Category Archives: Church Business
10 Practical Ways to Lead Better
This is specifically written for pastors. However, everyone can use these principles for leading any organization.
- Write 5-10 hand written notes of encouragement every week. Pick a random group of people that either stand out with serving, are in need of prayer, new to the church, or been faithful since beginning. Pick kids, teens, and adults. When you send a note to a kid, you send a powerful message to their parents as well. Write 4-5 sentences that personally connect you to them.
- Invite someone to lunch or coffee every week. Find someone in the church that you know has potential. Reach out and get to know them over a quick lunch or coffee time.
- Preach better. Spend time in prayer and study. Do not only study the Bible, but also study other speakers. Watch videos of yourself. Ask for people’s feedback on your speaking. Be strategic about what you want people to know, feel, and do after your message.
- Make sure the morale is strong with volunteers. Spend time before service going around different areas of ministry and personally connect with people. This doesn’t mean that you talk for a long time. This means that you talk to them about their role and ask something personal. Remember details about them and ask about them the next time you see them. Find out if there is anything that can be done to make their job easier.
- Work hand in hand with the Worship and Tech teams. Make sure those teams know every transition detail. Over communicate cues and changes that need to be made.
- Analyze each service on Monday. What went wrong? How can we remedy it? What went right? How can we repeat it? Ask team members for their feedback on how their area went. Listen to what people are saying and respond.
- Promote clearly. Make sure the congregation knows when you are doing things. Don’t overwhelm them with too many announcements, but give them clear and accurate details for all events coming up.
- Study Rick Warren’s 5 Church purposes. Pastor Rick teaches a powerful lesson on worship, evangelism, ministry, fellowship, discipleship. Are you balanced with events, sermons, wording, website, small groups, etc that are reaching the community, crowd, congregation, committed, and core?
- Invest in things that build momentum. When we build the kingdom of God, we will spend money. The options on what to spend money on are limitless. Have a good budgeting system of people/committees. Find things that produce for your local culture. Social events? Guest Speakers? Gifts? Outreach projects? Staff? Don’t be afraid to spend money on the right things.
- Invest quality time into 10-12 people that are your core leaders. Go above and beyond for your “disciples”. It would be ideal for everyone in your church to also have 10-12 disciples in their life. Model this like Jesus did for us. Spend quality time with them. Invite them into your life. Challenge them when necessary.
5 Steps to Making a Difference in the Tech Booth
In a church like mine, the tech booth is bustling with people every Sunday morning. They move sound board faders, check batteries, design slides, move lights, run cameras, stream online services, and many other jobs that many of us will never know about. They get there early (all amped up on caffeine) and stay long after everyone else has left the building. We love them all!
What does it take to move an ordinary tech volunteer into a SUPER tech volunteer?
Here are 5 Steps to Making a difference in the Tech Booth?
- A heart to learn and not act like a “know it all” – A lot of people that are interested in serving in the tech ministry are very knowledgeable before they ever enter the tech booth. Many have experience in computers, networking, other churches, work experience, etc. It is extremely easy for them to bring an ego into the ministry. We don’t need more smart people in the tech people. We need more people with a heart to serve. Having a pliable heart that is eager serve and learn will take an ordinary tech person and move them to a super tech volunteer!
- A knowledge of what the end product should look, sound, and feel like – It is crucial that the people responsible for creating a visible and audible atmosphere to have a good understanding of what the end goal is. There are tons of different methods and atmospheres of worship in the modern church. Are they trying to make it like a concert they attended last week? Are they trying to make it like the church they grew up in last week? If good communication hasn’t happened between the leadership and the volunteers, then there will probably always be tension and corrections made. Take them to a conference, another church, show them youtube videos. Get on the same page.
- The ability to prepare as much as possible – Thoroughly going over the service schedule before rehearsal is crucial. Details make ALL the difference. Examples: Know when there is a guitar solo. Know when the video element needs to start. What kind of mood do we want the lighting to convey on song 4? What should overall band volume be when minister comes to stage? The list goes on and on…
- Anticipate change – Be ready to go with the flow when changes happen. In our environment, we sometimes need to make a change because we made a mistake in planning or mishaps/breakages/outages necessitate a change. Hardware breaks. Singers lose their voice. Lightening storm blows up a circuit. It has all happened, and the service must go on.
- Be alert, focus, and give it all you have got! Sometimes, it can be monotonous in the tech booth. A long song with no changes, a long sermon, during the offering… It is tempting to get on your phone and check Facebook or Instagram. You might even want to take a pic or send a text. Heck, you might want to catch up on your sleep by taking a catnap. RESIST the temptation. We need you on your toes and ready for action. You never know when you are needed to make an adjustment.
What would you add to this list?
Children of the World Choir to perform at PSM
The Children of the World International Children’s Choir, comprised of orphaned and disadvantaged children from several different countries, will be performing at PromiseLand San Marcos on March 15th at both 9am and 11am services.
