Training and Conferences

Posted on July 31, 2011 Written by

Training is underrated in most church office venues. I think that most churches don’t want to spend the money on doing the training when it is incredibly beneficial. Every year I attend a national conference of my peers and I learn so much at each one even though I’ve been doing this work for over 15 years. Sometimes what I learn re-enforces what I already know, but that is a good feeling, too.

Ministers and other management staff need to go to at least one training conference a year. If for nothing else, it is good for their morale to get out of the office and to hang around peers. Usually money is budgeted for these positions so the people can go if they’ll only make it a priority. It is up to the supervisor to make the subordinate attend a conference – too many say they can’t fit it into their schedule. Everyone has excuses, just find the time to go!

Administrative Assistants (Admins) are on the low end of the totem pole and rarely are they included in a training budget. That is wrong. I work with about a dozen ladies – all of whom are very committed to their work and to the church. They are consummate professionals – very skilled at what they do and anxious to do it right, the first time.

When I came to my current church, I was told that the church database was insufficient for the church’s needs and that one of my priorities was to get new software. I had used that software for over 10 years so I knew what it could and couldn’t do. What I soon learned is that the Admins were not knowledgeable about the software. I began to remedy that immediately.

First, I brought in an expert to lead all-day classes for the ladies. We set aside time and they brought in questions. It cost me about $1,000 for the consultant and for the lunches. I probably recouped that money within three months – what the Admins learned they implemented immediately and they became more productive and efficient.

The second year, I brought in the same consultant for a half-day training session. After lunch, the consultant spent about 30 minutes in the cubicle of each person addressing her needs and concerns. The third year, I brought the consultant again. By now the ladies were pretty knowledgeable about the software and the complaints from the ministers and managers had diminished but I knew the ladies wanted to know more. This time, the consultant spent 45-60 minutes with each person – there weren’t classes for everyone, just individual sessions. After the consultant left, I met with the Admins and they drafted a series of documents to help new Admins and as “cheat-sheets” for the current Admins.

Finally, for the past several years I’ve sent at least two Admins to a national conference. These two get to spend a week out of the office in a nice hotel with company-paid meals and travel (that is a huge morale booster for them). They hang around other Admins for the week and get to know the software developers and technicians – now when the Admins call for help, they can put a face with the name. It does cost about $3,000 to do this each year but that money is recouped within six months in efficiency, effectiveness, shared knowledge with the other Admins, and morale.

A side benefit to all this is that the turnover of the Admins has been pretty low (less than the ministerial staff turnover). Every year they talk about who is going and they pretty much self-select – I don’t have to make the choices. They are a wonderful group of Admins who can now do just about anything on the software – there are no complaints about what the software can or cannot do. The Admins know it all!

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: church administration, church staff Tagged: ,

