Surprising Insights from the Unchurched, go find a copy of Kelly's book.

And go spend more time on your sermon. The unchurched next door are counting on it.

"people who complain, care"

2008-01-16T23:31:00.000-05:00

Seth Goodin has a post that says a key feature to making change is caring enough to want to make the change.

He wrote that he visited the Apple store in NYC on 14th Street, where the two front doors don't close. When customers walk in or out, the door won't close behind them. Even with the temperature outside about 45, the store workers just left both doors open. They say that customers complain all the time, but it just can't be fixed.

His conclusion is that people who complain, care. "If no one cares, you've got trouble. Goal one is getting people to care. Goal two: listening to them."

I've read church growth consultants say the problems between pastors and parishoners is a sign of unspiritual lay people, and the pastor just needs to ask them to leave. Others will say that since the pastor is the senior Christian in the congregation, his word it truth, and anyone who opposes anything he wants is sinning.

Tell that to prophets Nathan, or Ezra, or Isaiah, calling their leaders to account. Tell that to Peter - or Jesus - calling the religious leaders to account.

Maybe, just maybe, there are godly lay people in the church that need to be listened to, and then given permission to help fix the problems their pastor hasn't had the wisdom to address.

How big should a church be - contrarian view

2008-01-14T21:17:00.000-05:00

Whenever I look for ways to improve spiritual vitality of a church, I find most of the links move me toward size growth. One approach even teaches you to "launch large." Megachurches get all the attention, and seem able to attract the remnants of small churches as they dwindle in size.

With so much emphasis on size, what is the value of smaller churches? Do they have a future?

Richard H Bliese says that small churches - rather than a relic of the past - are especially valuable in a post-modern culture. He says that small churches "can go places and risk ministries that larger churches would find undesirable or impossible." They can operate on the margins, to be bold, to be nimble.

Bliese suggsts we must abandon traditional ideas of what church is and redesign around relationships. It will need "meaningful worship, worship in which people sense God’s presence and grace-filled activity." It also needs "meaningful opportunities for building and practicing Christian fellowship."

In short, small churches have a continuing role in the kingdom. They must of course be willing to step forward. In many cases, small churches like being small, they are comfortable being comfortable. But for the church willing to stretch themselves, they can find areas of need in the margins. One local church here holds a weekly lunch for the workers in the adjacent industrial park. A few others pass out day-old bread or open a clothes closet. Some coordinate local participation in national charity events.

And help the out of touch and unchurched find community and hear a Gospel in their own non-church language.

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to spend more time being relevant than maintaining the structure of a large organization. Start by reading Richard Bliese's article.

Protection from Thieves

2008-01-10T22:37:00.000-05:00

Small, struggling churches are vulnerable to hostile takeovers, just like small, struggling companies.

With companies, the stronger company will pay off the target company's debts and may give some cash to the owner in return for not starting a competing company right away. The deal is done and everyone leaves satisfied.

With churches, someone moves in and quickly volunteers their substantial Bible knowledge and shows a great willingness to help. Next, they bring a couple of friends "from the other church." Sometimes they are single and sometimes they come with a family. Often, they are a bit more fundamentalist than the existing congregation, but they have the time to do the jobs that have not been done in a while - like working in the nursery, cleaning and waxing the floor, decorating the children's wing.

Then the first all-church business meeting. The new members outnumber the old-timers, and begin to make changes. Within a few months, they begin to act like Absolam, undermining the authority of the pastor, and soon they suggest the pastor should be asked to leave, and to put one of their number in his place to "grow the church" and "preach the authentic Gospel."

Shortly, the pastorship becomes formal and the church votes to end their former denominational affiliation. From struggling church to stolen church in less than a year. Often as not, the new church is a cult, needing space to grow.

Not all new workers are there to steal your church. I myself have come into a struggling church, full of passion and energy, but always taking pains to submit myself to the authority of the pastor and the deacons. I do not suggest any changes in structure that have not been addressed by the pastor first. You need people like that, who move into the congregation as a gift from God to help restore its vibrancy.

But you need to be aware of the presence of destructive cults. If you need to learn more, surf on over to the F.A.C.T net (for Fight Against Coercive Tactics Network).

(Thank you to Tracy at the After Cult Life blog for the link!)

Builing missions awareness through "recycling"

2008-01-10T21:13:00.001-05:00

One World Running is a charity that collects gently-used running shoes and "recycles" them by shipping them to those in need in the United States and around the world. It's especially poignant when a shipment goes to a country where shoes of any kind are hard to get.

