The 5 W’s Of Planning A Successful Training Event

Awesome trainings keep me dreaming all night on Friday and then wake me up at the crack of dawn on Saturday. Whether attending as a participant or communicator, I am in love with the idea of getting better. In the same vein, the one thing that will raise my blood pressure is getting excited about a training opportunity that winds up wasting my time. All of the effective training events I have attended have two common components. They are purposeful and well prepared. Nothing happens by accident.

Purpose is paramount. No one likes wandering around a maze of ideas trying to figure out how they all connect. Give me the purpose and then make sure to deliver on that promise. All preparations align to fulfilling that purpose.

When planning trainings for my context, I direct NextGen ministries, I consider where the ministries are headed, where we are on that journey, and what is the next logical step in that direction. Two years ago, when I arrived at my current congregation, I knew I would implement the Orange Strategy. My team and I discussed where we were, where we wanted to go, and how we planned to get there. For us, the first step in implementing the strategy was moving to the curriculum across grades. We were moving from a Sunday school lecture model to more on-the-floor, tactile and discussion-oriented exercises. The purpose of the training was to introduce, orient, and get buy-in to this new curriculum and way of “teaching” our children and youth. The training was aligned to meet that objective. No projectors and whiteboards. Bring on the supply buckets! The next several training events consisted of hands-on simulations of the small group exercises and discussions.

I had to pick a starting place to the many layers to cover. All the elements of the Orange Strategy are important and essential—partnering with parents, the importance of a vibrant environment, worship hosting and storytelling—but I knew if the scope was too wide I wouldn’t accomplish the first objective. These other items were strategically mapped out for future trainings purposed to meet those objectives. This training stuck to curriculum introduction, orientation, and usage proficiency.

Preparation is everything past establishing the purpose—including determining content, location, time, equipment needs, communication regarding the event, and anything else that is needed to accomplish the purpose. Preparation will either hinder or further the realization of the purpose. Using the same example, I use the five W’s to assist in my preparation:

Q1: Who am I trying to attract? How can I make these individuals aware?

A1: I would love the entire ministry but I really NEED my small group leaders. Everyone was contacted via email. The small group leaders were also called the week before.

Q2: What am I trying to accomplish? What do I need to accomplish it?

A2: I want the SGLs to buy into the new curriculum and be excited about its direction. I need all the materials from the lesson that will show my SGLs that this curriculum will help us build our kids faith through fun and authentic relationships.

Q3: Where is the best place to hold this training to assist with meeting its purpose?

A3: I love holding meetings at my house but I need the SGLs to be in their environment in order to get the closest simulation. At the church, in the classroom, on the floor it was!

Q4: When should this be scheduled? Is there a day of the week, time of day, or season of the year that works best?

A4: I work at a commuter church and a lot of my volunteers are parents. Weekdays are horrible! Saturdays would be the day feasible to the largest number of people.

Q5: Why is this training important now? Is this part of a long-term plan or short-term goal? If this is part of a long-term plan, is this the next best step for this group and this time?

A5: This is one-piece of a long-term plan. If I can get them to buy into a curriculum that works, then it will be easier to get them to later buy into the entire strategy.

Unequipped teams are frustrated teams. Training is essential to the recruitment and retention of volunteers and our success as ministries that walk alongside families that help kids build authentic faith. Let’s be purposeful in our training times and put in the preparation that will help them reach their optimum potential.

#NextGenLeaders #PaulaForte #SeptembersArticle

Agape Pruning: A Pre-Requisite For Ministry Growth

Arborists, people who work with trees and plants, understand that pruning is not something just done for the look of a tree but it is necessary for the health of the tree. Pruning is done with the end-result in mind: making the tree healthier and a better fit for the environment that it is growing in. This principle can be applied in many of the churches we serve. Pruning is done to keep our congregations, and the individuals that make up the entire group, growing in a healthy trajectory.

When it comes to people, pruning is not always easy. The people we serve matter, and pruning seasons are not always easy. While the tree branch does not have a voice, emotions, traditions, and opinions, the people we are called to serve do. Pruning is a necessary part of ministry work but it is the heart of the spiritual arborist who determines the difference between effective pruning or a botched job!

