Caroline Bergeron

Planning Your Next Step Part Three

Planning Your Next Step Part three is a reflective and responsive blog post.

Reflect 

Look at your upcoming yearly calendar.  How healthy is it?  Have you planned vacation, family and rest time?  Why have you or haven’t you taken the time for these important things.

Reflect on your ministry.  What are you passionate about?

Reflect on a time when someone dumped a task on you?  How did you feel?  Do you tend to dump tasks on people or do you delegate wisely?

In your ministry and personal life, a lack of clarity leads to confusion.  Reflect on different aspects you need to clarify the expectations.  E.g. you might think you need to provide a choir throughout the year, but it may not be a priority for your senior pastor.  Knowing this will help you prioritize your time and energy.

Respond

1 – Take your calendar and mark all important dates from the category covered.  Highlight each category with a different color.  Then highlight the dates and events you need to be involved in.  Choose another colour to highlight dates/events that will play a role in your event planning (church or community event at large).

2 – Make a SWOT analysis for one of your goals, covering the strengths, weaknesses, obstacles and threats.  For each factor match an action point and identify who could be responsible for this task.

3 – Make a list of the things in your ministry that you enjoy doing the most.

4 – Make a list of what you need to do.  You might need to clarify your senior pastor’s expectation of what he thinks is the non-negotiable of your role.  You can ask him these questions:

- When do I need to work in the office?

- What are the three most important things that need attention?  What are the non-negotiable “to do’s”?

- What programs need to be delivered?  What is the purpose and target group of each program?

- Which other committees, programs or events should I participate in?  What is my involvement in the life of the church?  What new initiatives am I asked to lead?

5 – Make a list of tasks you can delegate, and list the resources that volunteers will need to carry out that ministry well.

Planning Your Next Step Part Two

Here is part two from Caroline Bergeron on “Planning Your Next Step.”

SWOT Analysis

1. Strengths and weaknesses

Here you can list all the potentially positive internal factors.  It is called internal because it depends on the actual ministry reality.  When developing Strengths and Weaknesses, it is important to look at the church/ministry honestly, rather than being too modest or overly critical.  Seek a balance between the number of strengths and weaknesses identified.  While identifying your strengths, ask yourself these questions:

• What are we doing well?
• What areas of our church/ministry are healthy?
• What would someone who sees several churches like ours point out as being distinctive (either positive or negative) about our church?
• What resources can we call upon?  How does this compare to our needs?

• What factors could reduce our effectiveness?

2. Opportunities and Threats

The Opportunities and Threats are called external factors because they are mainly gathered from looking beyond the boundaries of the church/ministry.  To identify the opportunities, reflect on what community-based needs could be met by our church’s strengths and resources.

To identify the threats, reflect on things that are out of your control and could affect your event/program, like the weather or conflicting dates for example.  Also reflect on what is changing in the community or society that will impact us in the future. These are things you need to be aware of.

Seeing potential problems before they happen, and finding creative ways to solve them, are two of the best ways to run a smooth event; or to make a considerable transition in your ministry.

3. Think creatively

The aim of the SWOT analysis is to identify the key factors that will impact the church’s ability to achieve its purpose and vision.  For focus’ sake, it is probably best to limit the SWOT analysis to no more than 10 factors for each of the four elements.

As you make your SWOT analysis, make sure to match action points for each factor of the different categories.  Use action words to help you set clear guidelines. The goal is to help you build your Strengths, Reverse (or disguise) your Weaknesses, Maximize the response to the Opportunities, and Overcome the Threats.  Take a look at the example provided on the next page.

DELEGATE WISELY

Place your different action steps into three different categories.

1. What do you love to do?  Think about the things that fuel your life and ministry.  Plan to do some of the things you are most passionate about.

2. What are you not good at? None of us can do it all well.  The sooner you understand this, the better it will be.  Recognize your limits.

3. What do you need to do?

Some things are yours to do, like it or not.   You just can’t get around it.  This may be communicating your vision for the ministry, planning the budget, recruiting volunteers, implementing policies or dealing with conflict.  Remember, to have the credibility of your team and senior leadership, you must take responsibility for what is yours to do.  I recommend that you clarify the ‘non-negotiables’ of your position with your senior pastor.  He should clearly explain his expectations.  If you need to do something you are not good at, find a mentor who can coach you in this area.

4. What can you delegate?  Who would love this ministry?

There’s no place in God’s kingdom for control freaks.  You need to let go of some things and delegate them wisely.  Resist the tendency to simply dump tasks on people.  Merriam Webster describes the verb ‘dumping’ as to let fall in or as if in a heap or mass, to get rid of irresponsibly.  Have you ever had a task dumped on you?  Have you ever dumped a project on someone else?  God is calling us to be leaders who wisely delegate, which means according to Merriam Webster, to entrust, to appoint as one’s representative or to delegate authority.