Their model is to hold a 5k race where they ask the runners to leave their shoes at the finish line, to be cleaned and shipped with the money that was collected as an entrance fee.

The organization is not a faith-based cause, but only a humanitarian charity "promoting an awareness of health, fitness and nutrition." But there is no reason you could not partner with them. Make it a missions emphasis by taking Matthew 25 as your theme, and use some of the fees collected for missions and some for shoe shipping. At the awards gathering when it's over, talk about running the race with your best effort, about finishing, about staying faithful and providing a model for others to follow. (2Tim 4:7)

(You might also want to mention that no person is worthless, without use. The shoes that are too beat up to be suitable for shipment are sent to Nike in Beaverton , Ore. , through Boulder 's Eco-Cycle program, to be ground up and made into running tracks and playgrounds through the Reuse-a-Shoe program.)

When you do this, be sure you invite the local media, and give a press release to both Christian and community radio and news outlets a month before, so they can schedule themselves to attend. If they don't come, make sure you take some quality photos and write a "results" article with pictures. Giving the media advance notice will help them help you advertise, to gain a larger crowd. Because the purpose is not just to raise money and gather shoes, but also to have yet another opportunity to present the Gospel.

To quote Upward Basketball's motto: "It's not the shoes, its the souls."

Discount Mail

2008-01-09T21:54:00.000-05:00

I'm working with an established church that does not yet use the post office's discounted mail rates. I knew they existed, but didn't fully understand how to get them. It's really not that difficult, and is significant.

The US Postal service describes it this way:

"Your discount depends on the mailing service you choose and the work you do. For example, if you mail 1,000 letter-sized flyers to everyone in your ZIP Code advertising your business's sale, it would cost $0.41 per piece for retail First-Class postage, or $410.

"If you mail 1,000 flyers using Standard Mail to everyone in your ZIP Code by adding a barcode, sorting them by carrier route, and depositing them at the Post Office designated by your Business Mail Entry Unit, you might pay as little as $0.135 per piece, or $135."

One source says that churches can qualify under special non-profit rates if they mail more than 200 pieces more than 4 times a year. For most of the USA, if you are getting the word out to your neighborhood, there will be more than 200 pieces. Except in the most remote rural areas, everyone could participate.

To qualify, you must be a recognized 501(c)3 nonprofit, not just a church. And you will need to make application by filling out Form 3624, Application to Mail at Nonprofit Standard Mail Rates. Turn it in at the Post Office where you intend to mail from. (For more information about nonprofit rate eligibility and how to apply, see Publication 417, Nonprofit Standard Mail Eligibility.)

p.s. -You will probably want to contract with a mailing service who can presort based on zip code regions and can affix bar codes to the item. Some of the services I have looked at give good rates for printing, sorting and mailing all at once.

The Irrationality of Christian Action

2008-01-06T21:22:00.000-05:00

One of my Google Alerts linked me to a posting from Joe McKeever about the rebuilding efforts in New Orleans. First Baptist there has bought abandoned property and cleaned the remnants of Katrina off, so that Habitat for Humanity can come build new housing.

The comment that caught my attention was his "atheist rant."

He wrote, "It amuses me to hear the occasional atheist/humanist rant on television about what dangerous people Christians are. I think to myself, 'It's those dangerous Christian people who have put their lives on hold and came to help rebuild New Orleans. If we were waiting on the atheists to give of themselves, we would be out of luck.' "

Many of the nation's hospitals were founded as ministries of churches. The first (and still best) colleges were to train pastors. Without Christian intervention, prison would still be a fearsome place. Around 90% of the meals the Red Cross gives out in any given major disaster is cooked in a Baptist Disaster Relief kitchen, and most of them are served by Salvation Army personnel.

Which brings us back to Katrina. The people of First Baptist have managed to create a fund that can keep building houses "forever". Why do they do it? Says one parishoner, "It has been a privilege."

What this means for your church is that you need to find a cause or need that you can meet, either as a congregation or in partnership with others. Do it in the name of Christ, that you will have opportunity to share Christ with an unbelieving world.

2008-01-05T13:08:00.000-05:00

While looking for ways to blast a message to the community about a new church revitalization effort, I stumbled across a site that caught me up short.

The site talks about the end of outreach, but introduces the concept of “withreach.” Withreach is a response to a perception that outreach/evangelism is all “information push” – meaning we give the message we think the other person wants or needs to hear, but don’t stop and listen to their concerns first. Without listening, we sometimes will run past the one key objection that might be easily overcome.

We think of the church as a body. The Apostle Paul taught us that there are many parts to the fully functioning congregation, but the site says that the church is seen by unchurched people as a mouth instead of an ear, a hand or a heart.