10 Ways for a Church to Have More Money, Guaranteed (part 2 – getting money)

Posted on June 24, 2011 Written by
There are two different ways for a church (or any organization) to have more money: spend less and receive more. I want to give five ideas in each category that every church should implement so they can have more money to spend on their God-given mission.
5 Ways to Make Money
  • Tell stories of how money is being used
    • The offering time is the most worst used time in a worship service. I rarely use absolutes – but this one is true. Offerings are usually filled with a prayer and special music. Boring!
    • People in the pew are dying to know how their money is being used – they have no idea what is being done with it. They’re not going to read a financial statement nor should they have to. Instead, it is your obligation to tell people how their offerings are being used.
    • Find 52 compelling stories and insert those in the offertory time. If you don’t have 52 stories, then you have really big problems. Work with the worship leader to coordinate where in the worship the offering time will fall so that the offertory and its accompanying story add synergy to the service. Insert stories that relate to the sermon, to the liturgical calendar, to the school year, to seasons of the life of a church, etc. Make the story/offering time a key element of worship, not just a way to kill three minutes.
    • Give every ministry a chance to be on the platform telling one (and only ONE) story. Tell the story about real people, real events. Give your ministries the face time with the congregation that they’ve been wanting to announce about an upcoming youth event, a mission trip, Vacation Bible School, small groups, Christmas and Easter activities, etc. This time is a “thank you” time (not an announcement time).
      • Thank you for your gifts which will enable us to send three kids to summer camp from our inner city ministry. Your money will let Sam, Sarah, and Julie spend a week in the mountains – they’ve never seen a mountain! Thank you so much for your gifts.
      • I’d like for you to see what our youth did on their summer mission trip to Boston. Because of your gifts, 23 of our kids spent a week that will change the next 60 years of their lives. Thanks! Roll it. (then comes slide show with cool music)
      • In two weeks, we’re going to launch several new small groups. We want you to be in one of these groups. If you can’t afford the book for the group, the church’s offerings will buy you a book – we feel it is that important for you to get in a group that we’re not putting up with any excuses. Heck, we’ll even pay for babysitting so you can be there. And yes, thanks to everyone’s contributions who are making this possible.
    • Is this different and will you get some flak, probably. But if you make each story compelling and have each presentation polished, you’ll begin to see results very, very quickly. Soon, the offering time will be something that people look forward to, not dread.
  • Send out statements of contribution five times a year
    • I send out statements of contribution five times: the first week after each quarter ends plus an extra one the first week of December.
      • Some churches send out statements only in January for tax purposes. Those churches see statements of contribution purely for purposes of helping members report their taxes.
      • Most churches send out statements four times a year after each quarter. Those churches are reminding people four times a year and this is a good approach.
      • A better way, without being accused of hammering the issue, is to add a fifth time the first week of December. People already feel the end of the year coming and they realize they should be more generous with their church. A first of December reminds people of how much they’ve given (or not given) to the church and provides a reminder to make a contribution. Yes, it will cost you a few hundred dollars to snail mail and email out the statements, but I guarantee you’ll get thousands of dollars you weren’t expecting.
    • As I explained in the previous post, email your statements of contribution each time so you don’t spend any money you don’t have to.
    • One other idea: ask your offering envelope service to mail envelopes once a quarter. Here’s the math: 5 statements of contribution plus 4 mailings of offering envelopes = 9 times a year that you’re subtly reminding people to give to their church. It works – try it for a year.
  • Have special offerings for specific issues a few times a year
