http://www.orangeleaders.com/forums/tags/leaders Orange Leaders Forum en-US Tue, 07 Sep 2010 23:35:25 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q http://www.orangeleaders.com/forums/search.php http://www.orangeleaders.com/forums/topic/how-do-we-cast-vision-for-parents-and-engage-into-the-strategy#post-88 Thu, 03 Sep 2009 23:44:28 +0000 Angela McCann 88@http://www.orangeleaders.com/forums/ <p>We are heading into year 4 with this curriculum and Family Experience. After going to Orange this past year (and the first time for me as director of CM) I decided to recast the Orange vision. First to CM staff, then to the leaders and finally to the parents. I am very very excited to see things unfold this fall and feel really good about recasting Orange. </p> <p>See, from the get go we practically painted the church orange. We were so excited about Orange and our Pastor and Leadership totally supported it. . We had Orange candies, orange tablecloths, orange balloons and a whole lot of enthusiasm which was contagious in itself apparently. </p> <p>However, we found out that while parents got the 30/4000 meaning they could define it but they didn't really adopt it. Parents could tell me how red(home) and yellow(church) together make orange but they couldn't tell me why that would mean they needed to do anything differently. </p> <p>After orange we redefined our "win", we redefined our strategy and then in summer we began to implement it. Can't wait for our first Family Experience of the school year in Oct.! </p> http://www.orangeleaders.com/forums/topic/how-do-i-get-consistent-leaders-in-small-groups#post-45 Sun, 12 Jul 2009 08:53:49 +0000 csykes 45@http://www.orangeleaders.com/forums/ <p>We are changing the structure of our small group time this year. In the past, we have used the entire large group/small group curriculum in a traditional Sunday School small group environment. This year, we decided to utilize a rotation that will get us a little closer to the way the curriculum is intended to be used. Kids will rotate through three stations each Sunday morning during our SS hour. They'll go to 2 activity rotations and 1 story telling rotation. We've recruited separate leaders for each of these rotations, so that their prep responsibility is lower. In addition, we've recruited small group shepherds who will meet with the kids at the beginning and end and take the groups through all the rotations. They are not responsible for any weekly prep. Instead, their responsibility is to build relationships in and out of the church building. </p> <p>This has helped us recruit based on gifts, interests, and abilities for the first time. While we more than doubled the number of leaders required, it's been fairly easy to recruit. I've always had a goal of having two leaders in every room, but never met that goal. Now, there will be a rotation leader and shepherd with every group all the time.</p> <p>We have some kinks to work out and this system has its pros and cons, but I really think it's going to prove to be a fantastic year. </p> http://www.orangeleaders.com/forums/topic/how-do-i-get-consistent-leaders-in-small-groups#post-33 Tue, 19 May 2009 17:00:02 +0000 todd4h2 33@http://www.orangeleaders.com/forums/ <p>One thing I have been guilty of in the past is trying to plug names into empty slots. ("We need one more leader for 8th grade and a helper for 10 grade.") I was having a hard time finding people who would even commit for a quarter at a time. But recently I tried something different. I met with parents and other adults, in groups or even individually, that I wanted to get involved, and laid out the our entire vision in a way that they could see the significance of the role I was asking them to fill. Much to my surprise, everyone I talked to not only agreed to be long term small group leaders, they were excited and thanked me for the opportunity. That is something I had never experienced in my 13 years of student ministry. I was thinking, "Why didn't I think to this years ago?" </p> <p>Go Orange, or go home. lol </p> http://www.orangeleaders.com/forums/topic/how-do-we-train-leaders#post-19 Tue, 28 Apr 2009 11:03:24 +0000 Beth Nelson 19@http://www.orangeleaders.com/forums/ <p>The Orange Leaders curriculum is a ready-made way to train leaders in your ministry. When you subscribe, you'll receive articles, podcasts, and other resources to help develop both ministry leaders and volunteers. You'll also receive instructions and creative ideas for hosting regular volunteer training and appreciation events.</p> <p>Monthly or quarterly events are great ways to encourage your volunteers and show them gratitude for their consistent service. Use these times to update leaders about happenings in your ministry, to address questions, to tell remarkable stories about the children and students in your ministry, and to develop their leadership capacity through short messages and teachings. </p> http://www.orangeleaders.com/forums/topic/what-do-small-group-leaders-do#post-17 Tue, 28 Apr 2009 10:41:50 +0000 Beth Nelson 17@http://www.orangeleaders.com/forums/ <p>Ultimately, small group leaders build relationships. While teachers communicate, group leaders create the kind of environment where relationships happen. These principles are core to a small group leader’s responsibilities:</p> <ul> <li>Building relationships with kids, with their parents, and encouraging kids to build relationships with each other and with their parents. </li> <li>Facilitating dialogue about faith and life. </li> <li>Answering questions or helping the group to answer their own questions. </li> <li>Helping children and students apply the bottom lines to their lives. </li> <li>Tracking with kids beyond Sunday through social networking, text messages, phone calls, and group gatherings that happen at other times during the week. The older the group, the more important this becomes. </li> <li>Praying for the group, for