The choir represents a rich and culturally diverse set of backgrounds and experiences, each with an urgent story to tell. This year’s Rescue Tour calls attention to the staggering impact that poverty, malnutrition, and dirty water have on millions of children around the world.
Through the powerful medium of song, dance, spoken word, and creative media, Children of the World provides a compelling message of hope and opportunity, leaving an unforgettable impression with audiences across the country.
The children have performed in such venues as Focus on the Family, Brooklyn Tabernacle, and Disney World.
About World Help
World Help is a faith-based humanitarian organization that exists to serve the physical and spiritual needs of people in impoverished communities around the world.
World Help is committed to meeting people’s physical needs by providing humanitarian, medical, and educational assistance and ensuring access to clean water to as many communities as possible. We promise to meet people’s spiritual needs by providing Bibles and establishing churches.
Since 1991, World Help has impacted over 74 million people in 63 countries worldwide, offering both physical and spiritual restoration for individuals, families, and communities.
His Gift Offering Details
I want to invite you to be a part of this year’s special offering called HIS GIFT. We hardly ever do “special offerings” at PromiseLand San Marcos, but when we do we always give it for a unique and special cause.
We are a BIG church and we believe that we have a BIG responsibility when it comes to helping others. Scripture says, ‘to whom much is given, much is required.” We are taking this responsibility seriously.
We are starting a new tradition this year, that I want us to continue every year in December. We are asking everyone to give something over and above your normal giving. If you haven’t given financially to PromiseLand yet, then this is a great opportunity to jump in!
We are going to take this offering and give it 100% to reach the world outside of PromiseLand San Marcos.
100%
There will be no overhead costs. Nothing is going to staff or our normal budget.
Everything is going to further God’s mission outside of this local ministry.
We are giving to 4 key areas:
- Nigeria Africa – We have partnered with Pastor Ani Simonson and Grace Chapel in Lagos, Nigeria for over 6 years. We have drilled a well, built a school, and purchased land for a church. This powerful ministry in Africa does everything from provide schooling, water, and church life to villages and inner cities in Nigeria. They have several projects that need help including a new roof on a community center and new facilities for their inner city ministry.
- Central Texas Life Care – CTLC is a pregnancy resource center here in San Marcos that has been offering help and hope to moms for 30 years. They counsel, offer sonograms, testing, and resources (diapers, car seats, clothes, etc) completely FREE to any mom in need. Over the last year, the director, Cheri Martin, has had a vision to open a home for moms that are being forced to abort their children. Some moms are told by their parents or the father of the baby to abort the child or they will have to pay the consequences. Sometimes that is to be kicked out of the family. Other times, that means physical harm or even death.We have been thinking about and dreaming about a safe haven. A place where moms can get on their feet safely.Earlier this year, a benevolent family in Martindale heard about the vision of CTLC and offered to donate their ranch! 50 acres, Beautiful home, 2 min from SM River, fertile soil for gardening, huge space for quadplex homes, a daycare, playground. SEE VIDEO BELOW!
- San Marcos Community Church – This church is located in our town and we LOVE that. We want to support our brothers and sisters across town and show that with tangible, financial help. This church has stood beside us in rough times and we want to be instrumental in sowing into their next level!
- Internet Ministry – We currently reach around 300 people in 15 countries every week with our internet ministry. This includes streaming services live and via podcast. We desperately need to upgrade our internet capability and video recording quality to reach more people around the world.
We have no idea how much money will come in from this offering because we have never done this before. In order for us to fully fund the projects we have discussed, it would take in the neighborhood of $40,000. In a church our size, that is about 3 weeks of offering. If we all give some extra, we can nail this easily!
Would you Pray about HIS GIFT and then Give Generously for HIS GIFT?
You can bring it to the service on Dec 21st or give online anytime between now and Dec. 31, 2014.
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Robin
Here is a video of the CTLC property
Won’t You Be My Neighbor Sermon Series
We are starting a sermon series on Oct 8th, 2014 called: Won’t You Be My Neighbor
Jesus used that phrase in one of the most powerful verses in the Bible. In fact, he said that these verses were the foundation for the all of scripture.
Matthew 22:37 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
In Luke ch10, a lawyer asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” He was hoping to find a loophole and not be forced to care for someone who was not like him or agreeing with him.
This sermon series will explore:
- Week 1 (Oct 12)- Who is my Neighbor? Taking the Great commandment seriously
- Week 2 (Oct 19) – The Fear Factor
- Week 3 (Oct 26)- Moving down the line/Baby steps
- Nov 2 – Guest Speaker – Jeremy Foster!
- Week 4 (Nov 9)- The Art of Focusing and Forgiving
Let’s follow Jesus’ command in Matthew 22!
See you Sunday at 9am or 11am (CST) 1650 Lime Kiln Road, San Marcos, TX 78666.
Also LIVE streaming on www.psmchurchlive.com
Robin Steele 