Josh Shipp – @JoshShipp

We can do more together when we create a safe place for kids over time. 

The Grown-Up’s Guide to Teenage Humans: http://a.co/8VNNDBh 

What kids will not talk out, they will act out. 

I never thought there would be at least one adult I could turn to.

Being a safe place is both about protecting a kid from circumstances out of control and simultaneously giving the gift of helping them feel the things that are under their control. 

90% of adult drug addicts begin experimenting with drugs before the age of 18. 

Every kid is one choice away from becoming a statistic.

Every kid is one caring adult away from being a success story.

Kids spell trust T-I-M-E

When kids are going through something difficult, they don’t turn to an organization…they turn to someone.

Kristen Ivy – @Kristen_Ivy

We can do more together when we create a safe place for kids who are different.

The point of our small groups isn’t just to make kids belong, but to give all of us and our wild, eccentric differences a place to belong.

When you get close to someone who is different than you, you see yourself differently.

If you want to discover yourself, you have to get close to people who are different than you.

In the church, we get truth perspective. 

Truth is real, but perspective is different.

So often in the church, we forget that there is a difference between truth and perspective.

We, as a finite people, cannot tell the story of an infinite God alone.

When you get close to someone who is different than you, you show the world what love is. 

Our differences are an opportunity…a platform to show what unconditional love looks like.

“Our differences are what make the world such a vibrant place.”

What you do for kids and teenagers matters. But what you do only matters because of what someone else in this room that’s wired

Tom Shefchunas – @Coachshef 

We can do more together when we create a safe place for kids who are hurting. 

Where there is no strategy if there is no sacrifice.

Sometimes we have to sacrifice our felt need to say everything so that what is most important can clearly be heard.

Read the gospels over the next 90 days and ask yourself 3 questions: 

What did Jesus choose to say and not to say? 

How did He choose to say it?

When did he choose to say it? 

Jesus and the woman at the well.

When: After had built a relational bridge strong enough to support truth. 

How safe do we want to be? 

Wanting to be a safe place and being a safe place are two different things. 

If we treat mental health issues like a sin issue, not a medical issue, then kids are NOT going to talk about it. 

What makes an adult safe? Her eyes when she listened to me. 

Ryan Leak – @ryanleak 

We can do more together when we create a safe place for each other. 

UnOffendable: https://www.ryanleak.com/new-products/unoffendable-no-offense-none-taken 

Have you recently sat with someone who made the journey from lost to found? 

Taking someone from an outsider to an insider. 

Friends are like elevators, they can take you up, or they can take you down.

Lost and found people…have marriage problems. Unchurched people and church people…both have money problems. The outsider and the insider…often struggle with depression. 

The found person has an anchor for their soul. Following Jesus doesn’t mean you won’t have any storms, following Jesus means you have an anchor for your soul.

Lost people can actually admit they have problems. 

The message was “Come just as you are.” But then the message became, “Get your act together.” 

What if we created weekend experiences for people that were in pain. Wouldn’t we find ourselves reaching outsiders and insiders who were just hurt.

Can you admit when you are blowing it?

Is your church a safe place for church people to talk about their junk?

Pretending will never do anything for your soul and it won’t do anything else for anyone else either.

To be a safe person:
Vulnerability: Humble yourself long enough to just sit with people. 

Can you imagine if we humbled ourselves long enough to sit with people?

Compassion is knowing your darkness well enough to sit in the darkness with others. -Brene Brown
Authenticity: 

When we really get authentic, we become allergic to short responses. I’m going to become a person that doesn’t allow people to sweep things under the rug.

We need to remember that WE need Jesus just as much as the people we are trying to reach and serve.

Confidence

Can you be trusted with others confidence? 

Grace

Don’t judge them, help them.

I don’t care about the brand (of our church), I care about the person. 

There’s a whole lot you can do to be a safe place for someone.

If she has the courage to tell us, we must have the courage to help her.

Dr. Deborah Tillman – @DeborahLTillman

We can do more together when we give every preschooler a better foundation. 

What caught your heart and imagination to work with preschoolers? 

We have to think of young children as little human being. We really need to instill everything. We have to look at the child as a whole being. The more we sow into a child as a full being, the more they will reach that full potential.

We’ve got to care about early childhood because what we do today matters.

Why does community matter? Because preschool teachers feel alone. 

Everybody in this room as the power to leave a legacy. What will matter is that you spent time with a child. 

“The true character of society is revealed in how it treats its children.” – Nelson Mandela 

We all can treat children better. 

Jon Acuff – @JonAcuff

We can do more together when we help parents be more intentional at home. 

Parenting is hard because sometimes it’s hard to be honest with people. 

Empathy: Understanding what a someone needs and acting on it. 

If you understand what a parent needs and do not do anything about it, you lose them forever. 

When a kid tells you a secret, the first things we need to say is “thank you for telling me”

Jen Hatmaker – @JenHatmaker

We can do more together when we help parents be more internal at home. 

The Family Road Trip Continuum:
Patient optimism
Irritated intervention
Terrifying cereal killer
Quite acceptance

Barna tells us that by the time kids in our ministries are 29 years old 80% of them will be gone from the church. 

Kids are struggling to connect with a mostly modern church. 

Students need to be able to wrestle with truth without being shamed or we will lose them. 