the families in the group, and encouraging the group to pray for one another. </li> <li>Encouraging and challenging kids to connect with God on their own at home. </li> </ul> http://www.orangeleaders.com/forums/topic/how-do-i-get-consistent-leaders-in-small-groups#post-16 Tue, 28 Apr 2009 10:37:36 +0000 Beth Nelson 16@http://www.orangeleaders.com/forums/ <p>Getting small group leaders to become consistent happens in a variety of ways. It’s a bit organic. But as far as we can tell, these factors help:</p> <ul> <li>Cast vision for what you want to see happen. Since many church leaders grew up under a teacher/student paradigm, you need to continually remind people that leading small groups is about relationships. </li> <li>Create a great serving environment. <ul> <li>Is your environment fun? Do people like to serve? </li> <li>Are you prepared for your volunteers when they show up? Are things in the right places so leaders can focus on relationships? </li> <li>Do you celebrate wins? When relationships go deep, celebrate it and tell others what a great job your group leaders are doing. What you celebrate gets repeated. </li> <li>Do you thank them regularly and meaningfully? Gratitude fosters generosity. </li> </ul> </li> <li>Make the message from the adult service available. Many volunteers don’t want to serve every week because they want to be in an adult service. If you have a second service, encourage group leaders to serve for one and attend one. Give them a free CD of the message. </li> <li>If for various reasons you can’t have a consistent group leader serving the same group of kids every week, choose two leaders per group and rotate them. While not ideal, kids can better relate to two leaders than to a random assortment of leaders.</li> </ul> http://www.orangeleaders.com/forums/topic/how-do-we-cast-vision-for-parents-and-engage-into-the-strategy#post-12 Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:54:18 +0000 Beth Nelson 12@http://www.orangeleaders.com/forums/ <p>Vision leaks, so it must be done constantly, creatively, and in as many ways as can be done. Here are some ideas that might help:</p> <ul> <li>Launch a new ministry season with Orange Night. Cast vision for why you are doing what you do (the strategy behind Orange) as well as the content you might be covering, but make it fun. You might hand out Orange glow sticks and play some great music. If you want to make it a true family event, try showing the "Skeeples and Lomes" DVD to parents and kids together. Finish off the night with orange sherbert, vanilla ice cream, and orange toppings. </li> <li>If you do a monthly FX (Family Experience), it’s a great chance to cast vision. Give parents the monthly Parent Link Live parenting podcast to help them understand how they can win at home. Some churches even start the family experience a few minutes early, and while the kids warm up with some songs, parents gather for a few minutes with the senior pastor or another church leader who gives a short (5-7 minute) talk on parenting values or the church’s Orange strategy. </li> <li>At the end of the year, throw an Ovations event where you celebrate your volunteers. Many of your volunteers are parents, and while you are appreciating their hard work, you have yet another opportunity to remind why what they do is so important. </li> <li>Create a highlights video of what goes on "back there" so parents can see what it looks and feels like, and play these videos prior to the adult service when appropriate. Work with your church’s senior leadership, lead pastor, and eldership for their communication and support. Talk with your senior pastor about possibly doing an Orange series for adults. </li> <li>Encourage parents to tap into Amber Sky, where the vision gets reinforced once again through music and creative arts.</li> </ul> http://www.orangeleaders.com/forums/topic/how-do-we-cast-vision-for-senior-leadership#post-2 Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:09:41 +0000 Beth Nelson 2@http://www.orangeleaders.com/forums/ <p>Leaders love to be around other visionary leaders. Encourage your senior leaders to hear from some of the most influential ministry leaders in the country by attending the Orange Conference, Orange Tour, or a Leader’s Forum. We provide these venues for two reasons. First, we want to cast vision and provide detailed information on things Orange. Second, conferences can advance a team like almost no other venue. We’ve all seen what happens to motivation, team dynamics and optimism when teams have a shared experience they can build on. In our Orange gatherings, top leaders talk about leadership at a level that other senior leaders value. Your team can gain clarity of vision, build networks with other senior leaders and gain insight into how a unified strategy would impact your entire organization. </p> <p>If you are looking for resources you can use in-house, consider working through Think Orange as a leadership team. If you are looking for other Orange resources, the <em>What If</em> and <em>Essence of Orange</em> DVDs can cast vision for your team at home. </p> <p>Ultimately, though, you as a leader are responsible for casting vision to your team. If you are not the senior pastor or do not lead your department, here are some tips on leading up:</p> <ul> <li>Appreciate your senior leadership team’s responsibility for the entire ministry. If you show you understand how the changes you are proposing will affect the wider organization, you’ll gain credibility in your senior team’s eyes. </li> <li>Always support your leader publicly, even if you disagree with him or her. Where you disagree, share those thoughts directly behind closed doors. Public loyalty buys you private leverage. </li> <li>Do your homework. When you present a proposal that is clear, strategic and reasonable, it makes it easier for you and the team to answer the dozens of questions that will inevitably arise.</li> </ul>