In 2011 ACS Technologies dedicated a person, Rusty Brotherton, to assist in starting up new groups. Rusty had been on staff at Lee’s Summit Community Church in Missouri and brings his ACS, IT, and church administration knowledge to assist groups in getting organized. Our goal for 2012 is to start up two new groups a month. So if you are interested in starting a group in your area, contact Rusty to get the process started.

PS.  The biggest user group of all, The Ideas to Impact Conference, is coming May 29^th in Atlanta.  Plan to attend and meet Rusty in person.

The session was offered twice, and both times the room was filled to capacity; in one session we even had to switch to a larger room. I was humbled by the response to the Herding Cats session and it became the inspiration of the blog series I’ve been working on – and the blog post that you’re now reading.

Standing in front of such a large group, the largest group I’d spoken to at any Ideas to Impact Conference, I was nervous, but I was prayed up and as prepared as I could be. The funny thing was, at each session as I chatted with folks as they were arriving someone would comment, “I hope you brought cat nip!” Funnier yet, as I’ve now gone on-site with churches whose staff sat in on the Herding Cats session, right before we begin a training session or implementation session with their staff they’ll make the same comment, “I hope you brought cat nip!” That’s what I’m writing about today: Cat nip. The secret weapon of cat herders.

The secret ingredient (it’s not really cat nip)

Through my short four years as a staff member at a megachurch, I learned very quickly through bumps and bruises that the only way to get folks to follow you in what you’ve been called to do in any ministry is to possess one key ingredient: Love. That is the cat nip that every cat herder should possess.

One of the greatest commandments we’ve been given is to love one another. You can’t be a cat herder and not love the cats – all cats! All too often we can find ourselves being as patient and loving as we can be to our congregants, but sometimes it seems we fail at expressing those same sentiments to the person sitting in the office next to us.

Did you notice in December how much nicer people were? I love the element of Christmas that seems to flow through the air like the aroma of freshly baked banana bread. It spreads like a heavenly invisible wildfire and brings a smile to your face (unless you’re fasting). Did you sense it among your fellow staff members? It’s a shame we only see this level of kindness at Christmas, because  as believers we’re supposed to radiate that from the inside out. We’re supposed to radiate kindness to all – and yes, I means that staff member or that volunteer. The one who makes you want to scream.

Doing your homework: Read The Word

The commandment to love one another can be found in John 13:34-35, “Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”

After studying these verses and few others in 1 John 1 & 2 I found myself asking God, “how do we live the greatest commandment to love one another?”  I found the answer in 1 John 2:10 ” … the one who loves his brother ABIDES in the Light.” According to a Bible Dictionary the word “abide” means “remain, stay; often describes the believers continuance in Christ.” In the NASB version of this verse the word “abide” is used.  I did some research and found that in other translations other words like “remain” or “continue in” can be found. All of which can be interpreted to mean “abide in Him.” That’s how we live the greatest commandment, we abide in Him to live love.

Lessons learned

The days when I used to find myself loving the least where the days I hadn’t spend any time with God.  I’d stop whatever I was doing and do a short devotional to get myself back on track and in the right frame of mind. When we figuratively lay down our lives and live for others rather than our selves (putting others first), then we become selfless and can love the way God commands us to, ultimately being as effective as we can be where God has planted us.

Here’s a nugget to help you digest this big pill I’m encouraging you to swallow – God never asks us to do something we’re not equipped to do.

I pray you live love, by doing so you become a powerful Cat Herder (Kingdom vessel) that God can work through for His glory! If you live love then you will always have cat nip in your pocket, ready to herd cats at a moment’s notice.

Did you enjoy this post? Read more posts by Lesley Baker, our in-house Cat Herding expert.

The Art of Negotiation: Three Tips

Data Cleanup Best Practices: Advice from One Who’s Been There

How to Make Resolutions that Stick

Getting Your Wish: Better Planning

Several years ago, we developed an integration that allows you to send your list data from our PDS, ACS, and Headmaster products directly  in to Constant Contact. This saves you the time of setting up a spreadsheet, saving it, and manually loading it in to your Constant Contact account. Within the ACS product, there is also the ability to send your contribution statements via Constant Contact.