If we want to reach and minister to parents on the margins of faith, we need to reach their kids. This is the front door to redeeming the culture for Christ. 

The top 4 things students long for: Community, social justice, depth, and mentorship. 

Your students crave healthy mentorship. 

A nanny can offer temporary care…but a parent is charged with raising their kids in Christ.

You are spiritual fathers and mothers to kids. 

For today’s kid, the very best way to lead it is to live it.

“Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1

If kids are just coming to church to be entertained, they will almost certainly leave at 18. If we don’t give them a foundation of JESUS then we are not giving them anything. 

For today’s kid, the best way to lead is to live it. Well done trumps well said! 

Nothing is more important than reaching the next generation, nothing.  

The church is only as strong as the buy-in from the next generation.

May our legacy be that we raised up a generation of kids that loved God passionately.

Kara Powell – @KPowellFYI

Growing Young: http://a.co/eDYwdqF 

We can do more together when we help parents Bre more intentional at home. 

Does your church help parents win? Or does your church help parents help your church win?

We want to change the way we view and relate to parents. We want the church to be the first place parents go when they need help. If you want to change how parents see the church, maybe we need to change how we see parents.

You don’t have to like every parent for every parent to have more influence than you.

Parents we can’t out-teach what you teach at home. We’re not that good. 

When parents win, kids win. When we help parents thrive, kids are going to thrive. 

Parents will have more influence than you because…
They will have more time than you will ever have.
They will be in your kids future when you are not. 

Text Family to 66866 for free resources that help parents win. 

Reggie Joiner – @reggiejoiner

We can do more together when we communicate a clear plan to parents.

If I were to ask the average family in your church to explain your strategy, what would they say? 

If you can’t explain your strategy, parents aren’t applying your strategy. 

One change they made to the brochure. A map and a schedule for the brochure. This one change moved the response from 3% to 30%. What is the map and schedule for you and parents? 

We want to help every parent become more intentional at home and more connected to a community of faith. 

What does it look like in your organization to become “more?”

What does that look like? How do you help them win? 

Your church is more strategically positioned to help a parent win than any other organization. 

What is your elevator presentation, “this is what we help you do?” Or what is your lunch presentation to partner with parents? What is your Sunday presentation? And what is your building presentation? When they walk into your building what triggers them to win as a parent. 

MAP IT

Meet people

Add experiences

Prioritize time

Identify needs

Talk together 

 

Leading Your Team to Go Further Faster – Nina Schmidgall

Challenges to overcome at any size:

Under 250: 

Volunteer driven, few paid staff

Limited budget

Challenging facility

25-1000

Teams of volunteers led by staff

Communication challenges around how decisions are made

Changing leadership structure 

1000-2000

Leadership by policy and procedures

Ministry silos

More vision than time or budget to accomplish

At this size, you MUST rethink policies and procedures. No longer work on a case by case basis. 

2000+

Multiple leaders/stakeholders involved in decisions

Everything must scale across multiple environments

The pace that leads easily to burnout/turnover.

How do we lead faster and further? How do we steward what God is doing? And how do we put things in place to help us scale? 

Growth = move from doing ministry to overseeing ministry to advising ministry. 

Resource Recommendation – Empowering Leadership Michael Fletcher http://a.co/5Ngt7es 

With each transition in growth, elders move from doing ministry to overseeing ministry to advising ministry. Likewise, pastors must change from what Fletcher calls the “shepherd model,” in which he or she is the go-to person, to the “rancher model,” in which the pastor must “embrace the idea of sharing ministry and leadership with others.”

1. Invest in your team

How do you care for and challenge your teams? How are you making the team better for God’s purposes? 

Resource Recommendation

Radical Candor: Kim Scott http://a.co/2eVzfpZ 

Care about them personally. 

Challenge them directly. 

Don’t complain, it’s called management and it’s your job. More of your job becomes management as your church grows. 

“We undervalue the ‘emotional labor’ of being the boss.” – Kim Scott

Have your team go through the Strengths Finder. Help position them in a way to maximize their teams. 

The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery by Ian Morgan Cron http://a.co/eUc18OO 

You are going to be able to move further faster if you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your teams. 

Value time spent together, include spouses and kids. Annual play and pray retreat with spouses and kids. Sunday-Tuesday. Go away to retreat together. Kids becoming best friends. High investment but natural and authentic relationship. 

Spring get together. Christmas parties. Team and their families spending time together. 

2. Define the Win

Bigger than just pulling off Sunday. 

Your team should have compelling answers to these questions:

What is your target?

How will we know when we hit it?

How does this fit into the bigger vision of the church? 

Simon Sinek: “People don’t buy what you do they buy why you do it.” 

TED talk link: https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action 

Define the Win: 

Maximize your investment in kids
Make Sundays Excellent
Partner with Parents
Develop meaningful relationship
Encourage missional hearts

To encourage and support families to share an authentic faith with the next generation. 

3. Cast the Vision

Keeping everyone moving in the same direction is harder and more complex the larger you grow. The tyranny of the urgent will trump vision unless you are intentional. 

Over-calendaring and over programming will derail what you are about.  

There are activities vital to your vision that you can ignore and not feel immediate consequences.” Henry Cloud – The One Life Solution

Focus on why the vision matters

Why cue can’t keep doing it the way we’ve always done it 

Why we can’t stay where we are

Why change will be worth the effort

Visioneering: Your Guide for Discovering and Maintaining Personal Vision by Andy Stanley http://a.co/58l7G7A 

4. Execute the Plan

Have people on the team who will create the vision and people on the team who will make it happen. Balance the team. 

Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done by Larry Bossidy http://a.co/do8iZva 

“Execution is the missing link between aspiration and results.” 

A systematic process of defining how and what and follow through. 

5. Guard the DNA

When you are new to a team, step back and look for those who are guarding the DNA. 

Vision Leaks

Think of it like cold spring water in a pale. Slow drip but eventually you are left standing with an empty pale. 

What is your process for onboarding new staff members and volunteers? 

Hold the line on serving once a month because of how much you need to guard the DNA. That time commitment represents meaningful relationships. 

How do you guard the DNA? No one likes meetings but if you don’t have your people in the same room from time to time then vision will leak. Get the right people in the right room. 

Sometimes you need to just stick with the same plan and find a better way of executing it. 

Guard the DNA

Implement it.
Repeat it.
Refine it.
Repeat it.
Evaluate it.
Repeat it.

6. Involve the Team

It really will be better if we are all in it together. How do we involve our team? 

Jesus final instructions from Matthew 28:19 were not step by step instructions. He stated the end goal and gave room for the people to be involved. 

Leaders need guidelines. 

Paint a goal and direction for people. 

Transfer control vs. transferring ownership. 

“People will support a world they helped create.” Dale Carnegie  

The main job of every leader is to:
Identify
Develop
Deploy
other leaders

Call everyone staff. They are just either paid or unpaid staff. 

Set a culture of shoulder tapping where they know who they will invite who they will be developing and inviting. 

Author and leadership consultant Michael Fletcher says these types of leaders can’t simply be “bought” nor can they be hired off of someone else’s “assembly line.” These types of leaders have to be built through a leadership pipeline.

The answer for more leaders is ALWAYS a culture of leadership development. 

7. Celebrate the Victories

Look for the stories and share them.

Small personal encouragement and thanks. 

Large and critical feedback when above and beyond. 

How can experiment and become more intentional?  How can we do facebook live or help share stories? How can we elevate the work our volunteers are doing to win? 

As your team becomes bigger and more spread out the stories can help share the vision of your ministry. A Win Celebration. 

Celebrate Victories: Personally, Privately, Publicly. 

“Find ways your leaders are winning. Nothing motivates a leader like knowing their hard work is recognized and appreciated.” 

God, scale your church so that your glory can be made known. 

@ninaschmidgall #OC18

When Parents Win—practical Ideas For Nextgen Leaders – Kara Powell

How many of you are parents in this room?
How many are parents of teenagers?
Why is it important to help parents win? 

1. When Parents win…kids faith wins.

1 in 2 drift. They graduate from great youth groups and drift from God and the church. 

4 out of 5 of those who drift, intended to cross well. 

When it comes to kids’ faith, parents get what they are.” Christian Smith

From one of the vastest studies.

“We can’t out-teach what you teach at home. We’re not that good.” Davide France

Never too early. Never too late. 

2. When parents win…your church wins. 

No major Christian tradition is growing in the U.S. today. Some are growing steadily and some outside of the US are growing but not inside the US. 

Growing Young: Churches that aren’t shrinking and aging, but are growing in involving and retaining young people (ages 15-29). 

6 more commitments that these growing young churches have in common.

Keychain Leadership
Empathy Today
Jesus Message
Warm Relationship
Prioritize Everywhere
Best Neighbors
Jesus-Centered Communities. 

What prevents us from helping parents win? 

One reason is parents attitudes. Parents view the church a lot like a dry cleaner. Bring their spiritually dirty kids to church, check them in, and then come back 70 minutes later and check them back out spiritually clean. 

We allowed them to believe this lie. 

We have toxic attitudes about parents and what it means to partner with parents. 

This is a toxic thought: “My idea of partnering with parents is getting them to help with our ministry.”

Define the win to help parents win. 

THE WIN = Help parents be more connected to the faith community so they are more intentional at home. 

How are we supposed to do this? 

Paradigm: Every parent can do something more. Take a baby step forward. 

Think of parents on a continuum. 

1. Searching – The goal is to help them rethink church
2. Participating – The goal is to help them get more integrated into the church.
3. Applying – The goal is to help them to be ever more equipped at church.
4. Leading – The goal is to help them be involved in developing others. 

Determine where parents are in this paradigm and help them take just one step forward. 

Imagine your family or a family you know won a trip to Disney Land. Now, it’s too much to see in one day so you have to plan. Just like a Disney land, you need to “map it”

MAP IT

Meet: Which characters do you want to meet. Who do you want to get pictures with and connect with? We at church need to help families meet and build relationships with transformative people. Family is a team sport so help them have the right kind of team. 

The 5:1 Ratio. Have a team of adults surrounding them. Out of 13 youth group participation variables, #1 was integration relationships. Not one leader for 5 kids but 5 adults for each young person. Not 5 small group leaders, just 5 adults that surround a young person on their team. What if your church became known as a place that helps families meet and develop these kinds of relationships? 

The shortest distance between your church and a parent is a small group leader. Help parents start with who they know. Look at the relationships your family already has and turn up the dial to make it more intentional. There’s one group of adults with an untapped potential; senior adults. How do you foster this relationship so that parents win? 