More often than not, our issue is not lack of desire for growth, but the willingness to do the pruning to achieve it. I seldom look forward to making decisions related to ministry growth that involves cutting. Several questions come to mind during a pruning season:

• What needs to be minimized in order to experience maximized growth?

• What am I willing to let go of so something else can grow in its place?

• Would the people in the ministry be healthier if this change is implemented?

• Will this change bring us closer to the ultimate amount of fruit that the ministry and the laborers were created to produce?

In 2014, I started a program at the church where I serve as director of children, youth, and young adults. The program was an initial great success! At the seventh month, several things occurred that resulted in an attendance and quality decline. I had to choose: Cut the program or find another way to fulfill the program’s objectives. We revamped the programming day and the original function was revitalized. We have seen great results this year simply by pruning the day. Healthy ministry growth requires pruning. This does not always result in eliminating a particular ministry but ensures that ministry is productive.

When the pruning season begins, as leaders, I believe we should keep this one principle in mind: Be loving in everything we do, (1 Corinthians 16:14, NIrV). The love used in First Corinthians 16:14 is the same love described more thoroughly in First Corinthians 13. Agape. L-O-V-E!

Agape Pruning gives people time to mourn when there is loss and a ministry that they have been serving in for years is no longer part of the church’s direction. Agape Pruning will not eliminate a ministry, position, or person just because they have the power to, or because the person made them angry, or just because . . . whatever reason fits our sometimes selfish motives. Agape Pruning looks for ways to keep others whole during the pruning process! Agape Pruning is purposeful and undergirded by love. Agape Pruning moves beyond the initial change to ministering to the person most affected by the cut.

Agape Pruning considers:

Placement – ensuring that people are working in their area of giftedness and passion

Reinvigoration – thinking outside the box in order to take dated methods and give them relevant meaning

Urgency – prioritizing what is the most immediate need, not pruning everything at once

Nudging – having several conversations that cast vision and possibilities before making any changes; planting the seed and

Excitement – emphasizing the possibilities that the change will create; consistently verbalizing the gains and redirect hesitant conversations in this direction

An agape pruner loves first. When we cut without loving, the possibility for damage becomes inevitable. Agape Pruning is motivated by love and a desire to see God’s people grow through healthy ministry.

#AgapePruning #PaulaForte #NextGenLeaders

Changing the Way We Disciple a Generation

Instituting Orange in two different church environments, both of which were over 100 years old, has allowed me to be a part of shifting some of the ideologies, methodologies, and aspirations of churches seeking to serve our next generation. In 2011, I was looking for a curriculum that took the truths of the Bible and connected them across several age groups to strategically make disciples of Jesus Christ. Before mastering the Orange lingo, I was excited that First Look introduced my infants, toddlers, and preschoolers to the love of God. I was amazed over the intentionality of 252 Basics to help children discover God and why they can trust Him. I was impressed with how XP3 went even further to help students grow in their passion for Christ and their love for others.

I knew that instituting First Look and 252 Basics was just the beginning. As the team embraces the curriculum, we are able to partner with parents through Parent Cues and GodTime Cards and connect them with the same small group leaders who care enough to show up every week.

Methodologically, we moved from teaching random Bible stories to intentional discipleship lessons. The traditional Sunday school model teaches the most popular stories, at the most appropriate times of the year, hoping that things stick. However, Orange takes three basic truths and repeats them over and over again to ensure that the phase emphasizes the lessons that are most important as they strategically move from the cradle to college. Methodologically, we are less interested in teaching the stories, we are more interested in teaching about the love of God that is shown through the stories!

Ideologically, the environments changed from being Sunday-focused to being life-focused. Through Orange, we’ve come to realize how involving parents and the entire church community in discipling children and youth provides an awesome village for their development.

Our aspirations have also changed. They have moved from biblical memorization to scriptural application. We aim to help our students go beyond memorizing the lesson to applying the truths in their daily lives. We now seek to form relationships with every young person that extends our interest and care beyond Sunday morning.

In the two environments I served and serve, we started with Orange as another curriculum, initially thinking that would be enough. However, Orange is more than a curriculum to be taught. It is a proven strategy of discipleship to be implemented. If you stop at the start, you may miss the rewards that come with the hard work of implementing an entire strategy that is working to change the way we disciple a generation.

#NextGenLeaders #PaulaForte