Our clients continually provide feedback on how they enjoy the product as well as the integrations. I am excited to share that we now have a special promotion for ALL of our clients with Constant Contact. Starting today, February 1, if our clients sign up for a new Constant Contact account at http://acspromo.constantcontact.com they get 50% off of their first 6 months of billing. I love a good deal! This is for ALL of our ACS Tehnologies clients – PDS, ACS, Headmaster, The City, Membership Plus, Organizations, etc. I wanted to share the word, so you can share your word!

With all that in mind, we’ve pulled together some tips to help keep parents in the loop and build their support for  your children’s ministry program.

1. Move beyond casual conversation

You can talk to parents when they drop off and pick up their children, after services, or during other church events. The trouble is, busy parents are less likely to retain information from a quick conversation. No matter how important your information, parents will have dozens of other things on their mind. A formal setting is better, whether it’s scheduling a phone call to discuss the program and its goals or inviting parents to visit and observe ministry activities and ask questions. Consider setting up an information table after services and other church events. Ministry leaders can distribute printed materials, discuss the children’s ministry’s goals and provide tips for parents to get more involved with their children’s faith development.

2. Plan and prepare

An organized communication plan can help you present a consistent message to parents. To create a plan, write out what you plan to accomplish during the months ahead. What moral issues, Bible lessons and spiritual growth opportunities do you plan to offer? Then, consider how parents can help in these efforts. Consider what Bible verses might be taught at home to supplement a lesson taught at school. Consider tips you might share with parents to help them teach at home.

3. Cover your bases with social media

It’s safe to assume your parents are busy – and that they’re already getting a lot of information sent to them about their children. In a sense, your ministry is competing with schools, daycare centers, community programs, sports programs and other organized activities. Use social media tools to make communication easy and accessible for parents. Try using Twitter to send schedule reminders, or post a list of Bible lessons to Facebook or a page on your church’s website.

A regular email update or newsletter can also help keep parents involved. To help parents feel a part of the ministry’s regular activities, try posting photos and videos to Youtube.com, Flickr.com, or other video and photo-sharing sites – but make sure parents approve ahead of time if their children will be in the images, or create a protected site online using a service like Google’s Picasa.

Bear in mind that everyone has a preferred way of getting information electronically. You will probably have to rely on multiple social media tools to reach everyone.

For advice about online communication, download our free ministry guide about online engagement, “Building Disciples Through Engagement.”

4. Serve as a resource

Parents may be the best resource for a child’s faith development, but some will show reluctance to embrace the role. They may feel they don’t have the background to effectively teach spiritual lessons, while others may consider the task better left to the church ministry. Effective communication can help bridge this gap, by providing parents with materials that will help them to guide and inspire their children. If you don’t have a Parent’s Guide for your ministry that covers what will be taught and includes home lessons that can support the message of the ministry, consider setting up a quick-response phone line or e-mail address to respond to parents when questions and concerns come up.

5. Make a group effort

There are no FAQs for parenting, so many parents love to hear how other parents handle issues. Consider ways to bring parents together to discuss issues and draw support for today’s complex family issues. Try setting up an online discussion forum with weekly chat sessions — and password protection to protect privacy may help encourage parents to be frank. Alternatively, invite parents to adults-only monthly sessions to discuss a variety family-related concerns as a group. If there is a forum for single parents or one on how to give a consistent message of faith when parents live apart, see how the children’s ministry team can offer up support. Your help may be noticed – and appreciated – by parents.

Talk back in comments: What approaches have helped you connect with the families of kids in your children’s ministry?

Learn more: Check out additional resources, like this article at ChildrensMinistry.com, or this  best practices article. If you’d like to learn more about children’s security, read our recently updated, free children’s security ministry guide, “How Secure is Your Children’s Ministry.”

Thinking about this topic, we’ve pulled together a few ideas that you might consider as you look at ways to strengthen your church’s bottom line.

1. Talk the Talk, 24/7

How do you talk about money in your church community? Do you only mention it when you suddenly realize that your annual operating budget is short for the next fiscal year? Or when a big storm makes the need for a capital campaign too strong to ignore? If you only talk about money in your times of need, you are missing a prime opportunity to share with your members the results of their giving.

Try this instead: Throughout the year, look for opportunities to highlight your ministries in your bulletin, church newsletter, or other venues. Do you have a bustling soup kitchen? Run some photos of meals being served in your newsletter and remind people that their contributions helped feed those in need. Are you known for your vibrant music programs? Let people know that their contributions pay for sheet music and the organist’s salary. Don’t wait for a big stewardship campaign to do this – focus on it throughout the year. Include the message everywhere you communicate with your congregation, from social media to membership classes to the pulpit.