One way you can delegate wisely is to ask yourself, “What will that person need to do a great job?”  You see, the difference between dumping and delegating is in the empowerment.  When you ask someone to join the team to fulfill a specific role or do a specific task, you need to give them the tools.  This can be providing a clear job description, training or coaching.  This may also include the resources they need to successfully accomplish the task, such as material.  We will look at this in more detail in Module 4 on Volunteer Management.

Planning Your Next Step Part Three will be posted next week. Be prepared to reflect and respond to this teaching.

Planning Your Next Step Part One

In the next two blog posts Caroline has written some wonderful leadership training to help you begin 2012 with the best foot forward.

Do you ever feel like you’re running out of time?  You may feel that you don’t have the time to do the laundry, attend parent/teacher meetings, visit the kids in your ministry or take a vacation.  Time is flying by and our to-do list remains the same but think about this; each year God gives us a gift of 365 days.  Each day is filled with 24 hours or 1440 minutes, to be more precise.  In His great wisdom, God designed this to be enough for us to accomplish everything He asks us to do, including time for delighting in Him and our loved ones.  The question isn’t whether or not we have enough time, it is, “Am I being wise and intentional in the way I steward my time and energy?”  Am I spreading myself too thin in things that have the least impact and reward?  The truth is that God gave you the gift of enough time for all of the things He asks of you.  Are you doing what He’s asking you to do?  These posts will equip you to become a better steward of your time and energy by giving you tools to plan a healthy calendar, do strategic assessment through the SWOT analysis, and delegate wisely.  Remember that God gives you all that you need, including time, energy and creativity, so let’s make the best of it!

Plan a Healthy Yearly Calendar

1. Book family and refreshing time first

The first things that should go onto your yearly calendar are family and refreshing times.  Mark dates that are important to your family such as anniversaries, birthdays, vacations, kids’ recitals, time with extended family, etc.  Unless you set these times apart for the ones you love, you will end up neglecting those who matter most to you.  My husband and I don’t go out on Valentine’s Day; it’s just too hard to find a babysitter, but we do plan a date two-three days after and it works great for us.  Do what works best for your family and you.

With the same color, block off dates in your calendar for personal refreshing such as retreats, conferences, seminars and classes, time to seek the Lord, fasting, etc.  These times will allow you to refocus on being who God is calling you to be and do what He is calling you to do.  It must be your first priority.

2. List important work or church-related dates

Take another color highlighter and mark the dates that relate to work, church, your ministry and the community.  Is there a time when your work is filled with deadlines and is more demanding on you and your family?  Log it on your calendar.  Any church event such as a picnic, Easter production or concert you need to attend? Put it on your calendar.  What about your normal events in the children’s ministry department, like VBS, September kick-off and Christmas productions?  Put it on your calendar.  One thing that is very helpful is to mark down important dates in your community, such as March break, long weekends, city festival and neighborhood BBQs.  As a pastor in Victoria, BC, one of the highlights of my year was the Victoria Day parade, one of the biggest parades in Canada. We had such a great opportunity to get our kids onto our dynamic and well decorated float to promote our upcoming VBS.  Choose a color and highlight dates and events you need to be involved in.  Choose another color to mark dates and events that will play a role in your event planning.

3. Look at your calendar

Look at your calendar as a whole.  Consider family/personal life, work, church as a whole and your personal ministry.  Then, think about the goals and projects that God is putting on your heart.  Reflect on the amount of time you will need to prepare, promote, gather material, recruit volunteers, etc.  Then pray about when this event would be the timeliest in your life as a whole.  Remember, my goal through this reflection is to assure your longevity and fruitfulness in ministry.  Sometimes, the healthiest thing you can do is to wait for the right time.

Now, is there any platform you can use to promote your event/ministry?  I’ve used our involvement in the parade to promote our upcoming VBS.  What are the opportunities from your church and community you can benefit from to let the word out about your new initiative?

Part two of “Planning Your Next Step” will be posted next week.

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Is it Time to Get Wet ? Part 2.

Continued from Is it time to get wet? Part 1….

How can we prepare children for baptism?

Traditional churches, such as Anglican and Lutheran, have creeds that their members memorize.  A creed is a statement of beliefs that answers the simple question, “What do I believe in?” It outlines the fundamental doctrines upheld by ones church denomination.  The Apostles’ Creed is one example of a historical statement of beliefs.

Many churches require that each child desiring to be baptised attend a special class accompanied by their parents. In that class, each candidate is taught the plan of salvation, basic christian doctrines and the meaning of water baptism.  At the conclusion of the class, each child should be able to answer simple questions about salvation and baptism, and be able to articulate a basic declaration of faith.

