Effective Church Communications

Effective Church Communications provides Timeless Strategy and Biblical Inspiration to help churches create communications that fully fulfill the Great Commission

Effective Church Communications provides Timeless Strategy and a Biblical Perspective to help churches create communications that fully fulfill the Great Commission. Our tools constantly change; our task doesn’t; we can help.

How to develop management skills, part one

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Managing well in the church office
Harmony in leadership is one of the skills you'll learn from this article.

Management skills enhance every ministry assistant’s professionalism. Whether supervising employees or volunteers, knowing how to develop and motivate excellent workers increases your effectiveness—and your value to the office team.

The best managers strive to work in harmony with others while still fulfilling their leadership role. This is a skill worth working on.

• Identify goals. An important part of the supervisory job is to determine what needs to be done and who will do it. Be specific. If your purpose is to free up your own time, use your calendar to clear your agenda of jobs others can do.

As you outline tasks, be sure the boundaries of authority are clear. Avoid having responsibilities overlap. Take adequate time with this first step; it is the foundation for successful management. [Read more...]

How to overcome procrastination in the church office

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How to overcome procrastination
When we procrastinate, we are our own worst enemy--here's how to overcome it.

Ed. note: going into the fall, it's easy to justify procrastination when we really need to be more disciplined. Gayle has some great tips for how to overcome it.

To procrastinate, says Webster, is to “postpone or delay needlessly.” It is not having too much to do and too little time to do it. Instead, procrastination is the practice of simply putting things off. Nearly always the task is eventually done, usually at the last minute—not a satisfying work style.

What makes us procrastinate and how can we avoid or overcome this troublesome habit? [Read more...]

National Boss Day is Oct. 16 & how Ministry Assistants define the excellent boss

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Celebrate your church office boss
Oct. 16 is National Boss Day and here are some characteristics of great ones.

Ed. note: The article that follows reminds us to thank and celebrate great bosses in our church. If they don't come up to the standards here, the article provides a wonderful list of prayers for them.

National Boss Day is a time for workers to show appreciation to their employers. The day is annually observed in the United States on October 16, or the nearest working day. Over the years I’ve asked scores of ministry assistants to define their ideal boss.

The excellent boss according to Ministry Assistants:

• sets a high standard for attitude and actions
• treats others with respect and courtesy [Read more...]

Teamwork in Times of Change

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Teamwork in times of change
More than ever, success in the church office is the result of teamwork.

Ed. note: If you've served in the church for any time at all, you've not doubt experienced changes and will experience many more in the times to come. In this encouraging article, Gayle helps us see how to make the most of the most challenging changing times.

In September 2011 the Hartford Institute for Religion Research released a new decade-long survey of congregations in the United States. It will come as no surprise to you that the past ten years have brought enormous changes throughout religious communities.

One disturbing conclusion is that median weekend worship in all sizes of congregations has significantly declined since the 2000 survey. Along with the drops in attendance was a significant decline in financial resources.

Still, despite fewer dollars and fewer people, a lot of churches—large and small—are doing some things quite well. One example: the vast majority of congregations have implemented electronic communications. More than 40 percent even use social networks like Facebook to keep in touch with congregants. These congregations and their leaders realize surviving and thriving in challenging times doesn’t just happen. [Read more...]

How to get the most from the job you love–in good and challenging times

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How to make the most of your job
Every job has good and challenging aspects--our job is to make the best of any situation.

Ed. note: one of the things I love about this article is that it challenges all of us to take responsibility in our job satisfaction. Gayle gives us some very practical advice to make the most of every challenge we face to make a great job even better.

You love your job. You know what you do is important. You perform your tasks well. You are a giver and thrive on serving others. Still, you recognize a certain sense of dissatisfaction with your work. Why? [Read more...]