STRATEGIC SERVICE
Do you have a plan for getting your congregation involved in serving at church? Does that plan include teenagers as well as adults? And does that plan include a strategy to keep your volunteers involved for the long haul?
The idea of using your influence to serve other people in the organization is incredibly foundational: Not only because your church probably relies on volunteers to operate smoothly, but also because serving can also change YOUR foundation.
This month in YouLead we’re going to take a look at the churchwide idea of serving among parents, leaders, and teenagers as well as the internal result that serving can have to impact the discipleship process.
We know that you lead in several ways at any given time. You lead yourself, you lead volunteers, you might lead a staff, and you often lead up. So here’s what we have in store for you to accomplish each of these tasks:
PERSONAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
How does this happen every single week? Sunday just won’t slow down. But don’t allow that to interfere with the investment you make in yourself as a leader. Pull out your iPhone/Blackberry/wall calendar with the puppies on it right now and make an appointment with yourself each week to spend 20 minutes investing in your own leadership development. We already have a plan for you, so making the time is the first step to accomplishing it.
BOOK REVIEW: Go Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea by Bob Burg and John David Mann
This is such a quick and easy read that a review is nearly redundant! The authors of this book teach a very valuable life lesson that’s often overlooked in busy work environments—the power of serving other people. Leaders in particular tend to gravitate the opposite direction, but the fable told in this book will remind us all of the results when we begin looking beyond ourselves.
PODCAST: Interview with Chap Clark and Jared Herd
If you’re familiar with Chap, then you know he has a passion for getting kids and teenagers to serve. Listen in on this conversation between Chap, a provost and professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, and his recent student, Jared, the creative director of XP3 Students curriculum. It’s going to be a good one!
REAL LIFE: Africa Windmill Project
We’re changing it up this month and offering up a video-driven Real Life segment to YouLead. The team behind the Africa Windmill Project (www.africawindmill.org) is living out the principle we’re discussing this month, and you need to see it for yourself. We’re sending Bre Hallberg to capture this goodness to share directly with you!
VOLUNTEER LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
So now that you have a plan to invest in your own leadership skills, why not make a plan to do some investing in your volunteers? Not like giving away new cars and iPads; we have a way to invest in your volunteers for free!
We’re going to make it really simple to become more intentional with your volunteer communications via some good-looking emails (if we do say so ourselves). We’ll even do the writing for you, and you can add some of your own words of wisdom to the messages.
WEEKLY EMAILS: Why We Do What We Do
Providing information with your volunteers that they can share with the parents of the kids and teenagers they serve will go a LONG way with your leaders. Sometimes the barrier between a volunteer and a parent is a simple lack of creative ways to connect with the parent. So it’s time to change that.
This month we’ll be sharing fun ideas and statistics in emails that you can send to your volunteers. We encourage you to challenge these leaders to turn around and share this same information with the parents of the kids and teenagers in your programs. Simple. Did we mention that already?
VIDEO: Kara Powell
A few months ago, our team here at Orange was privileged enough to spend an entire day in dialogue and conversation with Kara Powell. And lucky you—we captured it on video! Kara’s insights and thoughts on the impact of serving are refreshing and will challenge leaders to evaluate what you’re doing to serve those around you.
CHALLENGE: Strategic Service
This is such a good one, you’re going to want to plan this staff meeting right away. And be sure to make it early in the morning because we think that you’ll be best served by incorporating some Krispy Kreme donuts into the mix! Curious? Be sure to read through this segment of YouLead and learn how sugar can be the perfect demonstration for Strategic Service.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP PODCAST: Interview with Mark Batterson and Carey Nieuwhof
If you get the opportunity to make the trip to Washington, D.C., at any point in the future, you should visit National Community Church (www.theaterchurch.com). This staff’s focused on serving the community as well as getting parents and leaders to understand the importance of serving each other. Listen in on this conversation between Carey and Mark as they talk about this principle and the impact it’s had on NCC.
BOOK REVIEW: Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris
Alex and Brett Harris are two teenage guys who decided a while back to rebel against the low expectations that we all have of kids their age. Instead of blowing off responsibility, they’re serving other people for the glory of God and writing to other teenagers about it. Alex and Brett provide incredible insight for you and your team to discuss what happens when kids plug in.
BONUS: STAFF LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Whether you’re leading a large staff, a few people, or you’re trying to lead up to your senior leadership, we’ve got something for you. We’re including another book review with this portion of YouLead because we felt that it would be a great tool to reinforce this month’s topic. Speaking of that, this month’s focus is (drumroll)—
STRATEGIC SERVICE [I1]
Leaders and parents embrace service as an essential part of the discipleship process.
(See page 145 in The Orange Leader Handbook)