“Listening is the only way we can find out what (the Holy Spirit) is doing there, what He wants us to cooperate with. Through incarnational listening the agent of transformation is also transformed. Creative opportunities for the Kingdom abound in community conversations and one-on-one listening times.”

It is the job of the pastor, as chief teacher and encourager of the congregation, is to train the congregation to talk with the unchurched, not at them. Not until you begin this “incarnational listening” will you be heard when they are ready to receive the Gospel message. We have to be engaged in what matters to them before they will hear what matters to us.

If you want to learn more about Withreach, visit their website.

The Position of the Church in Social Change

2008-01-04T20:24:00.000-05:00

Dr Rick Warren (Saddleback Church, Purpose Driven Life, etc.) has suggested that the community church is uniquely positioned to create massive global social change. And he encourages Christians to use that position to do just that, in part by linking and networking the social structure they already have resident in even the smalled congregation.

By example, he remarks that in many third world countries, the church is the only "public" building in the village. It is the only place where people can gather to discuss issues common among themselves.

But the church is also big - very big. There are an estimated 2.3 Billion Christians in the world, representing thousands of subgroups, clans and tribes. And they have a spiritual and social connection that is not limited by national and political barriers.

The challenge, says Warren, is to create those networks. He says that even in his own megachurch congregation, "most of the congregation is unseen beneath the waterline." Those who attend services carry the message and motivations back to their friends and neighbors, to Bible study and ministry groups at their home and jobsite.

It is this structure of loosely-organized and self-forming small groups that presents the opportunity for social change. Warren gives several examples of how churches respond to needs with social responses: 90% of Red Cross volunteers are from churches, and cook almost all the meals they give away. The church volunteers were the first ones there at Katrina, and have yet to leave. In Africa, there are more church-run clinics giving away AIDS medicine than official Ministry of Health clinics.

His message, in a nutshell, is that - despite fears of ulterior motives - the church is uniquely positioned to create massive positive social change.

How will you lead your church to join him?

8 Lessons from Megachurches

2007-12-31T19:30:00.000-05:00

In the Dec 21, 2007 edition of Forbes Magazine, Dale Buss reported that "CEOs may have a lot to learn from their counterparts running evangelical megachurches." The pastors and business leaders interviewed for the article say that business has a lot to learn from how churches are run. In fact, a lot of today's business manuals are based on the idea of "servant leadership," a concept straight out of the Bible!

Running a church of several thousand is in fact a lot harder than running a substantial for-profit business. For example, in a business, the motivation to show up each day and work hard is money and career aspirations, and it is the company leadership that provides that external motivation. In a church, the motivation is all internal - the people come for their own intrinsic reasons. More than that, they often give time and money to the organization because of only a 30 minute speech by the "Chief Encouragement Officer."

Using data from Harvard social scientist Robert Putnam, Buss gives us 8 key lessons from the pastors of the healthiest megachurches in America, lessons such as casting a vision and showing gratitude, doing regular reviews and saying no so you can do the important things well, and focusing their passions in ways that help the organization, instead of boosting their own ego or status in the community.

I encourage you to read the article for yourself. There's a lot of meat in that one quick page. This is the stuff revolutions are made from (though some of the people who have commented so far don’t quite “get it”).

A Christian Nation at Christmas

2007-12-26T13:32:00.000-05:00

A new Gallup poll confirms that the USA is a Christian nation, not by decree but by popular choice. 82% call themselves Christian, and since another 11% say they have no religion and 2% didn't answer, most of the opposition to Christian traditions comes from less than 5% of Americans.

No, not everyone is active in their faith. Only a third say they attend some kind of church each week, 44% if you include those who attend "regularly." Other surveys suggest that only half attend a traditional style church, with the rest counting their church attendance as being part of a home study or community prayer breakfast or some other alternate worship style.

The most interesting finding is that the Christian faith is strengthening in America. Although church attendance seems to be declining, those who do attend are making strides at influencing the culture. In 1969 and 70, only 14% said religion was increasing its influence on society and in how people lived their lives. This year's Gallup survey says that 56% of Americans have said religion is very important, and is an influence in their daily lives.

What does this say to you, trying to strengthen your local church? First is says you are not alone. The world is not against you. Church pastors are making a difference in what people believe. There is hope. Just as God came to dwell among us that first Christmas, to teach us how to be more in step with God's perfect plan, and to give his life for us, so we must continue to dwell among our world, and share that love of Christ with them.

Be encouraged!

