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Care for your team.

Whether you’re a Senior Pastor or are leading facility care, you’re part of a team. Maybe you’re paid, maybe you’re a volunteer. Doesn’t matter. Find a way to intentionally care about your team. Those people you work with every day and think you know pretty well? Take one of them out to lunch. Ask one of them how their kids are doing, and really listen. Take time to share prayer requests. Send an encouraging email about something great you watched someone else do. It’s so easy to get caught up in the pace of the work that we’re all trying to do, that we miss the people God has put around us to care for and support. Sometimes your team needs you just as much as the audience you’re working so hard to reach.

Providing learning experiences for your team is another great way to learn and grow and invest in their ministry. It’s not too late, register and bring your team with you to a one-day workshop at Granger, happening May 18 & 19. With workshops geared for First Impressions, Creative & Communication Arts, Groups, Students and Kids Ministry, there’s something for everyone—no matter if they’re volunteer staff or paid staff.

by Executive Pastor Mark Waltz

I learned the hard way. People need to be reminded.

Back in my student ministry days I thought that grown adults could remember meeting dates and times. After all, they get kids to soccer practice, keep doctor appointments, show up for work, and remember birthdays. All that is true. And maybe that is the point: It’s all true. There is a lot going on.

It’s happened to all of us. Weekend service. You’re ready. You’re on time. And someone else isn’t. You cripple through the service or services on a shoestring, hoping to not miss any critical elements or people as you attempt to provide a welcoming space for your guests. It happens. People aren’t always blowing off responsibility. Sometimes people just forget.

Here are some thoughts about serving as a full team:

  • Create a schedule. Put it on paper. Make sure everyone has it.
  • Make the schedule easy to remember. Build some pattern into it. Monthly. Biweekly. Find a rhythm.
  • Send reminders. Make phone calls. Send postcards. Tweet. Text. Email. And you must, you must, you must—not choose the easiest and preferred communication for yourself as the leader. Learn how everyone on your team is best connected. You’ll likely call some, text others, and email the rest.
  • Follow up when someone doesn’t show. This is a simple and opportune chance to care. You may discover they are facing difficulty, illness, or worse. Reach out. You made it past the weekend. That’s good. But it’s not all there is to the team.
  • Expect the schedule to be kept and followed. By planning it, printing it, reminding, following up you’ll communicate that people matter—the team matters. “We’re counting on you!”

Sunday is coming! Is your team?

Bring your staff and volunteer leaders to the First Impressions workshop at Granger, May 18, to boost your impact with guests. Register now to get the Early Bird rate of just $99 per person, or $89 for groups of 2–5, or $79 for groups of 6+. Attend both days of workshops (there’s a second day of additional workshops on Friday, May 19) and get a further discount: $20 off per day!

Because People Matter

by Executive Pastor Mark Waltz

We know it; no one needs to remind us. Or do we need to be reminded? The volunteers and staff who make up our ministry teams matter as much as the people we’re serving. Our teams are people too.

As I’ve had conversations with volunteers and staff on various teams, I’ve been reminded. People matter. People need value. These people are my first “customers” or “guests.” They will experience value when:

  • I ask how they’re doing—specifically, remembering the life experiences they’re facing (death of a family member, challenging season with kids, disappointment in ministry, etc.)
  • I listen to their take on the ministry they’re leading. All of it. The highlights and the low spots. The victories and the frustrations.
  • I state expectations clearly. What’s expected gets inspected. Stated objectives and goals within the mission and vision define success.
  • I invite them to view the opportunity/challenge as though they are in my seat (if they’re a good leader, they’re already thinking about what they’d do if they were in my chair) and tell me what they’d do next.
  • I initiate conversations before they begin to question if the person or their contribution matters to me or the work of Christ in the local church.

There’s plenty more to valuing volunteers and staff who make up our teams. These are reminders that I’ve experienced personally.

I’m grateful for the hundreds of volunteers who make ministry happen every week at our Elkhart and Granger campuses. They’re the real deal. Relentless. Solid. Joyful.

How do you value your team of staff and volunteers?

by Tim Stevens, Executive Pastor

Many years ago we hired a guy to lead an important part of the ministry. He had all the right qualifications and was a joy to work with most of the time. But something that didn’t show up on his résumé or in any of our reference calls was that he had a temper. About two months after he started, he got upset at a meeting and threw a table across the room as he stormed out. We gave him a warning, but it was only a couple weeks before he got angry again and cussed out a volunteer loudly and publicly. This guy had a gaping character flaw, and we had to let him go.

For church leaders, choosing people of character can be a bit difficult for us. Why? Because we are the church. It is part of our business model to help pick up the pieces for people. It is our intention to be there when people fall so we can point them to Jesus and help get them back on their feet. If people in our church have addictions or bad habits, or if they engage in damaging behaviors, we don’t kick them out of the church. We meet them where they are and help them take their next steps.

But when we are talking about volunteers or staff leaders, whom we have brought on the team to help others take steps, it is important that there aren’t any debilitating character flaws that will cause others to stumble.

This can be misinterpreted by some to mean that only perfect people are allowed on the team. Nothing could be further from the truth. We don’t want to encourage that kind of thinking or put that burden on our staff. Everyone is dealing with something. Everyone has an area in his or her life where he or she needs help and support. All of us deal with the reality of our humanity, and we are constantly striving to lean on Jesus.

But it’s crucial that the people we bring on our team do not have huge flaws in their integrity that could cripple their ability to lead. Luke 12:48 says that more is required from those who have been given greater responsibility.

Continue reading on Tim’s Blog...

WEEKEND ARTS 012310 Dustin Brown 2 blog

by Lead Pastor, Mark Beeson

Dustin is a volunteer. He runs a very successful business, enjoys a great marriage and inspires a lot of people. He’s über-talented. He’s a great man. Why do people like Dustin—great people with full and busy lives—volunteer?

Let me offer a few reasons why good people volunteer. It’s not an exhaustive list, but it summarizes a few key points for team-building and might be worth considering.

Eight Reasons Good People Volunteer to Help You:
  1. They want to see done the thing you’re trying to get done. What you're doing is clear to them, and clearly important to them. Because they value what you value, what you’re doing is clearly worth their sacrificial effort.
  2. They see the need and want to help meet the need. Whether they jump in to help for a moment (helping with one step of the process) or stay with you for the entire mission (laying down their life for ultimate mission success), they see how they can assist you and they do.
  3. They want to be involved. After considering their other options (how they could otherwise be using their time, energy, knowledge and skills), they prioritize your mission above other competing values. The success of your work—for one reason or another—is important to them. They believe the work is worthy.
Continue reading on Mark Beeson's blog...