    • Here’s a way for special offerings not to affect your undesignated gifts. During the offering time, tell the church that “On Sunday, May 16, there will be a special offering for the purpose of funding Vacation Bible School. While there is money in the budget for VBS, we need additional monies to pay for additional supplies and events that are planned. Let people know that the first $32,000 that is given will go to the regular budget but that all monies given over $32,000 will go for VBS. Thank you for your generosity for our little ones.”
    • The $32,000 needs to be whatever the treasurer feels is a regular Sunday offering – the amount that would normally come in that Sunday for basic operations. Anything above that would be gravy as far as the treasurer is concerned.
    • Then, promote that special offering for about four Sundays before the date by using the offering time to show slides of last year’s event, interviewing kids about their experience last year, etc. Take up the offering (while having kids promote this year’s VBS).
    • Any money that you get over your threshold amount will help lower your budget. If you don’t spend all you received, then you can set it aside for next year’s VBS and take up a special offering for something else.
    • Caution: you can only do one or at most two special offerings a year before you hit donor fatigue. Alternate what you do each year so there is variety and so these offerings don’t get old. Some key emotional draws are children and mission trips – these are always powerful.
  • List of capital needs – items that the budget cannot afford
    • Make a list of items that the church needs for its ministries. This should be a list that encompasses all ministry areas and which ranges from small amounts to very, very large amounts. Update that list every year by adding to it, subtracting from it, or changing items. Make the list dynamic and, very importantly, make sure this list supports the vision of the church so that no item on the list detracts from the focus on accomplishing the church’s goals.
    • Publish this list and make it available to everyone. Let people know what you would do with the proverbial “lottery jackpot” should you ever receive it. People will talk about the list in the halls and every so often, someone will approach a minister to ask for more details about an item on the list. Then, there is a good chance that this person will write a check.
    • Sometimes people will surprise you by writing a check for something that you don’t see (because you see it so often, you’re blind to how bad it is) or that is lower in your priority list. That happened to me a few months ago – an anonymous donor gave $20,000 for a specific need that we didn’t see. Fortunately, the donor also gave us the freedom to use it for something else – but we went with the donor’s original intention. I expect that later this year, when this donor gets his/her bonus, we’ll get another sizable gift because we followed the original instructions last year.
    • Another way to find money for this list is to use any left over funds at the end of a fiscal year. Sometimes churches have more money that is given than is spent. I use those funds, with the permission of the Finance Committee, to address some of the needs on the capital needs list. Since we don’t know how much money we’ll have, we select the items on the capital list after we have a figure. We tell the church how we’re going to invest their money back into God’s building and needs.
    • Some items on the list are so expensive and/or extensive, that funding these is done over several years, in phases. The trick here is to continue to do them and not quit halfway.
    • Remember: itemize, monetize, prioritize, publicize, and thank you-ize!
  • Develop a relationship with wealthy individuals
    • I addressed this in a prior post, “Robbing the Rich.” I’m not going to re-hash it here but please read it.
    • I cannot overemphasize that every church has wealthy attenders and members. The wealthy don’t have a problem talking about money – the problem in having a conversation about money lies with us, not them.
    • I encourage every pastor to develop a list of the top 25 (pick a number) of donors to the church and once or twice a year, have coffee or a meal with them. Do NOT ask for money – just be their friend.
    • I can guarantee that if you befriend them, they will see and hear your heart just as you will know theirs. At some point, they will ask you about giving money long before you are ready to ask them for it!
    • Read the post for more details.
Now, go implement 2, 3, 4 or even 5 of these ideas. If you want more details about them, email me: steveplaw@gmail.com and we’ll talk. I guarantee you’ll get results!
Lead On!
Steve
Filed Under: church administration, church finances, church financial statements, planning, strategy Tagged: , , , ,

