I recently came across a book on my shelf and couldn’t help but remember how many of their suggestions I have found useful.  I highly recommend the book “Simply Strategic Volunteers: Empowering People For Ministry” as well as the Simply Strategic Volunteers Workshop happening at Granger on Friday, May 21.  If you work with volunteers in any capacity I encourage you to go, or at least read the book.

I learned the hard way. People need to be reminded.

Back in my student ministry days I thought that grown adults could remember meeting dates and times. After all, they get kids to soccer practice, keep doctor appointments, show up for work, and remember birthdays. All that’s true. And maybe that’s the point: it’s ALL true. There’s a lot going on.

It’s happened to all of us. Weekend service. You’re ready. You’re on time. And someone else isn’t. You cripple through the services or services on a shoestring, hoping to not miss any critical elements or people as you attempt to provide a welcoming space for your guests. It happens. People aren’t always blowing off responsibility. Sometimes people just forget.

Here are some thoughts about serving as a full team:

• Create a schedule. Put it on paper. Make sure everyone has it.
• Make the schedule easy to remember. Build some pattern into it. Monthly. Biweekly. Find a rhythm.
• Send reminders. Make phone calls. Send postcards. Tweet. Text. Email. And you must, you must, you must – not choose the easiest and preferred communication for yourself as the leader. Learn how everyone on your team is best connected. You’ll likely call some, text others, and email the rest.
• Follow-up when someone doesn’t show. This is a simple and opportune chance to care. You may discover they’re facing difficulty, illness, or worse. Reach out. You made it past the weekend. That’s good. But, it’s not all there is to the team.
• Expect the schedule to be kept and followed. By planning it, printing it, reminding, following up you’ll communicate that people matter – the team matters. “We’re counting on you!”

Sunday’s coming! Is your team?

Excerpt from becausepeoplematter.com | by Mark Waltz, Pastor of Connections

One other suggest I would like to add is make the schedule accessible.  Post it where people can find it and even sync with it with their calendar, PDA, etc.  I highly recommend using Google Calendar for this.

Every week someone asks “can you get this announced today?” or “why isn’t my _______ in the announcements?”

Someone else asks “why do we take time to read the announcements?” and someone else wants to know “why didn’t I heard about ______?”

Some may think we are choosing favorites … and everyone thinks that “fair” is a biblical mandate! (NOT!)

How we connect to the people we want to get our message to is important to all of us, and it’s becoming harder and harder to break through all the noise and clutter in life.

Whatever you believe, we all know this; the way we communicate is changing, and it’s changing fast. This video shows how change is making it easier to reach a wider audience, but harder than ever to actually connect to it.

click here if the video does not appear above…

I’ve had my Blackberry Storm for about a month now and it’s just what I’ve been waiting for.  I been using a Palm for about four years (I need to use it for phone calls too, so I have to have Verizon) but I was in the middle of my contract when the Storm came out so I put it off as long as I could.  I got the upgrade free after a generous discount from my mom … (thanks mom).

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Sunday was another one of those “deal maker” days for me.

I’m the kind of guy who needs a shot in the arm every once in a while to keep me motivated. I have a hard time with the “status quo” … I need to see things progressing, be a part of something “new”. When life around me starts to feel “normal” I get uncomfortable. I start looking for things to change.

Fresh is never fresh for long.

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For the past five weeks we’ve been teaching (@MapleGrove) a series called Miracles. This week we used the illustration of Jesus’ first recorded miracle in the Bible – when Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding.

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