On the day of this special event, people are often asked to share a portion of their testimony. This task can easily be overwhelming for a child, but your help and a few simple guidelines can make it much easier.  A couple of key principles: write the information down, and keep answers short and concise.  And, remind the child that this is about what God has done – it’s not about the child.

Here is an example guideline you could use:

• Who I am: name and age
• When and how I heard about Christ: Tell us about how you came to know about Jesus. You might have heard about Jesus in kid’s church, or from your parents. Maybe you went to a camp, or a friend told you about God.
• When and how I started my friendship with Jesus:  How did you make this decision? Was there anyone (friend, parent, or a teacher) with you?  Did anyone help you pray? How did you feel after?
• Now that I have Jesus in my life: Share how you feel about having Jesus as your friend.  What is your life like now?  What does Jesus teach you? Tell us one exciting truth you have learned about Him.
• Why I want to be baptized: Explain why you want to be baptized.

Parental Consent

It is vital to have parental consent before walking a child through the sacrament of baptism. If the child is from an un-churched family, the children’s ministry leader must contact the parents or guardians to inform them of their child’s desire to be baptized.  The leader must take the time to explain to them the meaning of this ceremony.  We recommend that you obtain written permission before baptizing the child.  In the event that the parents or guardians refuse, it is recommended that you abstain from baptizing the child.   Encourage that child to continue growing, learning, and following; and talk about when it would be appropriate for them to take that step as you counsel them to honour their parents.

If the child is from a believing family, parental consent should be easier to get.  Some parents, however, would rather wait for their kids to become teenagers, even adults, before they get baptized. If this is the case, try to get the parents involved in the preparation and training prior to the ceremony.  This will allow the parents to witness first hand their child’s grasp of the fundamental beliefs of Christianity.  You can also gain their support by making them part of this baptismal ceremony.  Some pastors allow parents to baptize their own children.  As children’s workers and ministers, we value the parents’ role as primary shepherds for their children.  Getting parents in the water with their children is a meaningful way to engage them in their child’s journey of faith.

Is it Time to Get Wet? Part 1.

In the next two blog posts, I will answer questions such as: what is baptism? When should a child be baptized?  How can we prepare children for baptism? What about parental consent?

What is Baptism? 

The practice of baptism didn’t start with the prophet John.  It was a common practice in the first century for religious teachers to baptize their followers. By agreeing to be baptized, the follower expressed his commitment to learn, practice and pass on the teachings of his master. The act of immersion in water was a public declaration that one was taking his relationship to the next level: from simply being a follower to becoming a dedicated student, or disciple, of a religious master.  Today, water baptism is a public declaration of one’s desire to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.  By being baptized, we are following the example of the sinless Christ who was baptized by John (Romans. 6:4, Matthew 3:13-16).

The word “baptism” means “to plunge under, dip completely, or immerse in water.” That is why most evangelical churches perform full immersion baptisms as opposed to other methods such as sprinkling of water, dabbing the forehead with water, or pouring a small amount of water over the candidate’s head.

Water baptism is a ceremony that is rich in christian symbolism.  It is a picture of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection (Colossians 2:12, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Standing in the water is a symbol of Christ on the cross; going under the water reminds us of Christ buried in the tomb, and coming out of the water is a picture of Christ being raised on the third day.  This practice also illustrates the cleansing and washing of sin operated by the Holy Spirit as a result of repentance and redemption (Acts 2:16).  Finally, it is a symbol of the new birth that Jesus speaks of in John 3:3-6.  “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (v.5).  Going under water creates a picture of the “sinful self” being put to death and coming out of the water shows the person emerging as a new creation.

It is important to clarify that baptism does not bring eternal security to anyone, nor is it essential to salvation.  In fact, salvation has to happen first – before baptism.  It is only by faith in Jesus Christ, God’s gift to us, that we can be saved (Eph. 2:8-9).

In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus commands his disciples to “go therefore and make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”  In Acts 2:38, Peter says, “repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ.”  Every person who repents of their sins and believes in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour can – and needs to be – baptized. Water baptism by full immersion is an act of obedience to the Word of God; a public declaration of our commitment to follow our master and teacher, Jesus Christ; and an outward demonstration of an inward change.

When should a child be baptized?

There is no reference in the Bible to a specific age at which children can or should be baptized. However, God does provide guidelines that we should take into consideration. A child, like any adult, must understand the gospel message; experience personal repentance; be able to articulate a basic profession of faith in Jesus Christ; and manifest a commitment to obey the Word and Spirit of God (John 14:21, Matt. 28:19).  As we consider candidates for baptism, it is fundamental that we remember the words of Jesus, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Mat. 19:14).  We must guide children with this command in mind.    Baptism should be a memorable and meaningful experience for children.  The older a child grows, the more likely he or she will look back on his or her experience with confidence that it reflected a sincere desire to follow the Lord.

Part two will be posted September 26.

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