Archive for May, 2014
Taking Care of Our Children and Youth
As I reflect on Mother’s Day, I am reminded of our responsibility to take care of our children. How can one think of Mother’s Day without also thinking about children? Jeana and I think about the care and protection of our six young grandchildren endlessly.
Yesterday, they were with us to celebrate Mother’s Day. While watching them all together, it reminded me once again that we are always thinking of their care; whether they are inside our home, outside playing, or in their own homes. We pray daily for their care and protection. We also place various practical safeguards to ensure their safety.
When children and youth are abused
I absolutely shudder every time I hear that 25 to 33 percent of girls and 5 to 15 percent of boys will be sexually abused by the time they are 18 years of age. Sadly, most abuse is at the hands of family members or trusted family friends[1]. Yet, too often it also happens at church.
All Christ-followers should understand that God is very serious about caring for and protecting children. Unquestionably, children are a gift from God. As they are placed into our care, we need to care for them in the highest manner, protecting them at all times.
Jesus is always pictured as one who cares for children. God’s Word says that Jesus believed that children should have direct access to Him. At the same time, he gave serious warnings to any person who would ever harm children.
Jesus would weep over the way children are treated in our culture today. Whether it is the killing of the unborn, the sexual, verbal, or physical abuse of our children and youth, or the tragedy of human trafficking, all are severe violations of children and youth, and should be recognized as evil, wrong, and sinful.
Our churches must be protective of all children and youth
At Cross Church, we have taken a proactive approach in protecting our children and youth when they are entrusted to us. Let me share with you a few ways our church cares for and protects our children:
- Cross Church requires background checks on all employees and volunteers who work with our children and youth.
- Cross Church equips our staff teams that work with children and youth, keeping them up-to-date on their responsibilities of caring for our children and youth.
- Cross Church staff and volunteers are always expected to call authorities immediately if any questionable or suspect situation occurs, as well as cooperate with those authorities.
- Cross Church responds with immediate discipline of those found guilty of child abuse.
- Cross Church ministers with compassion toward any child or youth who has ever been threatened or taken advantage of in any way.
- Cross Church trains and oversees our staff and volunteers on these and other ways to keep our children safe.
We all have a responsibility, but I believe that churches have a greater responsibility and accountability relating to caring for and protecting our children and youth.
Without any doubt, we believe in caring for and protecting our children and youth who are part of any activity at Cross Church. My prayer is always: “Lord, please give us the wisdom we need to care for and protect our children in the highest manner.”
Our church—and every church—needs to be a safe place for children.
Our Southern Baptist Convention has a role to encourage our churches to care for and protect our children and youth
I cannot speak with any level of authority about conventions or denominations other than my own. As an active part of the Southern Baptist Convention, I know this subject is always on our minds, but we must remain vigilant and recognize that not everyone is getting the message.
As recently as June 2013, the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution “On Sexual Abuse Of Children.” This resolution gives a brief summary of important facts, noting that there are, “1.8 million reported victims of sexual abuse by more than 750,000 child abuse perpetrators identified in the United States alone.” This is so disturbing to hear and read.
With conviction, this strong resolution was approved. Christ-followers and churches were called upon to be proactive in developing policies relating to people who work with our children and youth, as well as be reactive, when or if, there is any suspect or situation that occurs.
In our Southern Baptist Convention, we also encourage our churches to do background checks on all staff and volunteers. As well, we encourage them to review the U.S. Department of Justice sex offender database, which is linked on our sbc.net website.
Furthermore, we can and must hold up the issue. Yes, we are a convention of autonomous churches, but we need to continue to sound the alarm on national, state, and the association level, calling churches to protect children in their care.
As a Team
We must work together as a team: Parents, churches, and denominations, to do all we can to care for and protect our children and youth. We cannot do it alone. We need each other. We need to be diligent in this task.
It is fitting that a few hours with my very young grandchildren reminds me of our responsibility as family members, our responsibility as a church family, and our responsibility as a denominational family to care for and protect our children and youth.
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
[1] SBC Life Special Report, Protecting Our Children, “Silence is Not Always Golden” by Hope Graham
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
Pastors: How do you meet your Ministry Budget goal in the summer?
Pastor, let me ask you a very important question: What is your strategy to meet your Ministry Budget this summer? Do you want to meet it? Do you expect to meet it?
I want to share with you an idea we have practiced for years. With the exception of two years during the last twenty or so, we have been able to meet our Ministry Budget goal during the summer. This simple strategy can be used in any size church and result in success.
