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5 Momentum Builders for Ministry

It’s not only important to understand what stops momentum but also to know what builds momentum.  Here are a few of my thoughts.

1. GOD’S GUIDANCE

Although this is obvious to most of us as church leaders, it astounds me how often we miss it. I’ll never forget planting a church in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I had a New Testament and a copy of the Purpose Driven Church as my two favorite tools. Sadly the PDC often won out over the NT. I had a tendency to read about Saddleback’s success and then copy what they did. Ironically, Rick Warren clearly says in the book NOT to do that!! What I didn’t understand back then was context. Every church has a unique context and calling. The first and best thing every ministry should do is not look to successful programs and strategies elsewhere, but seek God’s will. I love how simply Perry Noble puts it: “Listen to God and do what He says.” Nothing will build momentum greater than that!

2. SYSTEMS

Systems determine outcomes. If you want staff to turn in reports by a specific time, create a system that makes it happen (i.e. automatically generated email reminders). If you want your volunteer sound technicians to deliver consistent results create a system that makes it happen (i.e. training and a checklist they complete before each service). To me, systems are evidence of “smart work.” Most volunteers and staff work hard, but only the best work smart. They create systems that require tons of effort to create, but they yield residual results. Hard work doesn’t always yield residual results, but smart work does it every time. Spend time with your team determining how you can work hard for a season to create systems that will get results long after.

3. THE RIGHT PEOPLE

Sadly, some people depend too much on systems. They create a system and then get lazy. These are definitely not the right people. Finding the right people for your team is a difficult challenge but it is of primary importance. Hiring mistakes and high staff/volunteer turnover kill momentum. Doing the diligent work necessary to find, recruit and hire the right people MUST be done.

Your networking skills and gut-checks are not enough; you must have a system in place to help you find the right people. My own approach to hiring is two-fold: 1) Test for aptitude and ability, 2) Interview for character and culture. Use a series of tests (Myers Briggs Type IndicatorCDAT,APTTriple-Threat Leadership, and Strengths Finder are some good examples) that objectively determine whether or not a candidate has the skills, temperament, attitude and raw ability for the job.  These tests cost money, but it’s better to spend $100 or less to determine that someone is not the right person for the job than to spend thousands hiring and firing the wrong person.

If the testing indicates that the person shows promise, move on to the interview.  There you should focus your interview questions around determining whether or not the candidate has the personal character necessary and whether or not the candidate fits your organization’s culture. While it may not be feasible to use a process this thorough for recruiting volunteers, it’s good idea to incorporate some of these steps for high-profile and high-capacity volunteer roles.

4. CLEAR COMMUNICATION

Communication is non-negotiable. People won’t move with you (thus halting momentum) if they don’t understand where they are moving. Everything necessary should be communicated multiple times and in multiple ways. Different people hear things differently, so variety in communication is a good thing. The repetition that comes from this variety is good too. The old marketing adage states, “people don’t get the message until they’ve seen or heard it seven times.” Remember, you’ve been chewing on your next big idea for weeks, months or years. You aren’t going to get your entire church to embrace the idea if they’ve had all of 3 days to consider it. Set a date for any change that needs to be implemented then communicate, communicate, communicate. That way, the change won’t be as difficult or painful when the date arrives.  Trying to make changes without communication halts momentum.

5. CONSISTENCY

Nothing keeps momentum going like consistency. Delivering consistent quality results and making consistent quality decisions will accelerate momentum every time. Consider two athletic teams with the same record of 6-1.  The first team lost their first game, but has gone on to win their last five games.  They are now the league’s favorites to win the championship.  The second team started out strong, winning their first four games.  Then they lost a big one.  They won their most recent game, but just barely.  Most people believe they are a solid team, but it’s doubtful they’ll win the championship.  The difference is consistency.

No team can win all the time, but great teams win consistently. Many churches aim at having an amazing Easter and Christmas. Those two weekends every year are absolutely stunning! The rest of the weeks are just “good” though.  Those churches don’t experience much growth.  Then there are churches who treat every weekend like Easter and Christmas.  They strive for consistently excellent results…every…single…week! Those churches seem to explode.  The moral of this story: aim your team at consistency and you’ll enjoy momentum. Aim at the occasional win and you’ll struggle to grow.

What’s missing from my list?  What momentum builders have you observed?

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alandanielson@churchleaders.com'
Alan Danielson is the Lead Pastor of a church that’s probably a lot like yours. New Life Bible Church is a church of a few hundred people, but not long ago he was on the executive staff of Life.Church in Edmond, OK. Now, along with pastoring New Life, Alan is a consultant and has worked with many of America’s largest churches. Despite this, Alan has a passion for the small church. That’s why he lives by the personal conviction that no church is too small for him to work with. Alan founded Triple-Threat Solutions to help leaders of and churches of all sizes grow. Learn more from Alan at http://www.3Threat.net.