Introducing the Unstuck Group

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

I’m pleased to announce the launch of the Unstuck Group! Founded by Tony Morgan, the Unstuck Group is made up of an incredible team of experienced ministry leaders from around the nation. This team knows how to help churches implement the strategies and take the correct actions to move from where they are to where God wants them to be! Below are some of the consulting services that we provide.

Assessment: Complete a comprehensive assessment of your ministry and identify opportunities for next steps.

Strategy: Clarify your mission, vision, and core strategies—and then realize it through prioritized action initiatives.

Structure: Determine the best organizational structure for future growth and get the right people in the right roles.

Communications: Review communications systems, staffing, website, graphic design, branding, social media, and messaging to develop a communications strategy.

Creative Arts: Evaluate your creative arts structure, series planning, and service programming then design strategies for improved service experiences.

Speaking: We’re available to speak at your conference, leadership or staff gathering on a variety of leadership and ministry topics.

At the Unstuck Group we don’t just offer consulting solutions. We help churches get unstuck! Ready to move forward? Our team is ready to help you have a bigger impact. We’d like to get to know you, talk through options and design solutions that work for you. Let’s start the conversation. Follow this link to get started today!

Posted in Leadership

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Is Your Church Average?

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Over the last couple of years at The Unstuck Group we’ve been paying attention to and collecting data from the churches that we consult with. One of the key questions we were interested in has to do with serving. We wanted to find out how many people are volunteering in one of the church’s ministries either inside or outside the walls of the church. Here’s what we’ve discovered:

As you can see from the whiteboard the average church engages 45% of its adult and student population in some sort of serving role. But here’s the question. Understanding that volunteering is directly connected to discipleship and spiritual growth, are you content with average? Here’s another tough question: Do you even know if your church is average? I want your church to take ground and be above average when it comes to mobilizing volunteers. That’s why I want you to know about a FREE online event hosted by my friend Tony Morgan that will help you build a stronger culture of volunteering at your church. You’ll hear from these great nationally known church leaders:

Chris Hodges – How to consistently attract new volunteer.

Perry Noble – How to create eliminate burnout in your volunteers.

Reggie Joiner – How to engage students in volunteerism

Derwin Gray – How to turn volunteers into leaders

Wayne Cordeiro – How to create healthy volunteers

The event is on October 29 at 1pm EDT. So time is running out to register you and your team so follow this link to register for this FREE online event today! Don’t miss it!

Posted in Volunteers

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Five Reasons People don’t Volunteer at Your Church

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Do you need more preschool workers to serve children? Do you need more greeters to greet? Do you need more ushers to…ush?

If so, you’re in familiar territory.

I’ve never met a church that said, “You know…when it comes to volunteers, we’re good. We’ve got plenty. In fact, there’s a waiting list for the nursery.” Churches everywhere need to mobilize more volunteers to get ministry done. But before you start signing people up and filling slots, it might be helpful to take a look at why people are NOT volunteering.

Here are FIVE REASONS people might not be volunteering at your church.

1. You’re not asking correctly. It takes more than blurbs in the bulletin and pleas from the pulpit to move people into volunteer positions in your church. If you want people to serve, you’ve got to learn how to ask correctly.

2. It’s hard to sign up. Signing up has to be simple and immediate. Hidden tables in the lobby don’t work. Remembering to email so-and-so isn’t a good strategy.

3. It’s not clear. If you want people to do a job, they need to clearly understand the expectations and requirements. Pull back the veil and show people what’s it like before you ask them to get involved.

4. You’re not saying thanks. People don’t want to toil away in a thankless role. Just because someone’s reward is in heaven doesn’t mean they don’t need to hear “thank you” on earth.

5. It’s too hard. The super-committed will do whatever it takes, but if you want to mobilize a bunch of people, you need to make it easier. Take care of their kids, provide food, and make sure they have everything they need to succeed. A little planning on the front end goes a long way.

To learn how to build a larger volunteer base, I’d like to invite you and your team to sign up for the FREE ONLINE ‘Get More Volunteers’ Event.

Posted in Volunteers

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Does Your Church Need More Volunteers?

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

The best churches don’t hire ministers to DO all of the ministry; they equip and inspire volunteers and leaders to get ministry done. Check out this quote from Wayne Corderio.

“I’m convinced that the influence of a church has on its community will be determined in large part not by the personality of the pastor, the size of its building or how long the ministry has worked in the community. It will be determined instead by the percentage of involvement in the ministry of each member. This marks the transition from attendance to ownership, from being consumers to contributors.”