The Social Cost of Debt

2007-12-05T21:38:00.000-05:00

According to C. Michael Johnson of Mindstorm IdeaLetter, the next few years will see a huge increase in social and societal problems as a result of the current mortgage crisis. A large part is the limit of personal savings and the increasing consumer culture. House prices nationally have doubled in the past decade, and more in some areas. Teaser-rate mortgages have encouraged people to get into increasingly larger houses they can barely afford.

Johnson reports that more than a quarter of low-income households now spend forty percent or more of their earnings repaying debt up 191 percent. That means if they got into the housing market on an adjustable mortage, and that mortgage rate goes up, they can end up spending the majority of their income just for housing. And in my area, housing prices have started dropping, so many people that bought in the past couple of years now owe more than the house is worth, so they're at risk of having to pay more than they can afford for a house they can't sell.

The report also notes that “a family with two earners today actually has less discretionary income, after fixed costs like medical insurance and mortgage payments are accounted for, than did a family with one breadwinner in the 1970s.”

What's that mean for your church? Since 95% of married couples fight about finances, and this gives ammunition, more marriages will be in trouble. In fact, #1 cause of divorce in America is finances. It might mean that your occasional givers will stop giving. It may mean an increase in benevolence needs. It may mean some volunteers will have to stop coming to work a second (or third) job.

So what can the church do? First, learn the extent of the problem. Start with Mr Johnson's blog on the issue.

Then act. Host money management courses. Bring in community service counselors.

And pray.

Seven Ways to Find and Keep Volunteers

2007-11-05T22:50:00.000-05:00

I’ve been working in and for charity organizations most of my adult life. Most seems never to have enough volunteers. But on occasion, you run into a situation where there are not only enough, but at times too many – even a waiting list? So how do you find good people – and keep them working at no pay for months and years? Here’s the rough cut of what I’ve learned so far.

1. Ask for them – how will they know you need help if you don’t communicate the need? Research shows that most senior citizen say they would volunteer more if asked, and other studies show that teen volunteerism has risen consistently over the past several decades. Look at the outpouring of support following 9/11 and Katrina! Most people want to help worthy causes, but don’t because no one asks. Go ask them to help!

2. Define what you want – tell them what they’re needed for. It might be as simple as being a crowd behind the politician for the cameras. Or it might need a special skill. Friends of mine who are doctors and dentists volunteer their time regularly. I have asked for volunteers to do unusual jobs like unload carpet from a truck, write press releases, and grill an evening meal at a shelter. In each case, I was able to find people who really wanted to do that thing, and were energized by it.

3. Make it meaningful –It helps to give someone a job that matters to them. Bill Hybels, of Willow Creek church, says that if leaders are not given leadership-style jobs to do, they often will sit on their hands and do nothing. Christian Schwartz discovered the same thing, saying that people are energized when they are given jobs that match their giftedness and skill. This may take some creativity. Ed is a lawyer, but when he went with a dental mission team, he was the one giving encouragement and instruction on how to brush – he was the star of the trip, and longs to go again.

4. Give guidance about what results you expect, and how well the volunteer is doing toward meeting those expectations. Treat them similar to how you would treat every other employee. And in reality, they are your corporate workforce, doing tasks you would otherwise have to pay for. At times, you will need to give additional job training and redirect their efforts, even change their job to something more appropriate to their abilities.

5. Listen for input – about how to do it better, or how else they might want to serve. Too often, paid leaders start to believe that they are the experts and that no one else has any good ideas. Instead, you might have someone who really wants to do a certain thing, and if she can’t find a group to do it for, she’ll create a competing charity. Why not find a middle ground, a way for that person to do something similar to what they want to do within the boundaries of your organizational objectives? It might open a whole new facet of organizational service, and expose you to a new group of donors!

6. Provide off-ramps for volunteers to take time off. Just as you need vacation breaks away from your paid employment, volunteers will often need time away from long-term volunteering commitments. Others will need permission to step away and stop doing what they have been doing. I’ve been in situations where we couldn’t do any leadership development – or even new volunteer recruitment – until a key volunteer was given permission to leave a key duty they had been doing for years. They “retired” from that area of service to be able to do something else that needed their skills, so that we could grow the charity in different directions.

