Reggie Joiner's Blog, page 27

How to be a Small Group Leader in 2021

Our whole world looks different than it did a year ago, and that means ministry looks different too. Due to Covid-19, all of our ministry programs shifted from in-person to online or socially distanced in the span of about seven days. Chances are your small group leaders had many questions like . . . 

Is this really going to work?Is my group going to be okay?But mostly, as a leader, am I doing this right?

Here’s what’s true: Everything has changed and nothing has changed.

Teenagers may be sh...

Lead Small Blog

Our second role for a small group leader is to create a safe place. Creating a safe place has three main ideas.

First, you simply need to lead the group. At the center of a safe place is a safe person. A digital venue may be intimidating, but your students still need a clear point person . . . a clear leader. You can do this.

Secondly, you need to respect the process. Students are going to have tough questions and go through tough situations. Leading digitally doesn’t change that. In fact, durin...

How to Reconnect with Families this Easter

Easter. Arguably the biggest weekend in the life of the Church, and for good reason.

Jesus is alive, so we pull out all of the stops and celebrate big!

I’m sure you’d love to do the same this year too, but as you look ahead to Easter 2021, you might still get a twitch thinking back over Easter 2020. We pivoted, reimagined, and made it work—all with the hopes that this year would be different, that this year would bring us back to some sense of normal. Yet, here we are. Not much has changed. We’r...

The Future of the Church

I was a history major in college, and there’s this one specific day that I’ll never forget. 

We were studying a period of history when the church’s behavior had not been very great. The church did some bad things in history, and a lot of the class was being critical about the church and its role. They started arguing back and forth. Our professor was agnostic. He didn’t seem at all interested in stopping the conversation. I just remember hoping that the people in the class  didn’t find out what ...

How to Help Parents and Volunteers Win

We get it. You may be a little reluctant to set some goals for this year. 

After all, last year, you probably didn’t have these goals in mind . . .  

  Determine how to do church online each week because we can’t meet.    Teach my kids from home while also working.   Add a variety of masks to my wardrobe.    Stock up on toilet paper. 

 

Yet here we are, a year later. We’re all a little hopeful, but also a little apprehensive. 

You may be wondering: What does church even look like now? And ...

Orange Membership

We get it. You may be a little reluctant to set some goals for this year. 

After all, last year, you probably didn’t have these goals in mind . . .  

  Determine how to do church online each week because we can’t meet.    Teach my kids from home while also working.   Add a variety of masks to my wardrobe.    Stock up on toilet paper. 

 

Yet here we are, a year later. We’re all a little hopeful, but also a little apprehensive. 

You may be wondering: What does church even look like now? And ...

The Room Where it Happens

There’s a song in Hamilton that’s says,

“I wanna be in the room where it happens.”

There’s something about being in the same room together that’s life-giving and life-changing.

You know that . . . because you lead the church.

You know the power and potential of every Sunday, when people in your community can actually gather physically in your spaces to worship, pray, and learn together.

That’s one of the reasons we believe in the church so much—even though there are more opportunities to be crea...

There’s a New President at Orange

Leadership isn’t something that happens because you are good communicator or have a great idea.

Effective leadership is the result of earning trust and investing in people to help them win personally and professionally. You will earn a different kind of respect with an audience when you actually build something over time.

That’s why I am so excited to announce that Kristen Ivy is the new President of Orange.

It’s a new role that has been official established to work with the CEO as we continue...

Family Welcome Kit

Be Our Guest!

“Be our guest . . .” if you immediately started singing the classic song from Beauty and the Beast, then you understand all too well what the magic of creating an unforgettable experience for a first-time guest can look like!

So often we forsake the opportunity of crafting a “wowing” first impression. We save our grandeur for later in the experience, and when we do, we fail to realize the number of small, missed opportunities well before the opening chorus of worship. You may not h...

Kick Off the New Year with New Faith Habits

As we begin a new year, we’re hoping 2021 will look a lot different than what 2020 looked like. But even if it doesn’t, even though there’s still uncertainty, one of the things we’re absolutely sure of is that we need to do everything we can to help reengage kids and their relationship with God. What does that look like, personally?

We always say that we want every kid, every day in their faith, to hear, pray, talk, and live.

What that simply means is they learn to be aware that there’s a God a...