Tuesday, November 08, 2005

New U-TURN ministry retreat

This Fall at UU PLANET Ministry and Media our focus has been on research, study and planning related to our efforts to MOVE our MOVEMENT. Now that church is well under way its time to kick some liberal religious ASSumptions!

We believe there are many assumptions underlying our UU ways that are holding us back. Our favorite definition of "EMPOWERMENT" is to remove the blocks keeping people from being successful. Our faith has some major blocks standing in the way of realizing our potential.

UU PLANET has designed a facilitated ministry retreat to explore these assymptions and to turn our ministry inside out and upside down. This program is called The U-Turn. It is focused on getting to the heart of what staff, volunteers (a.k.a. staff pay grade zero), members and those we're trying to reach care about. Think of it as an alignment for your church. Get back to the heart and move forward with determination! No more lurching from side to side, bad vibrations and complaints.

Sound exciting? It is. And we are now scheduling U-TURN ministry retreats in the New England region for this Winter and Spring. Have a scheduled staff, board, cluster, UUMA, or LREDA retreat?

Email me or call 401 855-0037 to discuss making it a U- TURN ministry retreat.

PS -- Please note that BORING and UNPRODUCTIVE leadership retreats is one of the things that led me to becoming a UU consultant/trainer. PLEASE do not subject your people to another bad retreat.

Who's On The Line?

When I call a church where I will be leading a training or am guest speaking I always note the quality of the call. Periodically the phone is answered by a staff member who is undermining the growth of the congregation one phone call at a time.

Answering a church phone is important work. People call our congregations with real needs. They don't just want the facts, they want some love! Whether they realize it or not, people judge the atmosphere of your congregation by how the phone is handled.

In addition, what they know is important. Last year I was sitting in a church waiting to guest speak on Small Group Ministry. I heard the administrative assistant say to a caller, "No, we don't have small group ministry. Sorry." Daring to be a bit rude I jumped up and called that small group ministry was the focus of the service that day and that the church was looking into launching just such a program. He had not read the congregations newsletter and was unaware of the sermon topic or the efforts of their small group ministry team.

Remember, you hired your staff.
You pay them.
Take the time to train them.

Email me for training & speaking inquiries

Your Image Online

A.k.a. - why you can't afford a crappy website.

If you are looking to grow your church, start with your website. Why there?

Because it is the easiest way to make a change and get great results. Does your website mirror the image, tone and character of your congregation? Does it communicate who you are as a community?It should. Your website is the internet extension of your congregation. Again, people make judgments on limited information. People will skip going to your church in a heartbeat if your website stinks.

If you want to grow, you can't afford to have a crappy website.

Try this. Look at your church website from the perspective of someone who has never been to a church before, doesn't know what to wear, doesn't know when the service is, what it is about, if they'll fit in, how to get there, whether you're a cult or not, and is just looking for some reason NOT to go because they are just TOO nervous and going to church is just TOO risky.

Design your site for that person and you'll get more visitors. Will you grow?

Yes, if you know how connect them to a small group or can somehow integrate them into the community.

Email me for training & speaking inquiries