Archive for the 'Resources' Category
Pastors: Fulfilling Your Church’s Mission Through Small Groups
As a pastor, you want the best for your church’s small groups. But you also want the groups to fulfill your mission as a church. How do you go about choosing a curriculum that will come alongside you?
We’ve all used different things over the years. Some we’ve liked, some not so much. We know nothing is perfect, even if it’s the latest thing. Maybe you’ve chosen something based on a catalog you got in the mail, read about online, heard about from a friend, or picked something up when you were in the Christian bookstore. None of these methods are bad or wrong. But they may leave your small groups lacking in purpose and direction.
The Evaluation Process
You can’t just pick something up and go. That might work for a time, but after that curriculum cycle is finished, you will likely be back where you started – quickly looking for something to fill the time instead of looking for the right thing for your small groups. There is a process to finding the right small group curriculum for your church, and I believe it should not be taken lightly. Curriculum has to be read, evaluated, prayed over, and many times, agreed upon. This takes time.
Pastors, ask this question to help clarify your need: What do you want your groups to do? At the very basic level, I believe small groups should be purposeful and facilitate growth in the spiritual lives of those who attend. They should encourage people to step out in their faith and step up in their spiritual lives. And most importantly, they should proclaim the Truth of the Word at every opportunity.
How can small groups help you fulfill your church’s mission? First, you must identify your mission as a church. Then, you can decide how small groups can help accomplish your mission. At Cross Church, our mission is: Reaching Northwest Arkansas, America, and the world for Jesus Christ. We are Great Commission church. So we want to use a curriculum that not only fulfills our mission to further the Great Commission, but helps our members grow in their own spiritual lives. If our small group members are growing spiritually, they are walking witnesses and are fulfilling the Great Commission as they go about daily life.
An Evaluation Guide
Thankfully, LifeWay provides a tool to help in the selection process. No matter what you are looking for in a small group curriculum, this decision-making guide will help you discern what type of curriculum will likely work best for your church. Maybe you’ve never evaluated curriculum in a manner quite like this before. Now is a good time to start.
Don’t be afraid to start from scratch. You may find out what you’re currently using for small groups doesn’t meet your needs like you expected it to. And you may find you are already using the best option for your church.
Our Choice
So what did we choose? Cross Church has been using Bible Studies for Life for the past three years. It has more than met our needs – it has provided a catalyst for spiritual growth in our small group members and take the Great Commission as our people go throughout the world.
Choosing curriculum can be a challenge, but if you take the necessary time to address the needs of your people while ensuring you are remaining true to your church’s mission and vision, you will not regret it.
Now is the Time to Lead,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
Guest Post: Communication Teams are Paramount in Today’s Church by Brian Dunaway
Today, RonnieFloyd.com welcomes guest writer, Brian Dunaway. Brian is the Director of Communications & Technology for Cross Church Northwest Arkansas.
There is no argument that quality and effective communication are paramount in today’s world. Even more important, in the church world it is vital to cut through the noise and grab the attention of those both inside and outside your church. Regardless if you are a one-person communications staff, you outsource to lay people or freelancers, or you have an entire staff dedicated to communications, I believe the points below apply.
An Effective Team
As with any organization, it takes many parts to achieve the main goal. In the world of communications, it’s important that an effective team is constructed to carry out the needs of a church. Those needs can range from the pastor’s slides for his sermon, to letting the community know where you’re located via your website, print, or social media. So what do you need?
- Collaboration – If you can’t get along, you can’t produce. You must build a staff, group of lay people, or freelancers who are willing to work together. Your team must be able to share ideas, disagree, agree, and eventually come together to produce a product that is fantastic.
- Servant Heart – The communications team as a whole is a unique ministry of the church. It is our job to not only communicate the big picture of the church, but also to serve the individual ministries of the church. Your team must be able to interact and communicate with each staff member while understanding the importance of keeping the overall vision clear.
- Talent – It’s not by accident I put talent last. The world is FULL of talented people. It’s not hard to find talent, especially in the field of communications. Schools are churning out scores of graphic designers, web managers, and video editors. I firmly believe if your team has all the talent in the world but cannot work as a team and be servants to many, they will ultimately accomplish nothing.
Gratefully, this is exactly the team I have the opportunity to work alongside at Cross Church. We have a team that is uniquely gifted, highly creative, and most importantly, each has a ministry heart.
Quality Within Your Box
Churches have so many different cultures, traditions, and expectations. We will just call it flavor. It is of utmost importance to know the flavor of your church and how to best communicate it. You must communicate who you are as a church. Not the church you wish you were, but the church you are. Social media is a great platform to let people know who you are. Make sure you and your church are designing and communicating in a way that is relevant to the culture.
Remember this: You can earn the right for people to notice your church by your attention to detail in quality, spelling, artwork, and more. But it’s just as easy to forfeit that right with carelessness. Strive to have the highest quality in every area. At Cross Church, we have very strict policies to help insure we spell words correctly, post quality content, etc. But we are all human and sometimes we make mistakes. When that happens, we look at the system, tighten it up, and continue on. The bottom line is not to settle for “good enough” when you can do it with excellence.
The Front Door
Unfortunately, in today’s world, the old adage, “Don’t Judge a book by its cover” is no longer applicable. I tell the team I serve alongside at Cross Church, “Don’t let yourselves ever believe you are the sole reason the church grows.” However, what you create and communicate through your talents might cause a seeker to look twice. They may give your church a chance when they might not have before, and this could lead to eternal life change. What an honorable task we have to be the communicators for our church! Examples of the “front door” could be your website, a TV commercial, a radio advertisement, and even a Facebook, Instagram or Twitter account. Make sure the front door represents you well.
Finally, be effective, be consistent, and produce the highest quality that speaks to who you are as a church. Always use the communication platform to strengthen the mission. At Cross Church, our mission is to reach northwest Arkansas, America, and the world for Jesus Christ. Everything we do centers on that mission and it is how we judge our effectiveness.
There are many churches that are served well by their communications teams, and we are always observing and learning from them. At Cross Church, our communications team is always available to help in any way. We will share anything we do with you and your church. Below are a few examples of how we communicate internally and externally at Cross Church.
Graphics
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| Easter 2016 Artwork | Give Me Joy Series Artwork |
Social Media
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| Dr. Floyd Quote | Blessing Baskets 2016 | Plan My Visit |
Bulletins
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| Weekly Bulletin | Special Easter Bulletin |
Videos
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| Easter 2016 Recap | Easter Promo |
Brian Dunaway
Director of Communications, Cross Church
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.