Have you ever tried to learn a new game? You fumble around with the directions. You look back at the box. Then you just decide to play a round with your cards face up so everyone can see how the game is played.
In basketball, the winner is determined by how many times your ball goes in the hoop versus your opponent. Theoretically, more baskets made the higher the points. Football is the same way, the more times you are able to place your pigskin in your opponents end-zone should garner you the winning score.
What about our churches? Is their an end-zone that determines if we are ‘winning’?
This can be especially frustrating when a church wants to know if they are making a deep impact or winning in their local and global missions? Here are three ways your church is most likely missing the mark in finding success in your local and global missions.
No Benchmark
As you just read, football and basketball all have a benchmark that determines if a team is winning or not. A benchmark is a tool that is used to allow your team or staff see how far off center they are when it comes to achieving the mission and vision of the church. The benchmark for your church is absolutely unique to your church family. There is not a one size fits all benchmark that can be evenly distributed across every church.
To set a benchmark for your staff, board, or missions team involves answering 20 simple questions. These questions are designed to give you a specific number to see how your team is measuring up against an “Ideal” team scenario. Having a benchmark allows each team leader to have a target as to what to accomplish next. Not having the red bullseye in the middle of a dartboard can make the chances of winning much harder.
Setting a benchmark for your team tells you how far off center you are. This allows your team to have a visual picture of what their next step is to hit their goal.
Lack of Communication
This one seems like low hanging fruit however its a constant reminder that we all need to hear. If you are a staff member at a church, you are eating, sleeping and breathing all things church related. You have talked till you are blue in the face in staff meetings, departmental meetings, and have given weekly elders reports. Oftentimes, we forget to communicate to our volunteers the vital information that they need.
Does your team need to prepare to make a decision when they come to the meeting? If so, how are you giving them everything they need before the meeting to come in ready to make that decision? What about after the meeting? Who needs to know what decisions were made?
Falling short in this skill of communication will cause you much frustration when you feel like everyone is not prepared. They may actually not be prepared, buts it is probably because you didn’t communicate well enough for them to know what you needed them to do.
Not Enough On-Ramps
When you are setting out on a long road trip, there are many on and off-ramps for you to use in order to get onto the interstate. These on-ramps afford you a clear protected path into the traffic on the interstate. You are given a long stretch of road to come up to speed before you merge into traffic with everyone else.
Your church should have on-ramps for your people to enter into service. What are the entry points in your interstate of compassionate service that people use? By adding more entry level volunteer positions and a strategy of progressing your volunteers up to higher responsibility positions will give you a successful way of moving your people into service.
Is your church missing its missions mark? We would love to help in any way we can. At Seats to Streets Church Coaching, we focus on equipping you with the tools you need to move your people from Sunday morning seats to Local and Global streets!
Want us to bring our Benchmark Training to your team? This will allow your team to have a visual goal as to how well they are achieving their goals now, and what to shoot for in the future. Click the Let’s Connect tab in the upper right hand side of the page and let’s get started together!
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