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January 23, 2009
Connect the program with the outcome
Communication is an overused word. The practice of communication reamins underdeveloped in many churches. Too often the church leader finds himself asking for more money when the key to fully funding the ministry God has called you to do begins with connecting the program with the outcome.
Let's revisit the basic elements of communication:
1. The message sender.
2. The message receiver.
3. All the filters that exist between the sender and the receiver that often creates a variation between what is said and what is heard.
Filters can be complex and nearly impossible to overcome. What can cut through the clutter and ensure that the need is clearly articulated, understood and felt by the person in the pew?...
A plan that connects program, process and results.
There is no more compelling information you can provide than this: why a program is important, what it's intended to accomplish and what the measurable impact have been in the past and is projected to be moving forward. This is a discipline that the pastor will have to learn if he - like many who find themselves in the pulpit - finds himself gravitating toward philosophical concepts instead of measured results.
There is more competition for the dollar of the person in your pew from well-intentioned nonprofits outside the church than ever. If you want to ensure (and by the way you as the pastor are the one responsible) that every dollar possible will be available to fund the ministry of the church, then you will need to make the connection between the program and outcome. Doing so successfully and consistently, will ensure sustainable funding and will give you opportunity to increase that level of funding over time.
Posted by bstroup at January 23, 2009 1:18 PM
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