Special connection for parents of special needs kids. Face to face as well as with technology. 

What about single parents and blended families? 

Add: How do you add experiences, the right rides and the right shows. Add the important experience that makes up the day at Disney. Family life is just a bunch of little moments with the possibility to build warmth into a family. 

Moments build warmth. Warm is the new cool. Whose thermostat matters more – the parent or the child? Far more about what the kid perceives. 

Your church equips parents to ADD. In the view of the big family calendar, how do you carve out moments of warmth? Shared family experiences at church. This is a big labor commitment. 

The power of serving together. Very few institutions create opportunities for families to serve together. There’s nothing more powerful than helping families serve together. Look at where you are already asking families to serve and make a special invitation for the families to serve together. Maybe even just the first Sunday of the month. FYI List – Free tools at FYI Booth

Prioritize: Prioritize your time. The right amount of rides, snacks, downtime, rest. Help families prioritize their time. Is it more important for quantity time or quality time? 

“It’s the quantity of the quality time.” Reggie and Carrey  

Your church cues parents to prioritize. Tangible handholds. Spell things out to help them win. Parent Cue App. Help parents prioritize “car time.” 

Some parents prioritize “bedtime.” Figure out the rhythms that work for your family. 

What rituals do you do? 

Mealtime

What if my child doesn’t want to spend time with me? Unpack this question one at a time with a family. 

Identify: What are the kids into? Do they like car rides? Fast rides? Help parents really understand what’s going on with their kids in the phase they are in. 

Your church reactive parents to identify what is important to their child. 

Sparks: Every young person is created in God’s image. Help parents understand their child’s spark and fan those flames and create more divine embers so their flame grows. 

But there is a warning we need to give parents. A lot of parents lose because they have an easier time connecting with one of their kids spark more than another. When children perceive favoritism the child will distance themselves from the parent in everything important to the parent, including faith. 

Talk: Talking about the rides during and afterward. As we talk about it, we cement the experience for days, weeks, and months to come. The same is true when it comes to faith. We need to help families have good conversations even with topics they are hesitant to bring up. Like doubt. 

Doubts Happen. 70% of kids (admit) in your youth group have significant doubts about their faith. It’s not doubt that’s toxic to faith. It’s silence. Help parents have good conversations. These questions start in elementary school, often 3rd grade. Your church resources you to talk. 

If I could fully explain God, then God wouldn’t be God. Teach your parents and help them know the phrase, “I don’t know, but…”
I don’t know, but…how about we get together and talk more about this later.
I don’t know, but…let’s study this together.
I don’t know, but…here’s what I do know about God. 

Give parents discussion questions. Give them questions to start before Sunday. 

Share your spatial journey. Invite parents to share their faith walk. Share YOUR faith journey. 

MAP IT is not a secret!!!

What we do in ministry is too hard to do without parents, and what parents do at home is too hard to do without the church.

@kpowellfyi #OC18

Creating Culture: Building A Thriving Nextgen Team

Nextgen can be lonely. You’re the boss and in the middle of the structure or organization. Find a sounding board or tribe. 

Kenny Conley: Mission Church
Cindy Fiala: Impact for 1000 Generations
EJ Swanson: Woodside Bible
John Huber: Westside Family Church
Nina Schmidgall: National Community Church
Gina McClain: Faith Promise Church
Kevin Monahan: 12Stone Church

Text 512-914-0922 to join the nextgen tribe text.

It doesn’t matter what your strategy is if you can’t get your culture right because your wheels will just be spinning. 

Culture: The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization a corporate culture focused on the bottom line

What does a unhealthy culture look like?

Cindy: Lack of vision. Different goals between ministries where you have different departments going towards different goals. 

EJ: When teams don’t work together. When there is a disinterest between the student ministry team and the kid’s ministry team. We are going to own the line between the phases. When big kids or student events they go and work together. Kidmin leaders have a sense of how to keep kids protected and student ministry leaders need this. 

Gina: When creativity and ideation are at a minimum. When conversations are taking place about the problem but not with the people who can fix the problem. 

John: Unhealthy culture can be revealed when there is a personal agenda that goes against the team agenda. How is the chemistry? How will you fit into this team? 

What is a really healthy culture? What does this look like when culture is thriving? 

Kevin: It’s fun. Ministry and life are too short to do it with people you don’t like. If you aren’t laughing with your team while you are working then there is something wrong. There is a time to be serious but we underestimate the value of fun. 

Cindy: When it is safe to laugh at yourself. We can’t take ourselves that seriously. A healthy culture respects everybody and we fight for our relationships. Fight for each other and not against each other. Triangulation and gossip are toxic. Pass it up but not sideways. 

Nina: Be for each other. Build a culture where we are setting each other up to win. Do you serve a God of abundance or scarcity? Learn about their personalities and maximize them. 

How do you define culture? 

Gina: Craig Groeschel defines it as what you expect and what you allow. It’s in the allowances that degrade our culture over time. If culture is falling apart then trace it back and you will find there is something that you allowed to happen. When problems are taking place but is being talked about with people who are not there to fix the problem. When you allow that to take place, you need to move closer to it, investigate, learn how it could have played out differently, and have very specific questions about how it should have gone because that’s not how we are to function as a team. The phrase, “That’s not who we are” is powerful when leading your team. 