You may be a gifted speaker. Your church may have a beautiful building. Your team may lead large ministries. But without healthy volunteers, your church will struggle and you will be stressed. You’ve got to decide…will your church be led by a small band of superheroes or a large army of servants? The best churches don’t hire ministers to do all of the work. They mobilize volunteers and leaders to make ministry happen.

This is why I want to introduce you to Get More Volunteers

Whether you’re a seasoned pastor or brand new to the ministry, you can learn what’s working to attract new volunteers to your church and lay the foundation for a healthy volunteer ministry. This online event is designed to help you attract new volunteers to existing positions, mobilize more people for ministry, and sign up people quick.

My friend Tony Morgan and the team at The Rocket Company interviewed five leading pastors and will give you the latest ideas and the best strategies for bringing new volunteers into ministry roles in your church.

Here are 5 compelling reasons you should sign up to watch Get More Volunteers 2013.

#1: It’s Fully Online

No travel required! I know you’re busy and your time is valuable. Gather your team around a computer or watch from your office.

#2: It’s Free

Not only are there no travel costs, the event itself is totally free. You’ll have access to all of this great content without having to spend a penny. Finance Teams rejoice!

#3: Fresh Ideas

You’ll hear from leading pastors and learn what they do in their churches to mobilize volunteers. This isn’t inspiration….it is practical help and new ideas to help your church.

#4: Respected Pastors and Speakers

My friend Tony Morgan is hosting the event, and along the way you’ll hear from Perry Noble, Chris Hodges, Wayne Corderio, Reggie Joiner and Derwin Gray. Each of these leaders knows how to lead volunteers.

#5: Rave Reviews

Thousands of church leaders around the world have completed free training events with the Rocket Company. They have trended on Twitter and been turned into eBooks.

Follow this link to register you and your team today!

Posted in Volunteers

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A Leadership Conversation with Tony Morgan

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Recently Sun Valley, the church I serve at, brought in Tony Morgan the Founder and Chief Strategic Officer of The UnStuck Group, to do some Leadership Training with the team. He spent time with our Executive Team, our Board and then he spoke at our monthly Staff Training that we do with Staff from all three of our campuses. Here are some of the take aways from the conversations that have broader implications for pastors and church leaders:

It’s possible to be doing the work of God, but not doing the work that God has called us to do (see Acts & the food distribution v. preaching God’s Word and prayer etc.) – when they got focused on what they were supposed to be doing the Gospel took ground and the church had a bigger impact
Church Leaders have a tendency to hold on to too much for too long (i.e. Moses & Jethro)
Leaders need to help people think about outcomes rather than execution
Span of care issues: do I know what people on my team are celebrating in their lives, challenges in their lives,
You know you’re managing too many people: when you can get the tasks done but don’t have time to focus on the discipleship, development, and knowing the team
Young leaders don’t learn to lead by reading books and going to conferences. They learn to lead by leading.
Delegation is telling people what to do every step of the way and then having them report back after each step for the next step. For people who want to serve, delegation is a good approach.
People who are wired for leadership…if all you ever do is delegate tasks you’ll lose them because they need to be empowered to pick the route to the destination from point A to point B.
- You can empower when you have clear boundaries (mission, vision, values, strategies, expectations, etc.)
- The clearer you are on the boundaries and the outcomes the easier it is empower people
Leaders don’t respond to platform pleas to serve but a personal ask and a personal challenge connected to the overall vision
We aren’t equipping people to do our work, we’re equipping people to do God’s work
If you’re waiting for you boss to help you go to the next level you’re probably not a next level leader because leaders initiate their own growth
“I wasn’t there to be their boss. I was there to help the players get better.” Tony Dungy, former coach Indianapolis Colts
With larger churches the person leading the Creative Arts area is not creative, they’re a leader/manager keeping the process moving forward. They understand/can relate to the artists but aren’t an artist. They’re primary role is to equip and lead the team.
3 Areas that Growing Churches have the Potential to Derail:
- #1 The Health of the Leadership Team
- #2 The larger you get the more focused you have to get (strategy, programming, communications)
- #3 Money – generosity/stewardship, funding the ministry
As the church grows the role of the Board needs to shift to freeing the staff to lead and live out the vision
Boards get into trouble when they start getting into the strategy, decision making & execution side of things
How do you know you’re ready for the next site (multi-site)?
- #1 Intentional Leadership Development Strategy: who is the next campus pastor, children’s pastor, worship pastor, etc.
- #2 Reproducible Systems: Written down systems, core strategies, processes and best practices