Get to Know People Now

 

I assume by now almost every human being has a social media profile somewhere. More than likely you have a hundred friends or more and some of you have a thousand friends. It is not a contest! With the likes of Facebook, we have been allowed to know more people and to connect with them, however, and whenever we like. We all get invites to be friends from people we don’t even really know. A friend of a friend maybe! The bottom line is we have tons of people that we are connected to. Do you know them?

Paul was a close friend of mine for 20+ years and although we lived far apart we talked often by phone. We had a lot of friends in common and saw each other in person at friend gatherings. In the last years of Paul's life, he was battling cancer. I spoke at a conference every February in his home town and we would meet for dinner each year and get caught up with life. There was a lot to talk about being friends for so long and with so many common friends. Cancer took his life and at his funeral, I realized something about Paul. Did I know him? Paul was married and although separated for many years up to his death, I realized I had never met his wife. Then there was Grace, his daughter. Never met her either.   

At one church during my minister, I served there for 9 years. I was sitting in the sanctuary attending a funeral of a long-standing member of our church. Reading the memorial tribute with his picture and life accomplishments, I suddenly realized I did not know him. I thought I did know him. We spoke and shook hands every Sunday at church and stopped in the halls a few times to just visit. I knew Jim and he knew me. After hearing more during the funeral about who Jim was and what he did during his life, I felt strange. He was a great leader in our community and church and why did I not know him well. Why did it take his death for me to know Jim?

I see myself as a people person and love to meet and network with people. That’s one of the main reasons I am on any type of social media today. Every time I post on Facebook I am taking a chance. I am opening up and being vulnerable and transparent with the world at large. It is one of the best ways I can get to know people as well. I spend time on social media to share my life and to allow them to know me for who I am. I don’t want people to show up at my funeral and be shocked at how I am or what oi have done in life. Please, get to know me while I am alive for heaven's sake! Why did I not know about Paul's wife and daughter and get to know them while he was alive? Why did I not know Jim was a great leader and professor and get to know him before he died? Get to know people while they are alive. Spend time with them. Hang out with them. I had lunch the other day with a friend I have known for 3 years and did know what he did for a living. Turns out he is in sales. That is what I did for 25 years before ministry.  We had a great lunch laughing and reminiscing old sales stories. Get to people now; do not wait until you hear about it at their funeral.

Comments? Suggestions?

FM101: Before You Begin

Church facility management encompasses a lot of diverse areas that all need to be managed on a regular basis. Before you dive in to the "how to" portion of managing your facility, start with these inputs. There are four major inputs you should address before you start managing. These areas will vary according to the size of your church, the facility, and the campus you have. By taking a look at these inputs and making sure you understand them and have done them, you are then ready to start managing that will result in more savings of time and money. 

Assessing Your Team

This may be an ongoing process in finding the right people for the job. Here are some question to ask yourself and work through:

• Volunteers - can I get by with just volunteers?
• Building and Grounds Committee -do I need one and what is their role
• Paid staff - do I just hire it all out, or can I mix in volunteers?
• Outsourcing - do I use this for housekeeping or build my own in-house team?
• Vendors - how do I find vendors that want to become partners with me in facility management?
• Facility Manager - at what point to I hire this person and what is their role?

 Mapping Your Facility

It is very difficult to manage what you don't now you have or where it is! Take the time and effort to map your facility. This can be used for so many tasks in facility management plus it is a key feature to consider. Mapping will also save you time and money with vendors charging you by the hour for their services. Things you can map include:

Types of...

• flooring
• roofing
• square footage
• HVAC
• gas or electric
  

Location of...

• breaker panels
• shut off valves
• fire extinguishers
• thermostats
• mop sinks

How many...

• sinks
• toilets
• soap and paper dispensers
• acres
• vehicles
• parking spaces
  

You get the idea! Mapping can also tell you how many people you will need for each task by knowing your facility size and what you have.

Assessing your Equipment

Take inventory of what you have on hand and the condition it is in. Keep a record on each piece taking note of when it was purchased, the cost, the age of the unit, and any repairs on it to date. Items to take inventory and assess include:

• vacuums
• buffers
• carpet extractors
• tile cleaners
• mop bucket set ups
• carts
  

Training and Skill Levels

This is so important in facility management. There are 4 keys areas to consider in training and knowing your team. 

1. Know and understand the level of skill of each staff person on your team
2. Assess the training needed for the areas that you are lacking in
3. Know where to get training like vendors and suppliers
4. Begin an ongoing training program especially for any new equipment you purchase

So, there are your four inputs for facility management that will greatly increase your output once you get started. 

Comments? Suggestions?

Back in the Saddle Again (Part 3)

On this day three years ago, God gave me a new horse to ride and the best darn rodeo to ride for you have ever seen. I have been a rider for over 25 years now and can honestly say there have been great rodeo days and some not so great rodeo days. But the past three years at this one has been fantastic. 

The best part is there are several horses here to ride that are gentle and easy going. So much so there is no reason to have reigns on the horse. They know exactly where they are headed and how to get there. Its a fun trail ride here and if you want to get out of line and run around the pasture a bit, feel free to! The rodeo master loves it when the riders do their thing and show off their riding skills. 

Another great part of this rodeo are the people that come and attend the event each week. They love to see great riders and the fine horses we have. You can hear them chant "Ride em Cowboy" and "Yeehaw" over and over edging the riders on to be the best they can be. Horse riding and rodeo stuff can be hard and challenging. I mean we work hard and get things done and pretty much get exhausted by the end of a day. The rodeo master at this rodeo makes it fun and exciting and rides right there along side of you and most the time still riding when your done for the day. The rodeo hands are so cool and just love to help out. When we have a rodeo event its all hands on deck and everyone chips in and gets it done, no problem.