John: Help new staff members understand our values. We live on the side of the solution, so when you have a problem you have better thought out what possible solutions are for the team. If you have a problem with someone else, you need to go to them before you come to us. Gather the team to talk through our vision and values as a team. Set it at the beginning. 

When you hear your team talk about one another, where do you draw the line between venting and gossip? 

Cindy: 6 Organizational values. Fight for our relationships. Push complaints and frustrations up instead of sideways or down. Whether paid staff or unpaid staff, you will need to know the organizational values and sign a covenant. You can vent in my office, but not outside. 

Kevin: When someone comes to him he flips it on them. Why do you think they are so comfortable coming to you with the gossip? The exciting part of this is to shut down the passing of poison. Sometimes there are things that need to be processed and it’s not gossip so a conversation in place might need to take place. Have you talked to the other person about it and have you prayed about more than you’ve talked about it.

EJ: If you pretend to be half as concerned about the task as the problem then you can accomplish double. With gossip, you have to just go right after it. The further you are apart from the easier it is to gossip. Work together and accomplish twice as much. 

What are some of the things you expect? What have you lead or seen other churches do really well to create a healthy culture? 

Kevin: The Monahan Ten. 10 expectations Kevin has as a leader. Give an instruction book about what and how to communicate respect and care. Make the problem the problem not the person. Document everything. Don’t bring me a problem that you can solve. You need to help the team to understand you without having to guess what you prefer. Create a culture of approachable. 

Gina: Church values or staff values that clearly define the culture. Answer the question what does right look like? What is the test of this? How do you measure that staff value? What does right look like on a high level or low level? Equipped to have more strategic conversations. Clarify the actions you want to see lived out. 

Nina: This can also give you permissions. With the value, everything is an experiment, you create room to innovate or fail. Create pathways to innovation. 

John: It starts with us. Unity is a big thing if you want to go somewhere stronger and faster. Live out the vision. You are not above picking up trash or cleaning a toilet, model servanthood. 

Culture is often set by what we allow. What have you allowed or seen allowed that create an unhealthy culture? 

Gina: Productivity over teamwork. When you allow someone to be toxic because of how productive they are. 

Cindy: Freakout creates unhealthy expectations. Recognize the leaders who freak out when things go off center. Our job as leaders is to be the calm leader always. Don’t allow freakout with addressing it. 

Kevin: Allowing your own weaknesses to go unchecked. Not allowing feedback. “The wounds of a friend can be trusted.” Proverbs 27:6. The aspect of staying somewhere too long. When someone is there for a paycheck or for another reason and we allow them. When the horse is dead, dismount. Not walking in and firing them but having a difficult conversation. 

John: If you don’t deal with it, it ultimately comes back to you as a leader. 

EJ: When we allow the wrong person to manage our risk. The leadership above us believes we are managing risks for our organization. Know, is this the right missions trip, the right thing to say, the right time to change a policy. We have to manage this. Currently in our culture, what situations are we putting our leaders in? Are they in a car with a young person? Don’t allow leaders to manage this risk, that buck stops with us.

How do you recreate culture after you allowed something?

Gina: When you have a worship leader who can’t sing. The way she engages in worship is good but when you don’t want to have that hard conversation. When you mute her microphone. Everyone in the room knows she can’t sing and we are just waiting for you to have the conversation. The rebuild begins when you admit you allowed the issue, change, and make a plan. Sooner is better than later, and but is better than vague.”  

Culture creation. We all inherit culture, how do we get proactive in creating healthy culture? 

EJ: Will Hutcheson said, “Let’s blue sky this…dream as far into the sky as we can.”  

Kevin: Communicate it. Half of the job is going into a room and repeating yourself. Correct when there is drift. Celebrate it. Unmet expectations are cause for disaster. If people are guessing your culture then your culture is unknown. Good Birds. When staff turns in things that they see staff doing. Win prizes or cash. Celebrate those in different departments. Dirty Bird: Mock you for. When someone says something on social media, too bluntly or makes a mistake that you want to celebrate the mistake. 

EJ: We budgeted without the opportunity to create a new culture. A zero-based budget that is set the same. This means if you want to change a piece of who you were, you can’t change mid-year. 3 years ago setting aside 10% of the budget. Craig Groeschel “We ask our people to do unreasonable things so we see unreasonable results.” Creative and creating new things building culture. Don’t allow the repetitive boring ministry. 

Nina: Finding out who you really are. Show me your calendar and your checkbook. This is a true reflection of what you really value. Do your budget and calendar replicate the culture you are trying to create. Do you budget for a relationship with your staff? “Playing it safe is risky” if you believe that then do you have room in your budget and calendar to innovate and try new things? A win celebration culture where you celebrate the wins of the previous weekend. Stay invested and celebrate what God is doing. 

John: Get creative quarterly. Pair up the different ministry areas so they get to know each other. Not for business but for a relationship. When all hands on deck weekend or week, over-communicate the expectation. 

What do you do when you want to create a culture on your team but the church culture is lacking? (Or when there is an unhealthy culture in another team?)

Kevin: Lead by example. Create something simple that starts with you and your team. Create a healthy culture within your team and others will want to be a part of it. Warning: Don’t go against the culture of your senior leadership. And sometimes you can’t go along with the culture and you’ll have to move. 