2. Giving in the 21st Century

Consider how people manage their money today, and be sure they can give just as easily. Utilize and maximize online giving. It’s fast, easy and safe – and it can help even out your giving year-round. No more summer slump while families leave on vacation, because they can easily set up automatic giving.

There are a number of options, including our own online giving option via Access ACS. Learn more about online giving by downloading the free ministry guide “Five Sundays: The Power of Online Giving” here.

3. Keep Everyone in the Loop

Consider running weekly or monthly giving totals in your bulletin. This way, if you are consistently falling short in your weekly goals, no one will be surprised. Your members want to feel engaged in their church – they want to know that you’re not doing church business behind closed doors. Financial transparency is a hot topic in church leadership groups these days, and the more you can encourage transparency by sharing financial data with your members, the easier it will be to ask for money during your stewardship campaign each year.

4. Stay on the Same Page

Be sure your pastors and staff are all on the same page when it comes to talking about money. Remember your soup kitchen? Make sure your senior pastor knows the details about those 24,000 meals you served last year, and that he or she isn’t afraid to share this information with members. Think about hiring a fundraising professional to come in to give a workshop to your pastors about the right and wrong ways to ask for money. Assess how comfortable your pastors are in asking for money from the pulpit, and then set up some ground rules about how this should be done. A consistent message across all staff lines is what you’re looking for.

5. It’s Okay to Sing Your Praises

Are you doing good work in the greater community? If so, then it would be wise of you to spend an afternoon making some calls to your local media. Reporters are looking for interesting stories to cover – it’s not hard to get on their radar. Just make sure you pitch the story to the right reporter. You’ll have better luck if you find a unique angle – a compelling story that makes your work stand out from the crowd.

If you get coverage, share it with your flock. You may also find donations from non-members increasing, especially if you have an online giving option. There may be prominent people in your community who care about the plight of the homeless – when they find out the amazing work of your soup kitchen, a generous donation could follow.

6. Revitalizing by Evangelizing

Don’t forget evangelizing. Yes, this is a long-term goal, but it’s a vital one. New members equal an increased revenue stream. Sometimes, it’s easy for overworked pastors to find themselves unable to get out in the community to share the good news of your church with the world. Sit down with your leadership team and discuss this. Maybe it’s time to reserve some funding for advertising in the local papers, or maybe a lay committee could be appointed to help with evangelizing. Consider working with a mailhouse to buy a list of the names and addresses of new homeowners; why not send them an invitation to join you for worship? Be creative! There are people out there looking for a church. Welcome them to yours.

As you consider all the ways to increase donations to your church, don’t become discouraged. With these challenges come opportunities – just one or two small changes might have a large impact on your financial spreadsheet. Your biggest mistake will be to assume that you have no choice but to continue to do business as usual. In our ever-changing world, your creativity, your hard work, and your openness to new ideas might just turn your giving profile completely around.

Tell us in comments: What’s one thing your church is considering to increase contributions?

Over the Christmas holidays, I went to a lunch program at my hometown church.  It was a great offering of Christmas music in the Sanctuary followed by soup and sandwiches in the Fellowship Hall. This church, much like many of you, has just completed a large renovation project. I viewed the new workout facility, Sunday School classes, and DVD offerings in the updated library. The thing that caught my attention the most was hand sanitizer machines placed beside elevators and large gathering entrances.  I thought it made complete sense. They were subtle yet appropriate enough. This was a great idea and addition to the facilities. Prior to lunch, I even tested them out.

May we continue to worship, but may we try to stay well also. For those that make church their first outing after being stuck inside sick, may they please cleanse their hands.

In the spirit of change, is it time to look at the Internet browser you’re using? Maybe you’re not sure. Sometimes researching such topics can take hours, but you’re in luck. Our IDD team have done that for you, and share some great information about Internet Explorer and other browsers.

A Comparison of Browsers

by Mark Thompson

What the Tech Geeks Say

If you’re still using IE, should you jump ship? Maybe, but maybe not …

The Internet is awash with opinions and reviews of the different browsers. I could never hope to do them all justice, but will try to sum up the present mood. By and large:

• Chrome wins for ease-of-use.
• Chrome and IE win for security.
• Chrome and Firefox win for speed.
• Firefox wins for features and its extensive range of plug-ins (often free enhancements that give your browser new abilities or let it work other programs).

