Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 | Jay McSwain
Back in 1990 Greg Ogden (www.gregogden.com) wrote The New Reformation – Returning the Ministry to the People of God and in 2003 followed up with Unfinished Business: Returning the Ministry to the People of God. Both books championed the empowerment of the laity (non-paid staff) doing ministry that for years was done by clergy (paid staff). My own understanding of what God desires for all of His people to DO as ministers of the gospel was greatly enhanced by Greg’s two books.
The Observation
Have you ever wanted to believe something was true, but you just weren’t sure the evidence would truly back-up your belief? Over the past 13 years I wanted to believe we were seeing trends that laity (nonpaid staff) were being empowered to do the ministry. But I wasn’t convinced that what was taking place was more information and knowledge being dumped on God’s people with little empowerment truly being given to them.
Returning Ministry to the People
I have realized that ministry is being returned to the people of God by looking at a trend within our ministry. Let me explain. Almost ten years ago I remember how excited I was to work with a group of lay members (all unpaid) of a large church that were empowered to research for resources that would connect their people to meaningful ministry. After several months of conference calls and emails I was invited to spend the weekend training their lay leadership along with the paid staff. My first interaction with paid staff was the weekend I spent at the church. Prior to that weekend every interaction I had was with non-paid staff. I was elated to work with this group. This up front interaction with non-paid staff in this manner was a rarity until the last couple of years.
The Positive Trend
PLACE Ministries receives thousands of orders for resources and inquiries for information about our ministry each year. Until the last couple of years we guessed that 95% or more of those orders and inquiries would come from paid staff. Over the last couple of years we have seen the trend rising with our guess being that 25-30% of our orders and inquiries are being made by non-paid staff on behalf on their churches.
So many trends in church today are not positive. This positive trend of empowering non-paid staff to connect God’s people to meaningful ministry is one we can and should all celebrate and embrace.
Tags: church, church leadership, Church Ministries, ministry
Friday, February 5th, 2010 | Blake Paul
Everyone knows the different areas of ministry that goes on around churches, right? Well, maybe not the new people, but everyone else knows, right? I have found that far too many people, including staff people, are not really sure what all is going on.
Experience has taught me…
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Tags: assessment, assessment tool, ministry, volunteer
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010 | Jay McSwain
As you have completed 2009 and enter into 2010 it might be helpful if you ask yourself: • who are your mentors and • in what areas are they mentoring you Recently I was asked by a 28 year old church staff member if I would mentor him. He told me he was impressed with me moving my family to Florida so we could grow closer. He noticed how my wife and I interacted and wanted his marriage to be vibrant and healthy in the years to come.
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Tags: church ministry, place
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 | Blake Paul
Why is it that we hire people who are just like us? They say that opposites attract but that does not always seem to be the case when it comes to the work place or ministry. We tend to hire people who have the same personality traits that we have because they make us feel comfortable. In reality what we probably need the most is someone who is actually just the opposite of us.
Going one step further…
Many of our leaders in ministry today are forced to wear many hats. I have found that great communicators are probably not the most gifted administrators. Even though our leadership needs help, most don’t know how to go about hiring the right person or recruiting volunteers. There was a phrase I heard used in ministry several years ago that said, “You have to get the right people on the right bus.” True enough. I would like to suggest that everyone on the bus has their own individual seat. If only there was only a way to direct the “willing” to the “right seat.”
Using PLACE as a resource…
Whether you are involved in leadership training, volunteer training, ministry placement, or recruiting volunteers, you need to know about PLACE. PLACE uses the DISC assessment to assess participants personalities. This is a great starting place for hiring the right person. I can tell you that if you hire a very social, inspiring person and place them where they have little or no contact with people you have set them up for failure. This personality assessment is as important as any skill assessment. Many people that I have introduced to PLACE now say they will not make another hire until that prospect has been through the PLACE assessments. If you are struggling getting the right person in the right seat give PLACE a try. I believe it is just the ticket.
Tags: assessment, church leadership, church ministry, disc, gifts, Ministry Placement, personality assessment, Recruiting Volunteers, volunteer training
Monday, September 21st, 2009 | Brad Sargent
I recently read where someone said they learned more from failures than from successes. This made me realize I’d been strategically placed, sadly, to … shall we say … “learn a lot” from my old home church about church ministries and recruiting volunteers. A gathering with such potential for life eventually reached a morbid state.
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Tags: Assessment Tools, Church Ministries, leadership training, ministry, Recruiting Volunteers, spiritual gifts, volunteer, volunteers
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