EJ: Summer local middle school and high school missions trip. The missions department doesn’t support underwriting local missions but they serve their dream centers. No money spent on this but needed them too because of the growth. Figured out the win for the missions department, to increase short-term missions trip for the adults. So they challenged the parents of this group to go on a missions trip. When you figure out the win for them, you can get them on board with your team.  

Nina: In relationships, we can’t control others but we can control ourselves. Under promise and over deliver. Don’t tell another department no but rather we can’t do that but what we can do is. Do what you wish they would be doing. 

Any advice on being on staff with your spouse? 

Nina: Sherry and Geoff S book. Hard when you want to push or advocate for your spouse but on the other hand be very careful about the perception of some sort of in or leverage in a different place. The staff has to feel we are equally for them. Doing ministry together blesses the church. Be careful to create roles for your marriage. No ministry on date nights or “upstairs.” 

What’s A Reasonable Budget – Jim Wideman

You can always be a better steward. 

Remember, God is your source, not your church. 

Want Jim’s Notes? Text: kidmin to 66866

Definitions change. Big and busy change when from week to week. 

Everyone does ministry better when they are on the same page. Align your thinking when it comes to a reasonable budget with leadership. 

How much is enough? 

How many of you are in charge of fundraising? 

How many work at churches where fundraising is of the devil and you are not even allowed to do it?

Not all budgets are created equal. 

3 Kinds of Budgets

1. Spending guide (estimate)
2. Allocated or Fixed
3. Capital Expenditures (if we can)

Budgeting Myth #1
Just because you raised more than budgeted or people designate to a particular ministry or project doesn’t mean you get to spend it. 

So, what’s a reasonable and effective budget? How do you build, grow, and maintain a budget? 

Tony Morgan says 10% is a healthy student population but I know very few student ministry pastors who get 10% of the budget. 

What is your cost per child per week (%)? 

Planning always has to go before action! 

Two ways at the start of the budget to start. Look at the church you have or believe God for the church you want to have. 

“For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” Luke 14:28 ESV

Start with your calendar! How can you start the cost of the year before you start the planning process. 

Do you have student activities and kid activities coming out of the same pay period for parents? Can you stagger these events so they don’t have to choose which child can go? 

Get the book: Beat the Clock –  http://jimwideman.com/product/beat-the-clock-successful-strategies-for-time-management/ 

Add Essentials First

1. Curriculum for weekly programming (under $.50 per child per week)
2. Music from Amber Sky (under $.05 per child per week)
3. Props, extra visuals for Large Group (under $.50 per child per week)
a. Early Childhood $0.50 per week
b. Elementary $0.50 per week
c. Students $1.00 per week 

Special Event Curriculum & Other Programing

1. Christmas Jingle Jam $169 or 3.38 per person = $06.5 week
2. VBS $25 per child or $.50 per week
3. Weekly Subscription $239.88 or $1.20 per person per year or $0.3 per week
4. Other programs
5. Totals so far
a. Early Childhood $1.57 per week
b. Elementary $1.66 per week
c. Students $1.38 per week

“It’s all about kids getting the Word of God.”

Supplies (25% of curriculum cost)
(if you want to build a pad double) 

1. Arts crafts (EC $0.27, Elem $0.29)
2. Snacks EC $0.27, Elem $0.29)
3. Students suppliers $0.35
4. Students Food $3.00
5. Totals so far
a. Early Childhood $2.088 per week
b. Elementary $2.21 per week
c. Students $4.70 per week 

“I’ve had to lock up the goldfish so the youth pastor wouldn’t eat our preschool supplies.”

Go negotiate the year supply of pizza or CFA so you have a set price for the whole church. Get a price per pizza or sandwich so if you are getting 10 or 1000, you get the same price all year. 

Believe God for the finances of your ministry. 

D. Workers
1. Background checkS $35 X20 =$700 $.014 per child per week
2. Worker Shirts $25 X 25 = $625 $0.12 per child per week
3. Appreciation, snacks, etc 12 X $216 = $0.50 per child per week
4. Orange Tour $99 X 12 = $.023 per child per week
5. Meeting Costs $1300 = $0.25 per child per week
6. Training Cost $$1300 = $0.25 per child per week 

Ask someone, “Are you looking for a tax write-off and have advertising money? Pay for my VBS and I’ll add your company name to the back of the VBS shirt.” 

“Look for people whose spiritual gift is giving.” 

Can you handle volunteer growth? 

Jim has learned that woman are often cold at church. Offer a long sleeve worker shirt or hoodie. 

In many churches, we want workers but we don’t celebrate the accomplishments of workers. Don’t go onto the next event, hand out donuts and make a big deal of them. 

7. Totals so far ($1.49)
a. Early Childhood $3.57 per week ($15.47 per month)
b. Elementary $3.70 per week ($16 per month)
c. Students $6.18 per week ($27 per month) 8. Per year 

9. Let’s compare 

Nearly two out of 10 families are spending more than $1,000 per month on elite youth sports according to the USA Today. https://www.gannett-cdn.com/media/2017/08/23/USATODAY/USATODAY/636391023373229973-082417-Youth-Sports-ONLINE.011.png 

Administration

1. Date Base
2. Follow-up
3. Printing
4. Mailing
5. Software
6. Subscriptions
7. Paper
8. Cards/ post cards 

Jim tries to get the church to cover subscriptions under the overall church budget. 

