Thursday, January 26, 2012

Annette's final 60 day goal

I have definitely made some major adjustments to my usual method of setting goals because of the vision process.  It's been spiritually and mentally exhausting for me lately.  I am sensing a "slump" of sorts in the youth and we have known for a while that we needed to cast vision again because they were losing sight of that.  I am hesitating to do that until we make a move as a church because I know that we need to mirror what Pastor Jeff is doing.  So in light of that, here are some things that I can do to prepare for the vision casting...


  • Work with current student leaders to recruit and mentor new student leaders.  We have a large class of seniors graduating this spring.  It is contributing to the "sluggish" feeling because there will be holes to fill. But instead of filling the same holes - we are going to focus more on identifying what these new leaders are gifted to do and line them up in the right area of ministry according to those.  So the way we do youth services may change - and that seems to mirror what's happening in the rest of the church.  I think God's timing is so cool.
  • My team and I need to identify the areas that are sluggish (and why if possible), and pray for direction about how to address those issues.  We have covenanted together to fast and pray every Wednesday lunch hour until we get a sense of the new direction.  When we're ready, we will strategize how to implement the changes needed.
  • Plan ahead for a parents night so that when the time comes, we can incorporate their input into what changes will take place in youth ministry.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

60 day Goal Planning for 2012

First I can't believe it has been this long since I looked at the sight! I am So sorry!
This year I want to focus on mini mission trips to places that we support in the area. Such as The Cravens in Mission, SD, the Alpha Center, Jim and Bea Canning, Contact Center, and so on.
Not necessarily all of them but put at least one on the calender

January:

  • Have a Calendar year Planned out For missions
  • Start working out the core values of Missions for our church
  • Send out a Fund Raising Letter for Trip to Haiti
  • Organize Supplies for Haitian people

February:

  • Contact South Dakota and surrounding area Missions that we support put on the calendar

March:

  • Finish with core values, recruit one more person for the Missions team.

60 Day Goals for 2012

During the Christmas break, Taylor and I had the opportunity to meet and talk about the things we are doing in Honor Bound and look ahead to the new year. We had the chance to discuss the format of our weekly meetings and are implementing some changes. For special events throughout the year, we feel that we have the events picked out, but we are working on finalizing all the dates (we are about 95% done in this area). So as not to delay this assignment any further, I will list the events we will be having and update the post when the dates are finalized.

Quarterly men's breakfasts - this is to serve as a means of fellowship for both groups and also as an outreach to men that are not a part of a group.

Semi-annual Car Care Clinics - this is to serve as an outreach to single moms, ladies, elderly, and those in need of this service.

Family Fun Weekend at a campground. This is to be a time of fun and fellowship for all people. Games for the kids, activities for all ages, and food will be present.

Courageous Leadership 10-13

Chapter 10 - A Leaders Prayer to me seems to reinforce the importance of reading and studing the Word of God. People in the Bible faced many of the same things we face. We are allowed the opportunity to see how others handled similar situations in life. We can pick out the strong points and characteristics and pray that we can grow in those areas in our life.

Chapter 11 - The Leader's Pathway. This chapter talked about the importance of our walk with God and how there can be many different ways that we can go about getting into or drawing closer to the presence of God. Probably one of the main ways for me is when I am serving God and others. Many times during worship and being out in God's creation - a bike ride, walk, etc. it is easy to be drawn into God's presence.

Chapter 12 - Developing an enduring spirit. I thought this was another great chapter. So many times we set out to do things for God, get part way into it, things don't go well, and we want to give up and quite. It was brought out even more the importance of making your calling and election sure before moving out to do something. You don't want to get part way into something and then ask yourself was I really called to do this? It was mentioned that if we remain focussed and fulfill His calling, then He will empower us to endure. Another point that was made - we don't want to give up or betray the One who gave us life, salvation, and the promise of eternity. I really liked the word picture of him sailing across Lake Michigan during rough weather and being able to see it from the view point of an airplane. The past few months I have been reminded of a similar picture of a football player out on the field, and a coach being up in the stands calling out plays. The player can't see everything from his viewpoint, but the coach can. Sometimes the coach may tell us to back up a few steps, move to the right or left, which at the time, may not make any sense. We are getting these directions to help us avoid being tackled. Other times the decisions of those around us effect us as well. If our teammates don't block for us in certain situations in life, we may get sacked. When this does happen, we need to get up and get ready for the next play. We just need to make sure we are doing the best we can (being obedient) with the "plays" or (directions) our coach is giving us. In the end we know we win because we have the gift of eternal life.

Chapter 13 - Refusing God Nothing. This chapter took a look at some of the things Mother Teresa went through before and during the time she was able to work within the call God had placed on her life. Some of the points she lived by was to refuse God nothing, do His bidding without delay, and to be found faithful in little practices. These are not easy standards or goals to live by. The struggles that she went through serve as an encouragement and a reminder to not give up when things don't seem to be working out.

I have really enjoyed reading Courageous Leadership and have learned a lot from it. I would recommend it to others.

Friday, January 6, 2012

Courageous Leadership 7-10

Leadership Styles - As they diligently add to this personal database year after year, they automatically increase their leadership batting averages.
Leadership skills is a growing process. I'm going to commit myself to develop my strong leadership styles and grow in my weaker leadership styles. (At this point I feel I have more weaker styles than strong.)  I see my leadership as a shepherd style.

We must identify emerging leaders, invest in them, give them kingdom responsibilities, and coach them into effectiveness.  The process we are going through is helping us do exactly this. "Working yourself out of a job" is what God demands.  It's not always easy, in fact it's very difficult.  But it's how the Kingdom of God operates.  

Is there enough quietness in your life for you to hear the whispers of the Holy Spirit?  This was a question that Bill asked in regards to leadership.  I can't lead others if I not following the Holy Spirit's leading.

Bill brought out the different leadership styles of Biblical heroes.  Of all the people he mentioned, David rose to the top.  I couldn't help but think of what David had to go through in order to get the "leadership" style  that was in his life.  I have to ask myself if I'm willing to, "pay the price" in order to receive what  God is willing to place in my life.  I pray at the end of the day the answer is yes.