If you want to do more comparing for yourself, I’ve usually found cnet.com to have useful reviews. Here is their opinion of each browser’s most recent major version:

• Chrome 15
• Firefox 8
• Internet Explorer 9

In the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you that I use Firefox. While I haven’t taken a formal poll, it also seems to be the preferred browser among the software developers and testers I work with and has the reputation of being “the geek’s browser”.

Should You Switch?

NOW. Having said all that, I’m going to say something both surprising and comforting to all of you who struggle with the question of which browser to use.

It’s not that big a deal! Here’s why:

1. As far as ease-of-use is concerned, most browsers work basically the same. You enter a URL or click a link and go where you need to on the internet. If you don’t like change, that’s fine. Stick with what you’ve got; you’re not missing much. But if you like new experiences, you can download all three of the major browsers and try them for yourself. They’re free (use the same cnet links above) and can all co-exist on your computer.
2. As far as security is concerned, which browser you use pales in comparison to keeping your browser up-to-date. All browser developers issue regular security updates. If you use IE, Microsoft will update the browser when you update Windows – which you should do often. Firefox will notify you through its browser when updates are released. Accept them as soon as you can. Chrome updates stealthily in the background; you shouldn’t need to do anything.
3. As far as speed is concerned, we’re talking milliseconds of difference between the three. That’s negligible to the average user.
4. Last, and here is why I did that little “browser war” re-enactment, you can see that the competition among the browsers has been going on for 20 years now. The remaining players are extremely vigilant to keep up. When one discovers a serious improvement, the others copy it. Even Microsoft has awakened from its years of complacency. As a result, the differences between browsers are becoming smaller all the time.

Finally, please understand that we’re just talking about desktop and laptop options. The best browser for your mobile device? I’m afraid that’s a whole other article.

Mark writes the help documentation for Stratus. He received a Master’s in English which, when combined with a sausage biscuit, is worth one sausage biscuit. He has taught English and worked for PeopleSoft, Progress Energy, and Borland before coming to ACS Technologies, where he has been for the last 3 years. He has a cat. That’s right. He’s THAT guy.

You can always read the complete, current ACS Technologies E-News here.

We respect the real thought leaders in ministry who are doing ministry day in and day out. Because of that, we’re bringing you different voices with real ministry perspective to aid, challenge and inspire you. It’s not about what we think, it’s about helping you learn from your peers. And in that, we’ll all growing together.

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17

By Mac Lake

Thanks to Lesley Baker for another great contribution!

Now that the Christmas decorations are put away and that busy season is past us, let’s gear up for a year of impact in 2012. This blog post is fashioned to help you start the year off on the right foot.

To be a successful cat herder – or, I mean, to be a successful ministry team staff member, is to be strategic with your time and where you focus your energies. One of the best ways to do that is to make a list of goals for the year.  Have you made a list of goals you want to achieve in the office this year? I encourage you to do so.

You may be asking, “where do I start, how do I make a list of goals?” A good way to start is by examining what are some of the ministry goals and plans for this year. Compare that list to your role and the role you’ll play in carrying out the ministry goals.  And, if you don’t know what your ministry goals are, ask.

For example:

Let’s say I’m at cat herder on a church staff.  One of the ministry goals this year is to launch online giving.  Well, any cat herder would know that research would be required to learn how the ministry will achieve this type of project.  And lo and behold I’ve been asked to find out what ACS Technologies offers in this area.  I already know that ACS Technologies offers online giving, but I don’t know all the details.

In my initial research, I would check out www.acstechologies.com and see what information I could find.  The first thing I would learn is that in order to launch online giving with ACS we have to use Access ACS – and we already have Access ACS.  Cool, I’m one step ahead.

Next I discover that ACS has a ministry guide all about online giving, score! After reading through it I see there is a checklist and a sample timeline to aid me. There’s more to do then I thought, but it’s not difficult, just things we need to do and consider in advance.  I add those points to my steps to launch online giving.

Then I start thinking about cost, there has to be a cost associated with online giving, right?  I need to look into pricing.

One of my goals is now formulating into a project!  After I’ve completed the rest of my research I can report back to the decision makers on my team with what I’ve discovered and what it’s going to require for our ministry to move forward with this goal.