10 Ways for a Church to Have More Money, Guaranteed (part 1 – saving money)

Posted on June 22, 2011 Written by

There are two different ways for a church (or any organization) to have more money: spend less and receive more. I want to give five ideas in each category that every church should implement so they can have more money to spend on their God-given mission.

5 Ways to Save Money

  • Install Motion Detectors Everywhere!
    • Humans are quite imperfect especially when it comes to turning things off (or on). That’s where motion sensors come in. I use motion sensors for everything: dispensers for paper towels and soap in bathrooms; for urinal flush valves on toilets and urinals; for lights in halls, bathrooms, classrooms, and offices; and soon for thermostats in classrooms and offices.
    • Motion sensors save money by ensuring that lights and thermostats are on only when a human is present; that toilets get flushed; that only a certain amount of paper towel and soap is dispensed; and that lights are on only when people are moving around. Yes, it costs money to install these, but they pay for themselves in both dollars and in public relations.
    • Motion sensors for lights have cut the electric bills in the church I work by 20% per year. Members think it is cool that their church is so progressive – they like to “show off” their church and talk about how “green” we are. It’s a way cool thing!
    • Full disclosure – you’ll need to buy batteries for the sensors but in the long run, you will save money with the sensors.
  • Invest in Energy efficient lighting and less inventory
    • Most of the building I administer has 4 foot fluorescent lamps. In the past two years I’ve been a multi-year process of changing all my T-12 lamps to T-8s (and in a few years, once the price has come down, to T-5s). I’ve removed my 2×2 fluorescent fixtures and replaced them with 2×4 fixtures and put in T-8s.
    • T-8s are 30% brighter and are 30% more energy efficient than T-12s. I’m saving money, I’m helping the environment, I’m reducing the different types of lamps I have around here so I can buy just 4 foot T-8 lamps. I love the KISS principle – keep it simple, stupid. That’s what I’m doing!
    • Here’s how I found the money to make this happen: at the end of one fiscal year, I explained to my electrician what I wanted to do and asked him to come the first couple of weeks of my fiscal year. I gave him a budget of what I could spend on the project. When he had spend the total amount allocated for that year, he stopped installing T-8s. When I got his bill, I paid half of it out of the maintenance budget and the other half out of the utilities budget. My rationale is that the efficient fixtures are going to save money that would have otherwise been spent on electricity. I’m repeating this as many years as I have to and my electrician loves getting the money that would have gone to to the utility company!
  • Pay bills by ACH and online
    • Use technology to pay your bills without paper. I calculate that every paper check costs about $1 between the check stock, ink, envelope, and postage. Every ACH costs less than 30 cents. After writing several hundred checks a year, you’ll save hundreds of dollars.
    • Paying bills online also means you keep the money in your bank account longer. Keeping money in your account means more interest income during the year, too (well, that would be IF the banks were paying more interest than they are now at half a percent per year).
    • Paying bills online also means that you can track your payments and be assured that the money actually reached the vendor and didn’t “get lost in the mail.”
    • Work with your bank to make this happen. They’ll be glad to help.
  • Use Email and Voicemail Heavily
    • Communication with members must evolve from beyond the Ben Franklin post office system. That’s been around for 200 years, move on to something more efficient, effective and a whole lot cheaper!
    • I email statements of contribution to every person who gives money. Emailing statements of contribution saves me about $750 every time. I still snail mail 450 statements of contribution every time at a cost of $450 ($1 each for postage, envelope, paper, and ink). Believe it or not, I’ve not had any resistance to this method of getting statements of contribution – the business world has helped people become accustomed to email in all its forms.
    • Various ministries email or voicemail different groups (small groups, teachers, choir members, etc.) about upcoming meetings or opportunities. The ministers have learned which method is better to use with which group. Some age categories prefer a voicemail and we have PhoneTree to send out messages that way – it is slower than email but effective. Other ages like emails. Oh, I’m not (yet?) to tweeting or mass texting but I’m sure that will come along.
    • My administrative assistant also emails the weekly bulletin every Thursday or Friday to everyone in our database with an email (and give them the opportunity to “opt out”) and she also emails the monthly news-magazine. We use Constant Contact for some of our communications, too.
    • Find ways of using mass communication methods that don’t involve postage or paper. You can save some serious money by getting away from paper. It will save lots of paper and younger mindsets will appreciate the church helping the planet!
  • Bid out contracts regularly
    • Every 3 to 5 years put all of your regular contracts out to bid. This includes EVERYTHING from your food supplier, elevator contract, dumpster, commercial property insurance, copiers, postage meter, financial audit, custodian supplies, etc. I can’t stress this enough.
    • In times like this, some companies are so hungry they’ll really cut their prices just so they can get business to keep their employees (so they don’t have to lay off anyone). They know they won’t make a profit but they will also retain good talent.
    • Some companies gave you price when times were good and with a weak economy, they are willing to do anything just to keep you as a customer, even in the middle of a contract. They want you to stay with them and they’re willing to void a current contract, reduce their fees, and renew you for several years at a cheaper rate.
    • Recently I cut our commercial property insurance by 42% saving the church $18,000 per year. I got a smaller postage meter because we don’t have the same volume of letters as we did five years before. I upgraded to a color copier for less than what I was paying for a black & white copier. We talked with our bank and got a good rate on our fees. AND, I made sure that none of these savings affected the service we are getting.

Lead On!
Steve

Next post: 5 Ways to Make Money

Filed Under: budget, church administration, church finances, planning, strategy Tagged: , , , ,

Church Politics

Posted on May 23, 2011 Written by

This is a personal soapbox – this issue troubles me more than anything else in church life because I feel it completely and utterly distracts the church from accomplishing it’s God-given mission of sharing the Good News. This post will not be easy to write nor to read.

Jesus attacked only one group of people during his ministry on earth: Pharisees and Sadducees. Those men were the paid staff and lay leaders of the temple in Jerusalem. It was to them that all Jews looked to for guidance and wisdom. I have long wondered if I, as a paid church staff professional, will feel the same verbal assault on me that Jesus laid on those church staff of 2000 years ago.