7. Acknowledge and reward their contribution. Far too many organizations treat their volunteers as a throw-away commodity, instead of a capital asset. Terry Axlll’s classic book Raising More Money says to involve the person in the volunteering, and cautions not to treat donors as “ATM machines” that you only run to when you need a quick infusion. Instead, it is important to

a. Thank them immediately after a big event. The phrase “thank before you bank” works with volunteer service as well. Do not wait to give them praise. Express verbal thanks during the event and send a note of appreciation to arrive within a week afterward. Each intervening day lessens the impact.

b. Thank them sincerely. A form letter (or worse, an email) will not work for this kind of recognition!) Give personalized thanks for how the job they did contributed to the event’s results. If you defined the jobs clearly, this should be easy.

c. Thank them appropriately. If the big donors received a lavish prize and the workers who made it all happen didn’t even get fed, your thanks will ring hollow. Provide sufficient snacks & drinks during the event, and make provisions for a gathering afterward that is tailored to them. If you have been listening, you will know what motivates them, and that they prefer a weekend volunteer lunch of soup and sandwich and conversation at the Director’s waterfront house to an expensive dinner on a school night.

I’m sure the list is not complete, but it’s a pretty good start. Give it a try and tell me how it worked.

Do you want to be well?

2006-01-31T00:34:00.000-05:00

“Do you want to be well?”

On the surface, it’s an odd question for Jesus to be asking there in John 5 (v1-9). Here was a man who had been sitting at the well for 35 years. He was waiting for healing from the crippling disease. And he said so: “I’ve been here all this time, but every time the angel troubles the water, someone jumps ahead of me and steals the blessing, and so I go back to waiting.”

But that wasn’t the question Jesus asked. Rather, He asked if the man truly wanted to be well, or was the man content to rest on excuses. In your church, Jesus isn’t asking why you aren’t healthy. He wants to know if your ‘want to’ still wants what your words say you want. Jesus was offering a new thing. Not to help the man cut in line, to be first according to the old rules, but to be well in a new way.

Like the prophet Ezekiel. In chapter 37 of that prophet’s book to us, he tells of when the Lord took him to a desert filled with bones of people long dead, bones dried in the sun and wind. God asks the rhetorical question, “Can these bones live?” Ezekiel wisely answers, “Only you know, Lord.” So God told him to prophesy over the bones. To prophesy is to speak the words of God, to create an effect. The prophesy held the power of God in it, and the bones gathered themselves together, grew flesh and skin and became whole. But still there was no life in them. Again Ezekiel prophesied, and the Spirit breathed life into a mighty army.

Dean N Kelley ("Why Conservative Churches are Growing", NY: Harper & Row, 1972, page x) said that “having once succumbed to debility, a church is unlikely to recover, not because measures leading to recovery could not be prescribed and instituted … but because the persons who now occupy positions of leadership and 'followership' in the church will not find them congenial and will not want to institute them. They prefer a church which is not too strenuous or demanding – a church, in fact, which is dying.”

Alcoholics Anonymous says the first step is to admit there is a problem. Sociologist Gary Farley says that churches must reinvent themselves every generation, or they probably won't survive past the deaths of the founders. Many such once-thriving churches litter our denominational rolls with only a handful of members each, unwilling to move forward, resting in the past.

In the 6th chapter of Mark, Scripture says “Jesus could do no miracle there except that he laid his hands upon a few sick people and healed them.” Nothing? The all powerful son of the Lord Most High, who had just raised a 12-year-old girl from the dead (Mark 5:41-42), was limited? Verse 6 gives the answer: “He wondered at their unbelief.”
And again Jesus asks if you - each of us - are you going to just sit and complain and be miserable? Or are you willing to believe you can be and do different than you've done before? You must "admit, believe, confess" - be willing to be healed, like the withered arm in Luke 6:6-11, to stretch forth and be transformed by the renewing of our minds and hearts and spirits, for the glory of God.

Do you want to be well?

(copyright Mike Mitchell, 2005)

Happy Easter!

2005-03-27T14:00:00.000-05:00

Christ has risen, but in some churches, there's no joy. We smile, greet one another, but there hasn't been any joy there in years. The choir sings the same songs as years past, with all the same people. There was an egg hunt, but only the existing members' kids came.

What happened? The staff put a notice in the bulletin, asked the people to invite their neighbors, and even prayed for visitors to somehow find their way to their particular facility. They did everything right, according to the church operations manual of 1959.

Trouble is, the 20th century is gone. The stuff that used to work doesn't any more. I would dare say while most churches preached their most evangelistic service of the year, few salvations were recorded. Seeds were sown, but the harvest comes out of relationship.

The churches that were full one Easter were the ones out meeting the neighbors weeks before, trying to stay up with the forms of the culture without compromizing the message. They took the egg hunt to the apartment complex, the held movie night (how many churches showed the Passion this week?), and talked to everybody they knew about coming to church this week. These are the churches that will contact - by phone, letter and in person - every new person that came on Easter, and every other week.

Successful churches know it's all about relationship, not programs.