Well, it s a great feeling to wake up early and you can't wait to get to the arena to see what is going on. I'm a seasoned rider but still got a lot of years in me and this is the place for me. Its a busy place and so much happening but you just can't wait to get there. Yep! There are good rodeo days here and have been for the three years I have been riding here. Put on some boots and jeans and come on out. Wear your hat if you like! Come on out and see the show, sit back and enjoy some fancy riding, and see some awesome horses. While your here, get to know the rodeo hands too. 

Ride em' cowboy!

Better than Granola

Everyone needs kudos! It adds value and worth to the person and is generally accepted as a step above praise. In the 19th century, kudos entered English as a singular noun, a transliteration of a Greek singular noun kŷdos meaning “praise or renown.” It was at first used largely in academic circles, but it gained wider currency in the 1920s in journalistic use, particularly in headlines.

Back in 1986, Mars, Inc. created a granola crunch bar called Kudos. Their marketing tag line was “Kudos, I’m yours”. Today it is still one of the most popular health bars on the market. The name resonated with people.

In many American cultures, the verbal act of giving praise to others is a dying art and not used much. Who doesn’t want praise and value and worth? The word Kudos has many relatives. Words like applause, renown, acclaim, compliment, fame, flattery, credit, regard, distinction, prominence, honor, glory, and accolade are just a few meanings that kudos represents.

“It is work to remember to give kudos to others”, says a church business leader. But if we fail to maintain this verbal act of regard, we will lose the full aspect of the very culture we are trying so hard to create. Kudos can be given in business settings, church settings, marriages, relationships, friendships, and wherever you have a desire to puff another person up.

Whatever word base you use to acknowledge another person, try using kudos next time. Even better, just choose a word and use it often in multiple cultures and watch what happens. In fact, watch what happens to the other person as you give kudos. Their attitude will change, their performance will increase, their countenance improves, their value goes up, and they walk different with their head high.

The fun part about kudos is it represents so many words in just one word, you just can’t go wrong with kudos. Look around today and I guarantee you will find a place to use the word. As you go through your day, make it a habit to give kudos to someone at least once a day. You will be amazed at the difference it makes in culture.

Thought? Comments?

Church Growth Sales Analogy

Disclaimer: I am not a church growth specialist or strategist. However, I firmly believe churches can benefit from this analogy from business sales.

Whether you are creating growth strategies for your your church or for a business, there are similarities that can be useful in both. I grew up in sales! From the day I got my driver’s license I went to work in a family owned business selling auto parts. I stayed in that career for 24 years selling in both retail and wholesale markets. During my career, I was both self- employed and worked for other large companies. Early in my sales career, I was taught from day one that sales were driven by customer service. You could have the best price and the best product but if you fail in customer experience, you did not grow. 

During my last years in sales before making the transition into full time ministry, I worked for a large auto parts wholesaler. At the time, we were the # 2 sales volume auto parts wholesaler in the Dallas / Fort Worth area and growing fast. Each year we increased sales and pushed our way into becoming a leader in the industry. I was the Fort Worth District Sales manager then. The owner of the company was in my opinion the smartest businessman I had ever worked for. Add together his keen business sense with the level of customer service we provided, and the company grew quick in sales.

So, how does all that relate to church growth? It's very similar. Before we move to that analogy, first, you need to understand this. There are three key components to business growth, assuming you already have a great product and a great price. Current customers already buying, new customers, and making sure you are ready for the growth. Each month I monitored my current customer list on how much they purchased. I made goals to move each customer up the ranks in dollar amounts. Those buying $500 a month were worked to $1000 a month. Those buying $3000 were worked to $5000 a month and so on. In addition to that I would cold call finding new customers to add to my list moving them to $500 a month as fast as I could.

 I learned that customers buying zero eventually dropped off. But once they hit the $500 mark, they stayed and grew to larger customers.

It was a combination of working current customers and new customers at the same time that gave me growth. However, what we did before implementing that strategy was a key part to success. We had to make sure all our locations (we had 7) were fully stocked and staffed and ready for the extra business we hoped to get.

So, how does all this relate to church growth? I am glad you asked. It is very similar. The church has current members already attending but maybe they only attend and serve once or twice a month. To grow your church, you would need them to attend and serve and give every week. Then you have those in your community that are believers but do not attend church anywhere. You also have those that are not believers that don’t attend church anywhere. There is your market, so to speak, in church work. The church is called to go and make disciples and tell the Good News. You must work your members and cold call at the same time. You know what I mean!

Remember the pre-growth strategy? Just like a business must be ready for growth or they might miss it, a church must be ready for growth or it might miss it. Are you staffed and ready? Is your campus and facility ready? Do you have the right programs in place? Do you have the space you need for growth? Do you have enough leaders in place to grow? You get the point. First, be ready and prepared for growth and then think for growth. 

 

If you are a church with 500 in attendance and want to grow to 1000, then think and operate like a church of 1000, even before you are there.

 

As I stated earlier, I am not a church growth specialist. However, I believe that church growth has a lot of similarities to growing a business and can be applied to a church. I believe the key is balance. A church must balance working current members for growth and retention, look for new members, be ready for growth and ensure that customer service is alive and well. What would happen if new members came but they had a bad customer service experience? Or the campus was not ready? Or you spent all your time on new members and current ones left? Or you spent all your time on current members and never reached new members. You would not grow. 

Comments? Suggestions? Thoughts?