That is one example of how to begin making a list of your goals this year and how to start working that list. Here are a few more tips:

1. Add ministry goals – we already covered this above, but it’s so important it bears repeating. It’s a good idea to align your personal goals with your ministry’s goals.

2. Dream big – outside of the ministry goals that I can contribute to, what other goals can I make for my position?What can I do to make a greater impact in this position that God has entrusted me to?

3. Pray through this process and let God guide you in your list/goal setting. And once your list is done begin circling those goals in prayer.

After your list is made start working your list. While I encourage you to dream big, I also advise that you use your best project management skills to carry out your goals. And don’t be surprised if God interrupts any of those plans. Don’t get frustrated. If He’s invited into your list to have His way, He will. Roll with it and keep moving forward. That’s why praying through these goals is important, you’ll sense in your prayer time if an interruption is from Him or an obstacle you’re to pray through and work towards overcoming.

Make your list if you haven’t already! It’s not to late. This is a perfect time to start.  Give yourself a deadline of having this list completed by January 31. You can do it, cat herder!

I want to hear what some of your goals are. And if you need our help, just ask. We’re here to help. Happy new year!

Like this post? Check out Lesley’s last blog post, “Getting Your New Year’s Wish: Better Planning.”

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17

By Mac Lake

When someone first steps into leadership what should they focus on learning? There are dozens of possibilities. As a mentor I don’t want to frustrate a new leader by having them focus on things that are too advanced or even too simple. However, it’s important that I provide a Learning Pathway that makes sense and helps them progress in their ability to lead at the next level. One of the exercises we did as a leadership team while I was at Seacoast was to identify the competencies we felt were most important at each level of our leadership pipeline. Below you will find what we came up with.  Also if you click HERE (Leading Others Mentoring Guide) you can download a sample of one of the Leadership Greenhouse Guides we developed for our leaders to mentor their leaders.

The list for your organization will be different than ours, so I encourage you to gather your Lead team, identify the levels of your leadership pipeline and then define the competencies that are most important to you for each level.  This is a great exercise that will force your team to decide what leadership behaviors are most important in your origination.  You’ll also discover this list will provide a framework not only for training but for hiring, promoting and evaluating employees.  Just remember when you sit down to develop the list it will take more than one meeting.  Don’t rush it, going through the process is just as valuable as having the final list of core competencies.

LEADING YOURSELF

• Managing Your Time
• Setting Personal Goals
• Improving Personal Communication
• Managing Your Personal Resources
• Dealing with Conflict
• Leading with Your Strengths
• Submitting to Authority

LEADING OTHERS

• Casting Vision
• Managing Others’ Goals
• Recruiting Volunteers
• Giving Soul Care
• Practicing 360 Communication
• Resolving Conflict
• Aligning People

LEADING LEADERS

• Evaluating
• Motivating Others
• Managing Budgets
• Team Building
• Decision Making
• Leading Meetings
• Applying Situational Leadership

LEADING DEPARTMENTS

• Persevering in Difficulties
• Evaluating Systems
• Building Morale
• Employee Engagement
• Hiring, Firing and Repositioning Talent
• Mentoring Leaders
• Focusing

LEADING ORGANIZATIONS

• Establishing Organizational Value
• Forecasting the Future
• Managing the Leadership Pipeline
• Taking Risks
• Inspiring Others
• Succession Planning
• Practicing Execution

Say it with me: “Developing leaders is what we do!”  It has to be stated that clearly for people to get it. But stating it clearly is still not enough; you have to make decisions that give evidence that leadership development is a high value in your organization.

I remember a key volunteer walked into my office one day and informed me that he wanted to apply for one of our staff positions. Treating this opportunity as an informal interview I began to ask what he would do if he were to get the position. He described how he would care, serve and love the people in that area of ministry. What he said was good. But the one thing I didn’t hear was how he would work through leaders and develop leaders for the expansion of the ministry. It was obvious he had the mentality (and skills) of a doer rather than a developer. So being straightforward with him I told him that his gifts and strengths added great value to our ministry, however for staff positions in our church we only hire people who are leader developers. Leadership development will not stand strong as a value in your organization unless you take a strong stand for it in your organization.

Take Ram Charan’s counsel and write leadership development into the job description of every leader on your staff and key volunteer positions.  This type of clear expectations will begin to shape a culture of leadership development.

Thanks for reading this post – join us next week for the last part in this leadership development series by Mac Lake, “When Leadership Development Dollars are Tight.”