Jesus’ withering criticism of them is that they were caught up in the minutae of life. The Pharisees and Sadducees debated for endless hours about trivial matters while they completely ignored the important religious and physical needs of the people. They made up 613 laws which became an unbearable burden to commons Jews so that they hated to go to Temple but they did so out of obligation. Jesus went to Temple only to worship – he didn’t debat the Pharisees and Sadducees in the Temple. They found him out among the people and they took their pettiness to him. How many times do the Gospels refer to Jesus as speaking with authority or speaking in a way at which the people marveled? Jesus focused not on the Temple politics of his day but on the big issues. Jesus instructed his disciples to keep their eyes on the God-things: disciple, baptize and teach (Matthew 28:19-20).

I’ve heard that many (if not most) young pastors prefer to start their own churches instead of stepping into an established church. Why? One answer may be the quantity of church politics. Established churches are hotbeds of politics, procedures, entrenched committee members, “but we’ve never done it that way before” mentality, and tradition. (So much of that is fear-based – fear of losing control, fear of not having enough, plain old fear. This is ironic since as Christians we are supposed to believe that God is in control and that God is generous beyond measure.)

I believe that church politics make people avoid church. They see the petty squabbles and decide that this is not for them – they want a God that is interested in big things such as people. Arguments and struggles over money, position, power, and decisions are so petty as to make God cry, especially when Christians do it.

I’ve been in too many meetings when an absurdly petty topic was raised: should we allow line dancing in the gym, what type of lettering should be on a sign, etc. I ask myself if this topic rises to the level of honoring Jesus and his sacrifice. Almost every time the answer is no, it doesn’t. It is a small matter which should be dealt with by one or two people so that the big group can focus on the big issue: sharing the Good News.

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: church administration, leadership Tagged: ,

Church Personnel Committees

Posted on April 26, 2011 Written by

My experience with Personnel Committees is that they don’t know their own job description. Too many times the committee acts more like a “Human Resources Department” than a personnel committee. Let me explain the difference.

A human resources department provides all the forms for new staff and departing staff, ensures those forms are complete, interprets the personnel manual for staff, works with vendors to get the approved benefits at the best possible price, and handles other routine personnel needs. Frankly, those are all functions that in a church should be handled by the staff and not by a committee.

A personnel committee of a church is vastly different. A personnel committee should do the following

  • Develop a personnel manual and review it at least once a year for updates
  • Develop a salary structure and salary range so that all employees are treated according to their “pay grade.” Most churches have no concept of this much less how to go about creating salary ranges. However, it is essential that a church do this to help their staff.
  • Hire the senior pastor and give him an actual, honest job performance evaluation. This may include an annual 360 eval for the pastor; that is a good thing so that he can have a true sense of his leadership and his management.
  • Help the senior pastor with his direct reports. The senior pastor may need counsel on who should report directly to him and who should not. The pastor may need help with the job descriptions of those who report directly to him. Finally, the senior pastor may ask for help in recruiting the people who work most closely with him.
    • For the most part, I disagree with the notion that there should be a search committee for positions in the church below the senior pastor – the leaders should be able to hire those whom he feels will work best with him and not have a committee decide for him (after all, shouldn’t those lay members be doing Kingdom work and not be the HR department?).
    • The senior pastor should have the freedom to select his lieutenants and craft their job descriptions with the advice and counsel of the personnel committee, but not their veto. Those leaders, in turn, should have the freedom to select the second level of leadership without having to jump through hoops of lay people. Some, but not many, lay people are qualified to help in recruitment; it’s just that they could be doing something else for God instead of having meetings.

So, if you’re in a personnel committee, ask the committee chair for a job description of what the committee is responsible for. If that JD needs to be updated because the church has grown and/or changed, then do it! If there is no JD, then help the pastor and committee chair develop an appropriate description of responsibilities for the personnel committee. A good one will save the committee members a lot of time and grief, it will help the pastor and staff know what everyone is charged with doing, and it will ensure that everyone is doing what is expected of them.