Following up with people is vital. Use check in systems to identify pastoral care. When someone is out 2-3 weeks call them and say, we notice you have been out and we just want to see how you’re doing and see if we can pray for you. 

Postcards are effective and inexpensive. Send at least two a year so that you can at least keep your mailing list updated. 

F. Professional Development
1. Conferences
2. Coaching Cohorts – YouLead
3. Consulting, Individual coaching 

G. Special Events (Transportation, Guests)
1. Camps
2. Big Days
3. Activities
4. I believe in Guests and the momentum they bring. 

H. Capital Expenses (Over and above regular budget)
1. Office equipment
2. Environments
3. Furnishings
4. AV Equipment 

You can live on planet earth, not be a millionaire, and still, have fun. 

If you don’t eat at nice restaurants on your own budget, then why would you do this on your churches budget?

If you have a TV that has a bulge in the back…you need to get rid of it. 

Church is not a sprint. It’s a marathon. In the building of your budget look long term. If you are faithful in the small things, God will make your ruler over much. 

What’s next? 

A. Be content ( Philippians 4:11)
B. Remember it takes time to implement change
C. Be frugal, be a good manager and steward
D. Believe God (Phillippians 4:19)
E. Thanks so much for coming, let’s pray 

God is your source, not your budget. 

The bigger the boat the more water it takes to turn it around. 

Treat God’s money like it was yours. Are you tighter with the churches money then you are your own?

God gets money to you when you know the right way it goes through you and you steward it well. 

@jimwideman 

We Can Do More Together

Jon Acuff

“It’s easier to say something than to do something.”

How do you beat shame? Relationships. 

We can do more sounds like an order. Together, changes this. 

You can be “we” without being together. 

“Together means putting aside our small stories for a bigger story.” 

What happens when you tap into the potential of what kids are really like? 

@JonAcuff #OC18

Gerald Fadayomi

If you could only pray for one thing for the next generation, what would it be?

We can do more together…When we treat each other like the next generation is watching. 

“We look at children and know they can do more. We believe in the next generation.” 

Jesus prayed for Unity. John 17, that we would be one. 

Jesus could have prayed for anything for the future church. He prayed for unity.

Jesus knew that a fractured church could not united a divided nation. 

Our unity affects His credibility. 

37M churches 2.2B Christians. 

Can you imagine what could happen if we started moving in the same direction? 

A united church is a culture-shaping church. 

Unity is not uniformity. It’s setting our differences aside to make a difference. Finding a common ground for the common good. The realization that we can do more together. 

@GeraldFadayomi #OC18

Danielle Strickland

“The thing to do is to grab the kingdom of God and start living that future now.”

“Wake up! Jesus is knocking. We’re better together if we live the future now.” Danielle Strickland

@djstrickland #OC18

Reggie Joiner

We can do more together when we keep doing what seems impossible. 

It’s not what you build that matters. It’s what happens in you. It’s what happens to you. 

How we work together will change how a generation sees God. 

When we look around in our communities…name what is broken. 

“If we as leaders don’t do something about what is broken in our community we forfeit the right to have influence in our community.”

“If we as leaders don’t do something about what’s broken in our communities, we forfeit our credibility.” 

We are responsible regardless of our position. 

How can you leverage what you have? 

“Leverage whatever status, influence, resource, privilege we have for those around us.”

Proximity changes perspective. 

“If you want to be the leader that you need to be in this generation, you’ll have to go see for yourself sometimes.”

“If you’re not getting close enough, you’re not going to be the caring and empathetic leader that you need to be.”

“Everybody Nehemiah needed to rebuild was already in the town.”

“Nehemiah put parents in the gaps in the walls to fight for their families.”

“When you see moms and dads standing the gap fighting for their sons and daughters, it’s a different kind of battle.” 

Nehemiah made the parent the champion. Think about how the kids will remember this. 

“Don’t stop doing the work you’re doing together. It matters.” 

“You keep doing what seems impossible, and you’ll do more than you’ve ever done. Then expect to see God, but not the God you expected.“

@reggiejoiner #OC18

 

Doug Fields

We can do more together when we recognize we can’t get there on our own. 

When I go to dark and lonely places I forget this principle, we is greater than I. 

“Healthy discipleship requires leaders to play together.” 

When we work closer together, there is a greater chance of discipleship, a greater chance of faith development. 

“What makes you a team is when you rely on one another.” 

“If you want to transform your church culture, rely on one another, believe that we is greater than I.” 

@DougFields #OC18

Reggie Joiner

We can do more together when we speak up for those who are marginalized. 

“If traffickers can target vulnerable girls for trafficking, why can’t the church target vulnerable girls for redemption?” @djstrickland 

“One of the first ways you participate in injustice is to choose not to see it.”

Want to know how to help empower vulnerable girls? Start here: braveglobal.org

“There’s nothing that forges unity more than mission.” #OC18  @djstrickland

@reggiejoiner #OC18

Andy Stanley

We can do more together when we lead the church to stay focused on what matters. 

What’s the faith of the next generation worth? Everything!

You don’t have to go to church to hear preaching…it’s on demand. 

“When you lead as a team with one voice…what matters most matters more.” @reggiejoiner #OC18

Once upon a time, one won. 

One: Jesus modeled it. Everyone was welcomed. People who were nothing like Jesus, liked Jesus. 

“The one thing we all have in common is that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

“Of all the things that Jesus could pray for, He prayed for our oneness.”

