Reggie Joiner's Blog, page 57

What Your Church Needs to Know About Generation Z

Every generation has a story told about them. Here’s what I mean . . .

The elder generation (obviously named by a millennial) was the generation that many of us call “The Greatest.” Their Depression was The Great One; their war was The Big One; their prosperity was the legendary Happy Days. Shaped by World War II, they were known for hard work, commitment to family and living an honorable life. Or maybe you’ve heard the story of Gen X. The children of parents who grew up in the sixties, their...

Six Ways to Encourage Millenials to be Involved in Ministry

We’ve all seen the videos, articles or posts. Maybe we’ve even laughed at them a little (or a lot depending on the generation you claim). There’s often a little bit of truth in satire, but there can also be gross misrepresentations of reality. Not only that, but from what I’ve seen, those misrepresentations and over-generalizations tend to create barriers too.

The statistics definitely don’t lie. Among other things related to the digital world that has emerged in their lifetime, millennials a...

How to Get Your Ministry’s Facebook Group Engaged

Last week we talked a lot about the logistics of planning and implementing your ministry’s Facebook group. Before you launch, it’s important to determine the purpose, to define the leaders, and to delegate the work. But what happens next? After you’ve done all of the grunt work upfront and your group is out into the world, how do you continue from there?

Promote, promote, promote!

As obvious as it may seem to say this, any worthwhile endeavor requires adequate promotion in order to truly succ...

What’s Your Ministry Leadership Attitude?

I love being a dad. I love the idea of walking with these kids as they discover the world. I love the opportunity to see things from such a different perspective. I even love my two boys jumping/attacking me at all hours of the day. However, what I don’t love is . . . crying! It drives me absolutely crazy. For the most part, I have to accept that it’s the only way they know how to communicate at such a young age. However, I did discover a phenomenon that greatly reduced the amount of crying a...

How to Answer High Schooler’s Biggest Questions With Action

Would you believe that the teen checking their phone during small group or strolling in late to your service has some questions stirring inside?

We’re not talking about “how many people will respond to my latest snap?” kind of questions. We mean big, deep, questions.

Questions whose answers can literally change the course of a teen’s life. Problems that demand to be solved, and ultimately will be—either by a teen’s own inner voice, their peers, or maybe even you.

Resource: Playing for Keeps...

Succession Planning: Who will replace you?

Over the years I have learned the hard way that doing the job alone, just doesn’t work. And not only does it not work, but it doesn’t produce fruit that lasts. If older Jim could tell younger Jim something today I’d tell him, it’s never too early to work on legacy. Every job I left after my first job, I have tried to develop others in a way that put options in place for replacing me from within an organization.

Early in his ministry, Moses also learned the hard way about doing the job alone....

Effectively Using Facebook Groups for Your Ministry

If you’ve spent much time on Facebook, you know that Facebook groups can be a powerful tool for leveraging the convenience of social media with the need for community. But if you’re in any position of church leadership, you also know that something like this can be tricky—and it certainly shouldn’t be done without intentionality and thoughtfulness. So, while there is no rulebook for any of this, you may need some pointers for getting started. . . .

Determine the Purpose

As obvious as it may s...

The Person is the Priority

The weekend is always coming, whether it’s Monday, Friday or noon on Saturday, you feel the unrelenting pressure of needing to execute every seven days. There are volunteers to schedule, programming to fine tune and Goldfish to purchase. In addition, you most likely wear other hats as well. Maybe you oversee social media, special events or staff communication in addition to your normal responsibilities. Because of the complexity that exists within family ministry, those that lead it tend to h...

3 Easy Ways to Impact a Middle Schooler’s Identity and Faith

11, 12, 13. These are the awkward years. You remember right? Greasy hair, frizzy hair, don’t care. Weight gain and weight loss. You feel like an adult but everyone treats you like a kid.

Life for a middle schooler is rough. Forget trying to figure out who you are in Christ. Preteens are hanging onto the struggle bus for dear life.

Of course you now know that middle school drama, like everything else, won’t matter in a few short years. With the right approach you can help preteens focus on thi...

Speaking Up to be Heard in Ministry

As the models of leadership are changing in our culture, the ability to influence people through trust and collaboration is becoming a highly sought after skill. It is sought after by employers, and it is a skill that people are valuing more and more as they decide who they will work for in paid and volunteer capacities. This model allows for collaboration and the opportunity to work with people instead of just for people. However, with this culture shift, where everyone is seen as an equal,...