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: church administration, church staff Tagged: ,

Q-Tips

Posted on March 23, 2011 Written by

I’ve got two packs of Q-Tips (registered trademark, I’m sure) in my office. I got them a dozen years ago and I use them as illustrations to my staff and colleagues several times a year. I pull them out when someone comes into my office with lots of frustration over what is going on (or not happening). I listen and then, as it is warranted, I have the following conversation:

Me: do you know what Q-Tip means? What is stands for?
Friend: no idea (with a completely bewildered look as in, Where the heck is this headed?)
Me: Quit Taking It Personally – QTIP
Friend: oh, cute.
Me: no, really. You, me, we need to separate the personal from the professional. When junk hits the fan, just step back (out of the way) and not let any of it get to you personally. Keep the professional and the personal separate.

About 25 or 30 years ago I read an article in Fortune from which I remember one line: “Attack the problem, not the person.” Too often in work (especially in church work), we merge our professional and personal lives and it often has bad consequences. Too often in work (especially in church work), we try to fix problems by fixing people – also often with bad consequenses.

Church professionals need to separate our personal lives from our professional lives – our spouses will appreciate it! But also realize that when we attack a problem, ensure the person on the other end fully understands this is not about him/her personally.

Buy a pack of Q-Tips. When things get tense in the office, hand out the Q-Tips and remind people that all this professional angst will go away and they don’t need to let it affect their personal lives. It is not an attack on who they are as individuals; it is just a professional issue and should be dealt with professionally.

Oh, one more thing – I’m sure the inventor of Q-Tips never thought of the slogan but I like it nonetheless!

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: church administration, church staff, leadership, wisdom Tagged: , , ,

Laughter

Posted on March 12, 2011 Written by

Several years ago one of my former bosses told me during the interview process that he doesn’t get worried when he sees staff members talking in the halls of the church offices. He gets worried when he doesn’t hear them laughing.

There is a LOT of wisdom to that statement. Laughter is medically proven to be good medicine. It helps in all kinds of ways that I don’t understand and don’t need to know except it is is very healthy for the body. And the mind and the soul.

One of the things about laughter is that it means the staff feels comfortable with each other enough to make jokes, share funny stories, and tell self-embarrassing moments. If your staff is engaged in laughing with each other then odds are your staff is not whispering behind your back.

Perhaps the opposite of staff laughter is gossip. Gossip can be serious and vicious and filled with innuendo. Gossip is not good for an organization. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in the office grapevine and use it, but that is different than gossip, especially malicious gossip.

Encourage your staff to laugh. Find ways to make them laugh. Get them to tell stories on themselves (but never a story that embarrasses someone else). Listen to the halls of your office. If you don’t hear laughter on a regular (several times a day) basis, you need to worry and find ways to get your staff to laugh – together.

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: church administration, church staff Tagged: ,

Church Office Life Stories

Posted on December 11, 2010 Written by

I’ve got a great idea for a sitcom – church office life. Problem is that I could collect all these stories and try to sell them to Hollywood but Hollywood would never believe these actually happened. So I’m going to share with my readers (all two, so far!) some funny and amazing stories of church office life. Here’s the first one – I’ve got a bunch more. And if you’re reading this, please contribute your own church office life stories.

Best story I heard this week:

A church changed its email and its URL. They had to. A church member (who is about 80 years old) owned the URL and would not release it to the church. In fact, when the church administrator went to Mrs. Smith’s house to talk with her about this, Mrs. Smith very proudly showed the administrator her three computers. When one of the computers had a new entry on its screen, Mrs. Smith invited the administrator over. “Look, here’s a new email. Let’s open it.” Mrs. Smith not only had hijacked the church’s URL and the email but she was reading all church email!! The administrator quickly left the house and realized the church had to change its URL and email in order to protect itself from Mrs. Smith!

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: church administration Tagged:
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