Smart Church Management

Advantages and Disadvantages of Performance Management

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I went to a conference earlier this year and rode the airport shuttle with one of the conference instructors. We debated the advantages and disadvantages of performance management.

When he learned that I was also attending the conference, we began talking about all sorts of things but performance management (PM) and more specifically performance appraisals (PA) came up.

He had very strong feelings about why he thought performance appraisals were a waste of time and ultimately added no value to the employee or organization. Read the Full Article →

Church Strategic Planning In 4 Easy Steps!

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Church strategic planning is an important part of the creation, development, and growth of a ministry.

Churches that are interested in growth are not exempt from planning.

Church planning helps the organization map out strategic steps to achieve its mission and vision.

Ministries can experience a level of success without a plan, but those who invest the time and resources into developing a specific strategy and plan can achieve success at a much quicker pace.

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How Does Your Church Measure Success?

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Critical Success Factors are what organizations use to measure its success.

Whether you are managing a restaurant, non-profit organization, or a church, it is important to know that you are focusing on those things that help move the organization closer to achieving its mission.

Anyone who manages an organization understands how challenging it is to stop the day-to-day tasks and check to see how well the organization is performing. Read the Full Article →

Does Your Church Need a Public Relations Strategy?

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The term public relations is defined by PRSA as:

“A strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.”

But, do churches really need to manage public relations?  Should they care about building relationships with its members and the community?

The answer is yes. The church represents Christianity and has the responsibility for making that representation reflective of who Christ is. Read the Full Article →

8 Tips For Leading a Church Budget Committee

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I had a reader who was recently appointed the responsibility of creating the annual church budget.

She asked for help in creating a meeting agenda, preparing to lead the church budget meeting and tips for keeping the group moving forward.

Leading a budget team meeting can be a fun and productive experience.  The secret is being prepared.

There is a lot more to leading a budget meeting than meeting with a team. Read the Full Article →

7 Keys to Church Growth

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It is hard to comprehend that another year has come and gone. As we close out this year, hopefully your church has been preparing, planning and writing church goals for the year to come. Church growth may be one of those goals.

One goal that many churches focus on is growth. Churches want to reach more people and reaching more people is an outcome of growth.

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Is Your Church Culture One of Trust or Suspicion?

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I don’t know if you listen to Andy Stanley’s leadership podcasts or not but if you don’t it is a great resource for church leaders. In this podcast he talks about how trust impacts a church culture.

Anyone who has ever listened to Andy knows that he is a great communicator and addresses many of the challenges church leaders face every day. Read the Full Article →

6 Tips For Managing Church Facilities

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Church facility management is very similar to managing any other type of building or campus. The only difference being churches often use volunteer labor to help get the job done.

This approach provides volunteers with opportunities to give back to the ministry and allows the church to maintain its campus with a limited church budget.

Churches can be very busy campuses with activities going on almost daily.  

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7 Steps to Implementing Church Strategy

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Fulfilling a church’s mission requires taking the time to develop a strategy, planning the steps to get it done and management of the process. Implementing church strategy takes focus!

Managing the process requires identifying who needs to do what, by when and holding them accountable for what they are responsible for doing.

A strategic plan is only as effective as the goals that are written to implement it.
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4 Questions to Ask When Writing Church Goals

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Part of the church strategic planning process is setting church goals and objectives.

Goals should be written so they are measurable and should be an outcome of the strategic planning process.

Goals simply map out steps to achieve a strategic objective and do not need to be overly complicated. But, implementation of goals does require discipline and a commitment to follow-through to completion. Read the Full Article →