The Business of Ministry
Had a 3 hour meeting with our Executive Leadership Team last night and a 4 hour meeting with our Stewardship Team today!
I feel like one of my roles as lead pastor is to keep us focused on the mission of making disciples. I want to make sure that we don't stop doing what got us here! I've seen too many churches get side-tracked and become more consumed with committee meetings than the Great Commission.
Having said that, I actually enjoy the business side of ministry. I love the different hats I wear as pastor. My primary ministry hats are preacher, counselor, and vision caster. But pastors wear a variety of business hats--pastors have to be part real estate agent, financial advisor, insurance agent, lawyer, and CEO.
The key is remembering that the goal of ministry is ministry! Things like staffing structure and insurance policies and budgets and bylaws are means to an end. But I do think the Holy Spirit wants to anoint our financial decisions as much as He wants to anoint our sermons! Business decisions are spiritual decisions!
I continue to marvel at God's faithfulness and the faithful giving of NCCers. Right now we're on pace for 27% growth in giving from 05 to 06. I don't take that for granted. When I see our financial reports they are spiritual moments for me. And I'm so grateful for our Stewardship Team! We've come a long way. We didn't even operate on a budget five years ago! Sure seems like the bigger our vision the greater God's pro-vision!
Right around Thanksgiving time every year I go into strategy mode! I start thinking about sermon strategy, marketing strategy, staffing strategy, and development strategy for the next year. And the rest of our staff starts developing their ministry strategy--things like outreach strategy and discipleship strategy. We'll do a planning retreat the first week of December where we'll regroup, reprioritize, and reimagine the future of NCC. And because NCC is morphing so much right now we're actually hiring an outside consultant for the first time. I just feel like we need someone from the outside to give us a little insight.
I think 06 has been our greatest year yet! The convergence of so many dreams and callings! Everything from opening the doors to our coffeehouse on Capitol Hill to hosting our first Buzz Conference to launching two Saturday night services to our most successful semester of small groups this fall.
It just feels like we're hitting on all eight cylinders right now and I can't wait to see how that translates in 2007! Pretty fired up about launching NCC en Espanol and our next theater location in NW DC.
Definitely seeking God for lots of wisdom right now!
I feel like one of my roles as lead pastor is to keep us focused on the mission of making disciples. I want to make sure that we don't stop doing what got us here! I've seen too many churches get side-tracked and become more consumed with committee meetings than the Great Commission.
Having said that, I actually enjoy the business side of ministry. I love the different hats I wear as pastor. My primary ministry hats are preacher, counselor, and vision caster. But pastors wear a variety of business hats--pastors have to be part real estate agent, financial advisor, insurance agent, lawyer, and CEO.
The key is remembering that the goal of ministry is ministry! Things like staffing structure and insurance policies and budgets and bylaws are means to an end. But I do think the Holy Spirit wants to anoint our financial decisions as much as He wants to anoint our sermons! Business decisions are spiritual decisions!
I continue to marvel at God's faithfulness and the faithful giving of NCCers. Right now we're on pace for 27% growth in giving from 05 to 06. I don't take that for granted. When I see our financial reports they are spiritual moments for me. And I'm so grateful for our Stewardship Team! We've come a long way. We didn't even operate on a budget five years ago! Sure seems like the bigger our vision the greater God's pro-vision!
Right around Thanksgiving time every year I go into strategy mode! I start thinking about sermon strategy, marketing strategy, staffing strategy, and development strategy for the next year. And the rest of our staff starts developing their ministry strategy--things like outreach strategy and discipleship strategy. We'll do a planning retreat the first week of December where we'll regroup, reprioritize, and reimagine the future of NCC. And because NCC is morphing so much right now we're actually hiring an outside consultant for the first time. I just feel like we need someone from the outside to give us a little insight.
I think 06 has been our greatest year yet! The convergence of so many dreams and callings! Everything from opening the doors to our coffeehouse on Capitol Hill to hosting our first Buzz Conference to launching two Saturday night services to our most successful semester of small groups this fall.
It just feels like we're hitting on all eight cylinders right now and I can't wait to see how that translates in 2007! Pretty fired up about launching NCC en Espanol and our next theater location in NW DC.
Definitely seeking God for lots of wisdom right now!
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home