![]() |
|||||||
KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL MISSIONS CONVENTION 1. Pastor's involvement is Key to congregation buy in. There is a trend among larger churches to have a mission's pastor to help relieve the load upon the Senior Pastor from mission's related activities. The Missions Pastor is typically the one designing and coordinating the Missions Convention. This often results in well-organized Conventions. But there is a tendency for the Senior Pastor to not be as involved. This can inadvertently result in a negative subliminal message communicated to the staff and congregation. A person commits his time and energy to that which he thinks is important. People respond to passion and excitement. It will be the pastor's responsibility to communicate this with both his words and actions. If the Senior Pastor treats the Missions Convention as something he is slipping into his schedule, then the entire staff and their departments will also do so. This will result in scheduling conflict as the staff books activities towards departmental ministry goals as opposed to the global importance of Missions. Little things speak loudly. 2. Entire staff involvement. Mobilization of every ministry into a Missions focus will assure that the church's core becomes focused. It will be the church core that carries the bulk of the financial investment into your Missions Ministry. Assign an aspect of the missions convention to every staff member. Activities in all ministries must focus on missions. Nothing else happens during missions week that would be a distraction. Encourage your staff and praise and worship plus the choir to wear costumes. 3. Entire volunteer staff involvement. 4. Total church mobilization and coordination. This can be accomplished through a number of Convention activities such as planning for a banquet, ladies tea, and a loose coin march. The Missions Convention Theme should be integrated into all departments so that the entire church is speaking with one voice. 5. Managing Expectations. A Missions Convention that concludes with only half of the Promises raised will seem like a failure. No one wants to participate in something that fails. Instead of rejoicing over the money they have raised, they mourn over the money that was not committed. Setting goals that are reasonable and attainable sets the congregation up for success which can lead to incredible times of praise and thanksgiving. Success one year leads to greater success the following year. With God all things are possible. Participation Level Advertising agencies understand that people typically do not respond to a single ad just a few days before an event or sale. Rather, the most well attended events and sales are those that are preceded by an ad campaign. An effective Missions program must be part of the DNA of the Pastor and church. Monthly emphasis keeps Missions before the congregation. A complete ad campaign, beginning 3 months out, and then accelerating in the weeks up to the Convention will build excitement and participation. Poor planning, poor advertising, lack of church wide focus, etc., will result is poor buy-in and participation. Faith Promises What is a reasonable expectation for the number of people participating in Faith Promises? Cash Offerings What is a reasonable expectation? Missions Conventions 1. Goals 2. Keys There is a direct correlation between doing and giving. Individuals who have been set in motion doing something find it easier to give than those who are sitting back. It takes much more energy to get those at rest moving than those who are already moving to be moved towards giving. Get the congregation involved in mission activities related to the Missions Convention. Include plans that will involve children, youth, and seniors. Involving children and youth will always also end up engaging their parents as well. This multi-prong approach will increase energy and passion within the Missions program. Seniors are a great untapped resource waiting to be mobilized. Be proactive and include them in the planning and implementation of your Missions vision. Incremental Giving Begin small and work your way up. Instead, challenge everyone with something they all can do. A person will say to themselves, "I can do that." Then the Holy Spirit will challenge them by speaking to their hearts saying, "Yes, but you can do more!" At this point they will almost always step up to a higher level of commitment than what they initially felt comfortable with.
|
RESOURCES
|
||||||
Copyright 2014 All rights reserved. |