The Time of My Life

I have been having the “Time of My Life” visiting churches this summer.  Everywhere I go, churches are asking for a “change of culture”.  They want to educate and create something new in the church.  I read an article by Jim Hoffman about the Steps for Putting Good Ideas into Action.  Jim is a pastor in the Missouri Conference. He says the problem is that a good idea alone cannot solve a problem. It must be put into action.  The crisis we have in the church today is not a lack of inspired ideas but rather a crisis of execution.

Rev. Hoffman says the five steps are:

1. Identify the challenge
2. Develop options
3. Decide on the best alternative
4. Prototype
5. Test

He says if you’re thinking about a second worship service, why not try it four Sundays in Advent.  If you’re thinking about adding a contemporary service, get some folks to visit several different kinds of churches that have contemporary services.  If you’re considering a new way of asking for stewardship pledges, why not try it first with the church leadership?

Church after church that we visit wants us to tell them how to create a new culture.  The most common question is how to do we get our folks to give more?  Our answer at the Foundation is very simple – be transparent and communicate!  Most people give to what they believe in. If our congregations knew what  their offerings go for, they would give more.  We way to often are afraid to talk about money when we should be truth tellers and share with our congregations what our money is being used for.

Look at Rev. Hoffman’s Five steps and put them into action and don’t be afraid to try something new!  Try something new at your church.  Have a Mission Moment every Sunday in church.  Explain the debt that the church has and explore ways to get rid of that debt.  Tell church members how they can invest and receive interest and then use that interest to liquidate a debt. Share with people how they can establish Endowment Funds and how they can help their children and grandchildren by investing in the future.

Have the “Time of Your Life” with me as we change our churches to mission centers for the future.  Think ahead and “Try Something New”. Let’s change the culture of the church together!

If you would like help exploring this, please reach out to:

Tommy Herndon – 804-521-1157

Randy Shelton – 804-521-1151

Ted Soto – 804-521-1122