Had a great day today spending time with some other Pastors over at New Spring Church. Perry Noble and all of his people have a heart to help other churches. They are great hosts. They even provided lunch from Mama Penns. I had heard of them, but that was the first time I've eaten their food---very good!
I got a chance to meet some new people, which is always nice and catch up with some old friends.
New Spring is creating a network of churches to help provide resources, encouragement and support for each other. With all of the bad press churches get for fighting amongst each other, it's refreshing to hook-up with guys who realize we're all on the same team.
I know that Perry and New Spring catch a lot of flack from people that don't know them or understand what they are trying to do. I have to tell you, I think it's very unfair. They are reaching people, and the last time I checked, that's what we were commanded to do. If you find fault with that--get a life!
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
major kids event
We kicked off our Summer Sports Spectacular for kids, and it was fantastic! Hats off to my wife Liz who coordinated the entire thing. She has been putting in 16 hour days for weeks preparing for this event. I am so amazed by our people. We had probably 100 adult/teen volunteers there to help make it happen. We had music, drama, faith stories from Clemson University athletes and of course all kinds of sports. On day one we had around 250 kids. On Wednesday evening we will have a BMX group called Chaos on Wheels coming to perform. I can't wait to see them.
We have not had any sort of VBS type thing for the last 2 summers. I know that some parents couldn't figure that out. In the Bible Belt it's just expected that churches do VBS. If you lived here, your kids could probably go to VBS somewhere twice a day for the entire summer. We decided that if we were going to invest resources in something it needed to be something different from everywhere else. I've never been a big fan of doing something "just because everyone else does it"
If day one is any indication as to how the rest of the week is going to turn out---I'm pumped!
We have not had any sort of VBS type thing for the last 2 summers. I know that some parents couldn't figure that out. In the Bible Belt it's just expected that churches do VBS. If you lived here, your kids could probably go to VBS somewhere twice a day for the entire summer. We decided that if we were going to invest resources in something it needed to be something different from everywhere else. I've never been a big fan of doing something "just because everyone else does it"
If day one is any indication as to how the rest of the week is going to turn out---I'm pumped!
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
It doesn't get any better than this
As I reflected on this past Sunday, the thought that crossed my mind was, "it doesn't get any better than this". Sunday was incredible. The entire team knocked it out of the park in all 3 services Sunday. I spoke about the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin. Jeremy came up after and sang that Chris Rice song, "Come to Jesus". We showed some video footage in the background of last year's baptisms. I cannot remember a time where I have seen more people in tears. It was powerful.
Then Sunday afternoon we had our first Baptism Party of the summer. We estimate that probably 500-600 people came. We went all out. We had bounce houses and games for the kids and food and to top it all off we baptized 42 people (see picture above) in Lake Keowee. I left exhausted from a long day, but totally amazed once again with God's power. What a day!
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
staff hiring part 2
Another decision that is absolutely critical when it comes to staffing is WHO you hire. You're probably thinking, "no duh!" But it is amazing how many times we let our desire to fill a vacancy cause us to rush a decision and then end up with the wrong person in place.
There has been tons of information about what to look for in a new staff, but I think Bill Hybels summed it up pretty well by hiring based on the 3 C's. Character, Competency and Chemistry.
Hiring people from within is always best. No doubt by hiring people who are doing a great job volunteering you will probably not have many surprises. You will know all about the 3 C's.
Two things you may want to consider though. Sometimes you simply just don't have a person capable or willing to come on staff that is currently at your church. The next best thing is network with some other Pastors---maybe they have someone that they know. Of course there are agencies like Church Staffing that also have success stories.
The other consideration is that once you hire someone who is already a part of your church, it is almost impossible to terminate them (even for legitimate reasons).
Without a doubt, hiring decisions are among the most important decisions you will make. I am very thankful for the tremendous staff that we have at Foothills. They are tireless workers who take our mission very seriously.
There has been tons of information about what to look for in a new staff, but I think Bill Hybels summed it up pretty well by hiring based on the 3 C's. Character, Competency and Chemistry.
Hiring people from within is always best. No doubt by hiring people who are doing a great job volunteering you will probably not have many surprises. You will know all about the 3 C's.
Two things you may want to consider though. Sometimes you simply just don't have a person capable or willing to come on staff that is currently at your church. The next best thing is network with some other Pastors---maybe they have someone that they know. Of course there are agencies like Church Staffing that also have success stories.
The other consideration is that once you hire someone who is already a part of your church, it is almost impossible to terminate them (even for legitimate reasons).
Without a doubt, hiring decisions are among the most important decisions you will make. I am very thankful for the tremendous staff that we have at Foothills. They are tireless workers who take our mission very seriously.
Friday, June 02, 2006
Granger crew
Yesterday we had the privilege of spending a couple hours hosting some of the guys from Granger Community Church (Tony Morgan,Tim Stevens and Mark Waltz). It was really cool to hear and learn from them. One thing that was obvious was that these guys are sharp. They know their stuff and they represent both Granger and God's kingdom well. What I liked was that they were just real, down to earth people. They also were learners. They didn't come with a "hey, look at us---we know everything" attitude. They genuinely listened and who knows, maybe they learned a little from us as well.
One other thing that was cool, was that these guys are a real team. They really seem to like to hang out together. That's what a staff should be ---a team. I'm so thankful for the team God has given me to serve alongside with.
One other thing that was cool, was that these guys are a real team. They really seem to like to hang out together. That's what a staff should be ---a team. I'm so thankful for the team God has given me to serve alongside with.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
staff hiring
One of the biggest decisions a church will make is in the selection of staff.
The first important decision will be what is the proper order of staff hires? Do I add a youth Pastor, or a small groups Pastor?, etc. I have found that there is no hard and fast rule. They are all important, but since funding is always limited you need to determine which staff position is MOST strategic for the big picture of your church's vision. For us, It was me and a part-time worship guy until we reached about 200 in attendance. Everyone else was a volunteer. Even the secretarial duties at that point were all volunteers. We then added a very part-time children's person, and then we hired a full time Associate Pastor position (which basically was someone who did everything that I couldn't or didn't want to do. We hired a part-time position for a couple of other things after that. When we reached about 400 hundred we began to be more intentional about hiring because we began to grow extremely fast. Right now we average about 1200 people on Sundays and we have a pretty lean staff. We are going to add 2-3 more staff positions by the end of the year. I will try to talk more about hiring tomorrow.
The first important decision will be what is the proper order of staff hires? Do I add a youth Pastor, or a small groups Pastor?, etc. I have found that there is no hard and fast rule. They are all important, but since funding is always limited you need to determine which staff position is MOST strategic for the big picture of your church's vision. For us, It was me and a part-time worship guy until we reached about 200 in attendance. Everyone else was a volunteer. Even the secretarial duties at that point were all volunteers. We then added a very part-time children's person, and then we hired a full time Associate Pastor position (which basically was someone who did everything that I couldn't or didn't want to do. We hired a part-time position for a couple of other things after that. When we reached about 400 hundred we began to be more intentional about hiring because we began to grow extremely fast. Right now we average about 1200 people on Sundays and we have a pretty lean staff. We are going to add 2-3 more staff positions by the end of the year. I will try to talk more about hiring tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)