If Only We Had a Lot More Money!

 

What is your first thought when you think about growing your organization?

Be honest.

Sometimes it is tempting to think about growth first of all in terms of  the budget.  I mean, if only you had a bundle of money, you could make a ton of  ministry happen, right?

WRONG!

I know, we are inclined to think that a $40 million organization is so much greater, and does so much more, than a $2 million ministry. The fact is, that a smaller organization may be accomplishing as much if not more than the larger one if it is growing in the right ways.

The first way to determine organizational growth and effectiveness is not how much revenue is coming in but how much ministry is going out. This takes an accurate, verifiable way to quantify ministry output.

Only then can you know if you are truly growing. Sure, taking in more money is always nice and we strive for it, in its place.

But it is possible to take in millions at a church or non-profit but yet not accomplishing much other than providing some people nice jobs.

Keep your life’s top priority straight and do what you can with what you have. North Star will help you grow your budget, but first will help your organization grow in every possible way to the glory of God. 

With the right priorities and plan in place, all the money you will ever need will be there.

H. David Schuringa

Copyright (c) 2016 North Star Ministry Consultants, LLC

Chuck Colson Taught Me This

Three times my good friend, Chuck Colson, attempted to enlist me. Thrice I denied him: Once, after he flew me in on a private jet for dinner on his porch—to persuade me to head the newly envisioned Colson Center for Christian Worldview. Twice, when urged me to lead Prison Fellowship Ministries in his stead.*

Instead, we partnered.

One of the best tips Chuck taught me is the supremacy of networking. He had this figured out eons ahead of his time.

The Old Path to Nowhere
The Post-World War II model of ministry was anti-networking. Ministries tended to view each other as competitors, even enemies. Border patrol was ever-vigilant. Top priority was fighting for a larger slice of the donation pie. Organizations battled for self-sufficiency. Ministry was war waged on countless fronts.

Then along came the former Watergate “Hatchet Man” and Florida inmate who sensed the Spirit moving in a new direction as history dawned on the 21st Century.

New Horizons
Chuck regularly promoted other ministries and deliberately orchestrated partnerships. This was not always successful back in the old combative era. An attempt to partner with Bill Glass over at Behind the Walls never materialized, to the chagrin of both ministries today. The two giant personalities never came to terms.

Smaller ministries at first feared that Colson’s mammoth enterprise would over-power them—if true, could that be due to the baby-steps he was taking as he first forged the new path?

Chuck’s idea, however, ultimately prevailed—proven time and again that networking does not diminish your ministry; partnering strengthens it.

Why reinvent the wheel when something is going well elsewhere? Create partnerships and keep doing better what you do best. When ministries link arms, something grander sparks than could have ever happened apart.

Colson on Mergers
Does networking require organizational mergers?

According to Colson, mergers are not necessarily the best policy. Cooperative ventures, mutual encouragement and promotional alliances pose a better plan.

Though Crossroad is not large compared to Prison Fellowship the partnership grew invaluable to both with long-term discipleship as our forte. For example, when they launched a multi-ministry venture called, Operation Starting Line, we dispatched volunteers to their in-prison rallies and inmate respondents were shuttled our way.

Spirit-Empowered Ministry
Church members resonate deeply with networking. The donor pie enlarges. Without partnering, a ministry appears isolated, if not somewhat arrogant. Certainly they are missing out on an explosive work of the Spirit.

Mr. Colson’s groundbreaking vision is now the norm, a roadmap to success. Can you discern that a new day has dawned? So discover more ways to network. Experience the thrill of victory.

A huge debt of gratitude is owed Chuck Colson as a trailblazer who modeled a master strategy for Jesus’ troops on the ground today.

H. David Schuringa

North Star Ministry Consultants, LLC

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*Ironically, upon my departure, Crossroad hired one of Prison Fellowship’s directors, Pastor Lisa Bylstra, to head the ministry.

 

Keep on the Sunny Side!

President Ronald Reagan loved to tell the story of a set of identical twins who were complete opposites.

One of the twins was a gloomy pessimist, but the other was an eternal optimist. The parents were a little curious, so they hired a psychologist to see what was going on.

The psychologist took the pessimistic twin by the hand and led him to a room filled with toys. “These are all yours!” the psychologist said.

In response, the boy began to weep uncontrollably.

“What’s wrong?” asked the counselor.

“Someday,” the lad sniffled, “all of these will break.”

The next day, the psychologist brought the optimistic twin to an old, run-down barn. Together, the man and the twin shoved open the barn door. In the middle of the floor was a huge pile of manure.

The twin’s eyes popped open wide, and, in only a few seconds, he had grabbed a pitch fork and begun digging into the pile.

The psychologist was stunned. “What are you doing?” he inquired.

With a grin on his face, the optimistic twin explained, “Well, with all this manure, there must be a pony in here somewhere!”

H. David Schuringa

Copyright (c) 2016 North Star Ministry Consultants, LLC

“Sustainable Growth through Strategic Communication”