The Nine Steps…
Whether you use the GEM or develop your own model, you will need to develop systems that will reinforce your vision so that a culture of engagement can be built. The nine steps in this diagram are a systematic approach for a team to gather to build that system.
These nine steps apply to every area of the GEM. It is a best practice for each ministry area to follow the nine steps so that when people move from one ministry area to another, they are already familiar with the process of getting engaged.
Don’t work on these steps alone. Rather, engage the whole leadership team (including those that you want to join the team). You might pick a night to have dinner together and begin to pray and dream about the future of your area of ministry.
Here’s a brief idea of what the nine steps are all about:
1. Pray and Dream. This is the idea of ‘beginning with the end in mind. As the team begins to think about their area of ministry, have them prayerfully consider what they would like it to look like in 3-5 years. What would you like to accomplish? What sort of an impact do you want to have? Have the team write down a one page document that reveals this dream.
2. Building an Organizational Chart. An organizational chart shows the structure of the ministry, and how you are dividing up the responsibilities to accomplish the vision. Encourage your team to draw an organizational chart that will help others to see the vision that they have for this ministry in three to five years. Although the organizational chart might be bigger than necessary, it will show where this ministry is heading. Here’s an example organizational chart for a kids ministry:
3. Write Job Descriptions. Use the organizational chart from step 2 as a guide, writing job descriptions for every person. You need to include their title, the key responsibilities of their jobs, any time commitments, pre-requisites, and any other details that will help the person understand their job. Your team will find that if a person is given a quantifiable definition of what they are signing up for, that they will be more apt to commit. Job descriptions should not be more than one page in length.
Organizational Chart for Kid’s Ministry
4. Develop Training. Taking the job descriptions you have written, now take time to develop a training for the jobs that you are asking people to do. As well as the basic ‘how to’s’ of the job, you might also consider sharing your vision, values, and your desire to see purposeful relationships built as people serve so that we can speak the love of God (the gospel) into each others lives.
“Steps 1-4 are the base of the 9 steps....and the most work. Once you have these steps completed, you are well on your way to engaging the church.”
5. Attract. After finishing steps 1-4, your team now needs to figure out how they are going to attract people towards your ministry. The plan might include shoulder-tapping (personal invites), announcements from the front, social media posts, or even creating a video. Whatever you attract plan is, write it down and include dates.
7. Connect. New members of any team have a tendency to feel insecure….and rightly so, they’ve never worked on this team before. Therefore, connect your new team members to experienced team members until they know that they can do the job on their own. Connection builds security, but it is also the key to building friendships.
6. Build. After attracting people, it is now time to bring out the training you worked on in step 4 and use it to ‘build’ your team. This might include an orientation type training, but is should also cover all the skills and characteristics a person will need to serve in this capacity.
8. Develop.