“Unity is mission critical and more important than theological correctness. We are defined by the way we love one another.”

The One Another List:

Forgive one another.

Accept one another.

Care for one another.

Encourage one another.

Submit to one another.

Restore one another.

Carry one another’s burdens

Bear with one another.

We are to one another, one another 

“Imagine a world where people were skeptical of what we believed but envious of how well we treated one another.”

“God does not show favoritism.” 

“It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.” – Acts 15:19

Let’s not make it unnecessarily difficult to believe in Jesus.

“Concessions are legitimate for the sake of peace.” 

Are you more concerned about who’s in office than who’s in heaven?

“Will we prioritize oneness over our politics?” 

ONE is an invitation to embrace the one thing we all have in common. 

“If your theology separates you from sinners like you, you may have some work to do.”

@AndyStanley #OC18

 

Did you walk away from your last conference changed? Every year, the Orange Conference has a theme where speakers look at the same topic from different angles to help attendees gain a changed perspective. Over the years we have been taught to “Say yes to the next generation,” “It’s just a phase, don’t miss it,” “Monday is coming,” and “To be for our neighbors.” These themes have radically impacted my life and ministry.

In addition to these themes, each year God has spoken a word to my heart that shifts my outlook.

In 2014, I walked away knowing that I needed to work on myself. In order for me to say yes to the next generation, I needed to be a better example and leader.

“The biggest leadership challenge I have is me.” – Jeff Henderson

“Every book you read is worth 2 years of life experience.” – Mark Batterson

“Competency isn’t the issue. Character is.” – Carey Nieuwhof

“Leaders, ask yourself, ‘What is it like to be on the other side of me?’ ‘How are you to work for?’” – Jeff Henderson

“You replace yourself by developing others, not by replicating yourself.” – Jeff Henderson

“It’s ok to not be ok, but it’s not ok to stay that way.” Parry Noble

In 2015, I was challenged to know and act like every week matters. It’s just a phase, don’t miss it, helped me see not only the development of each of the kids but that I was missing opportunities to make an impact with each Sunday.

“100 years from now, the only thing that will matter is a kid’s relationship with God.” – Reggie Joiner

“If you’re the parent of a 9th grader, you only have about 200 weeks left before graduation. Make it count.” – Reggie Joiner

“Every kid is one caring adult away from being a success story.” – Josh Shipp

“Children’s leaders, you aren’t keeping kids so that adults can go to church. You’re discipling children who will be the Church.” – Reggie Joiner

“Small Group Leaders, there is great power that comes with showing up every week.” – Reggie Joiner

In 2016, I realized that I was so worried about filling the kids with the head knowledge that I missed what mattered most. Monday is coming helped me see that I was teaching in a way that kids forgot the moment they left the room. I must connect Sunday to Monday.

“It’s not a question of: Will Sunday impact Monday? It already does. The question is: Will we be part of that conversation?“—Jon Acuff

“It’s not: How to we get them to come to us on Sunday? It’s: How do we go to them on Monday?“—Jon Acuff

“On Sunday, grace is expected. On Monday, grace is a surprise.”—Jon Acuff

“Following Jesus will make your life better and will make you better at life.”—Andy Stanley

“When it comes to my personal connection to the local church, it’s simple: the Church saved my life.”—Andy Stanley

And last year, 2017, I walked away realizing that I allowed busyness to get in the way of loving my neighbor. I must be like Jesus and invest my time in those who are different than me.

“Instead of seeing busyness as a badge of honor, maybe we should see it as a brokenness.” — Doug Fields.

“Some of your neighbors feel like you don’t love them because you act like you don’t like them.” —Reggie Joiner

“If there’s any entity that should lead the way in treating everyone like they’re invited to the party, it should be the church.” —Reggie Joiner

“Young people can download thoughtful preaching but they can’t download thoughtful mentoring.” —Kara Powell

“You can’t dismiss people and be in love with God.” — Andy Stanley

“Your love for God is demonstrated and authenticated by how we treat those around us.” — Andy Stanley

“We’ve got to stop acting like discipleship is about information, and realize discipleship is about relationship.” —Reggie Joiner

“Busy is the enemy of neighborly.” — Doug Fields

Now is the time to register for the next Orange Conference. I really hope to see you there!

Sign up and begin praying today to not only be move through the theme but also open yourself up for God to speak to your soul. REGISTER BY FEBRUARY 15 TO SAVE $50!

“I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.” – Mother Teresa

Momentum is never an accident. It happens when everyone on the team is moving together in ONE direction. If you want momentum you have to stay focused, clear, and synchronized about what matters most.

When you lead as a team with ONE VOICE…What matters most matters more.

When you lead as a team with ONE VOICE…Parent and volunteers move in the same direction.

When you lead as a team with ONE VOICE…Your core message becomes clearer and louder.

When you lead as a team with ONE VOICE…What you do every week makes a greater impact.

When you lead as a team with ONE VOICE…The next generation wins!

There is a unique kind of momentum that happens when everyone in a church leads together as ONE VOICE. OC18 will be an opportunity to re-imagine the potential you can have as ONE VOICE

“Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.” Romans 12:4-5 (NLT)

Register today to join me at this year’s Orange Conference in Atlanta, April 25-27. 

 

 

Bonus: Enjoy a #OC18 phone backdrop!
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