Step 1: Determine your Summer Program of Giving goal
What is the weekly budget requirement for your church? Determine this over a fifty-two week year. Then, multiply this weekly budget requirement goal by the number of weeks during the summer. For example, we always use the Sundays from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. This is usually fifteen weeks.
Therefore, for simplicity, let’s imagine your weekly budget goal is $10,000. If you multiply this goal of $10,000 per week by the fifteen weeks from Memorial Day Sunday through Labor Day Sunday, your Summer Program of Giving goal for the summer would be $150,000.
Step 2: Effectively communicate the Summer Program of Giving goal to your people
How do you do this? Let me suggest the following:
1. On the second Sunday of May, communicate the Summer Program of Giving goal to your people. Using the financial scenario in the above illustration, I would counsel you to say something like: “Church, Sunday, May 25, through Sunday, August 31, is fifteen weeks. During this fifteen week period of time, our Summer Program of Giving Goal is $150,000. This is what it will take for the fifteen weeks of this summer, to operate our church at an optimum level. While many of you will travel, we need the ministry to stay strong. Therefore, I will keep this goal and our progress toward reaching it before you weekly. We can do this for the glory of God. All we are doing is taking the weekly requirement of $10,000 and multiplying it by these fifteen weeks. Our goal is $150,000 during these fifteen weeks. Let’s do it for the glory of God.”
2. Write a letter during the week following the announcement to your entire church family. In this letter, you are extending the same kind of challenge, and perhaps telling them how this will fund major ministry projects like summer camps for children and teenagers, Vacation Bible School, and many other things. Ask them to be faithful weekly, whether they are present or not, so that we can reach this goal. Appeal to them to give before they leave town, right after they return, or use technology to give while they are away.
3. Use the weekly bulletin or handout, as well as any mailouts to the church family, like a newsletter, to help communicate the vision. This is so important; keep it before the people in every way possible.
4. In the weekly bulletin and subsequent mailouts, develop a simple progress gauge to show how you are doing toward the goal. You can use a thermometer, some kind of timeline, or something else. You are always showing:
- Your goal of $150,000 or your actual goal
- The date and where you should be on this date
- Actuality of where you are at this specific time
For example, let’s say at week #3, you are communicating something like this:
- Summer goal: $150,000
- Need to date: $30,000
- Actual Giving to Date: $32,000
Therefore, you are telling your people, at this present time you are ahead of your need to date.
5. During the summer, perhaps around July 15, do a major newsletter piece that communicates what the money given to date has been able to do thus far. Perhaps report what went on in June through your Vacation Bible School, summer camps, or something else. Talk about lives being changed and saved by the grace of God.
Step 3: Tell the story for 1-2 minutes weekly during your offering appeal and prayer
For example, “Church, let me tell you some fabulous news. Because of what you give to our church, this week we were able to influence 200 children through our Vacation Bible School, of which 40% were not members of our church. Besides this, to God’s glory, twenty-five children came to know Jesus Christ. This morning, we will baptize ten of these children. Why? All because you gave to our Summer Program of Giving. Thank you for what you are doing.”
Do not give just a financial appeal, but tell the story of the power of the gospel through your ministry.
Step 4: Celebrate the victories God gives you over these fifteen weeks of your Summer Program of Giving
On that last week or two if you are still behind your goal, perhaps you could write another letter to your people, asking them to finish strong. Ask them if they have been faithful to honor God with the first-tenth of everything each week for the first thirteen weeks of the summer. If not, appeal for them to make up these last two weeks by Sunday, August 31.
When you reach the goal, and usually you will, you will secure financial solidity for your church’s Ministry Budget. Why? If you can make the summer goal, you can usually make the overall budget goal. You are pulling up the most challenging time for your church financially. Then, celebrate, celebrate, and celebrate more what God has done because the church has been faithful to give.
The only two times we have not made our goal were unique times. One time, we were only a few dollars away. We chose not to make a final appeal because we were in a building program at the same time and all was fabulous in giving. The second time was a summer following the economy bombing nationally and locally; therefore, we planned accordingly in a wise manner and just understood the times in which we were living.
Here at Cross Church in the summer of 2014
Our Summer Program of Giving Goal here at Cross Church from May 25 through August 31, is $4,950,000. This includes not only our budget requirement, but an additional $100,000 for scholarships for our summer camps. Therefore, if we meet this goal, we not only fund our budget summer goals, but we also fund scholarship assistance for our summer camps. Pray for us. We will pray for you.
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.