Resources e-letter 18:4 - August 2018

NEW: ‘A test for your church’s welcome’

So you think your church is ‘welcoming’ or ‘friendly’. If so, score yourselves on these 20 tests designed to help you assess just how welcoming you are. Better still, ask some newcomers to carry out the exercise for you as they may be a bit more realistic in their scoring. There are

• five test questions about the congregation;
• five test questions about the service;
• five test questions about the surroundings;
• five test questions about the systems.

Each test has a short explanation. Here are four examples, one from each of the sets above. You score each one on a range of 0 (hopeless) to 5 (brilliant).

• Are those sitting nearby appropriately welcoming?
• Will any visitor feel awkward for any reason at any point?
• Is the seating comfortable with suitable spaces for latecomers?
• Are there clear next steps for visitors?

Training Notes TN109, A test for your church’s welcome, are now available without charge on the Training Notes page of this website. Use these notes for your key decision makers and any Newcomers Team or welcomers.
  
  

NEW: ‘It’s confidential: but it still leaks out’

These new Training Notes set out the issues to be covered in a Confidentiality Policy. But instead of the normal application for staff or project volunteers, these notes are different and look at the subject from the perspective of the whole congregation. Here are the main sections:

• When is there a breach of confidence?
• What other policies exist?
• Why do leaks take place?
• How widely may information be shared?
• Where do we need to take care?
• What actions do we take over any breach?
• How do we prepare a church-wide Confidentiality Policy?

These notes are designed to raise awareness of the issue in church, and point out the dangers of gossip, prayer news, those who seek power, malicious action and theft/carelessness. Useful for a staff or leadership team discussion, with application then to the whole membership.

Training Notes TN110, It’s confidential: but it still leaks out, are now available without charge on the Training Notes page of this website.
  
  

Other resources on Sunday services

Here are a selection of other resources on my website on organisational themes related to church worship. Items marked A are on the Articles page. Items marked TN are on the Training Notes page.

A18        Administering church funds (for the offering)
A31        Helping people back to church
A35        Mapping your church (the early sections)

TN1        Preparing to read the lesson
TN14      Setting up a Newcomers Team
TN16      Interviews in church services
TN21      Ideas for a sermon on administration
TN47      Breathing life into the intercessions
TN52      The perils of PowerPoint
TN56      Questions for preachers
TN82      Print or screen?
TN83      The service isn’t over yet
TN93      And now for the notices
   

Thank you for your interest in the Resources section of my website and with my warmest good wishes