So, out of curiousity, how do you get people to link to your church’s Web site?

I worked for quite a while today compiling a list of people in our church who blog.  After I made the list, I sent them all an e-mail asking them to consider including a widget in their sidebar.  I also asked them to consider linking to the church Web site any time they blog about an activity they attend with us.  I’m thinking about getting them together in a room to talk about some details like posting photos to our Flickr pool and participating in monthly blogging assignments.  I’m also thinking about having classes on how to start blogging.

There are two main reasons I want to exert all this effort on getting links to our church Web site.  For one, it brings greater connection to our members and regular attenders.  They’re more connected with what’s going on, and they’re more likely to participate regularly.

The second reason is equally important.  More links to the Web site means more people find the Web site.  They’ll click over from the referring sites and our Google PageRank will increase simply because they have linked to us.  The direct result is more traffic to the Web site.  Depending on the experience at the Web site, that could result in a visit to the church and ultimately a decision of some type.

So, I’m super curious, what are you doing to get people to link to you?

If you’re not reading Letters from Kamp Krusty, you should be.  Here’s an example of what you’re missing.

High fashion This is in today’s news, from the Pierre Cardin “fashion” “show” in “France”.

Pretty awesome. They say it’s a “preview” of what you will be wearing in the spring. It looks like you will be warm.

I’ve written this sentence before, and I’ll write it again: Ladies, come spring, there’s going to be some elbow chafin’.

In all reality, Brant covers a lot of really interesting and thought provoking stuff.  Still, today’s post was so hilarious that I had to share.  [HT to Kevin for pointing me to the Krusty blog]

Volunteerism is down in America.  How does it affect the church?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “About 60.8 million people volunteered through or for an organization at least once between September 2006 and September 2007… 26.2 percent [of the population].”  That number is down 0.5% from the previous year, following a decline of 2.1% the year before that.

2.6% doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, but it kind of is.  You’re looking at 6 million less people volunteering in America in 2007 than in 2005.

Is this a cultural thing?  Is the new generation less likely to volunteer than the boomers?  Are extended hours at work causing people to be less willing to part with free time?  Does this affect our churches?

I got to thinking about all of this with a post from Kirk Longhofer about volunteers at Fellowship Church in Dallas.  It was encouraging to me today for a number of reasons… partly because most of the Sunday School teachers in the division I direct were late (again) this morning… partly because senior leadership is constantly frustrated about not having enough workers… partly because I really believe in building a High Impact Volunteer Ministry.

Here’s some of the lessons I’ve learned about finding and empowering good volunteers…

1. Never view volunteers as helpers, as people to “fill spots”
2. Give ownership of ministry to volunteers… our churches are supposed to be in the business of empowering every member to become a minister
3. Don’t micromanage; let them do it
4. Make volunteers apply for the position - if you’re going to give them ownership, you need to know they’re up for the task.  The application process will also show them you’re serious about the position
5. Make a position description for every opportunity to serve.  Don’t just ask for a Sunday School teacher - have a “job description” that details what the opportunity involves and how it impacts the Kingdom
6. Have periodic performance reviews to celebrate what God has done in their area and to hone areas that need improvement.

Am I there?  No way!  You read it above - most of my teachers were late this morning.

I was away from work for the majority of July, and I spent the first couple of weeks in August catching up from being gone.  Then, everything seemed to explode at work.  We had some major personnel changes, and now I have a funny mix of responsibilities from 3 different positions.  Then, the personnel committee met and voted on a new job description for me, so I became the Information Technology Manager and Director of Communication.  More stuff added on.

From there, I decided that it would be a good idea to take the lead on our new middle school ministry.  We’re only meeting on Sunday mornings right now, but it definitely requires more of my time.  Add to that my ministry with Compassion International and teaching a discipleship course to a group of teenagers.  Wow!

My fear is that it will never slow down.  Shoot, I’m not even married now.  I’ve got to imagine that marraige will dramatically change my time comittments.

Through it all, I’m thrilled to be entrusted with all of these responsibilities, and I’m looking forward to finding the sweet spot of proper balance.

I’m going through a new book now. Hope Lives is a five-week journey of introspection and prayer.  Color me convicted already, on the third day in this journey.  There’s a simple chart on page 21, titled “Gross National Income per capita 2003.”

Did you know that in 2003, the average American made $37,610?*  We have this idea that that’s a somewhat meager American income, and we might even say that it is just scraping by.  I know that I’m somewhere close to that mark, and I’ve been personally guilty of thinking that I’m just scraping by.

Pair that knowledge with the bottom of the chart.  Ethiopia is at the bottom of the GNI chart.  According to the same information, the average Ethiopian made only $90 for the entire year of 2003.  That’s convicting.  The average American made more money than 417 Ethiopians put together.

What really got me was my wastefulness.  I worked out the math today, and I spend an average of $5.38 per DAY on beverages.  My typical beverage of choice is a Diet Coke.  I love them.  That number goes up dramatically when I pay Seattle’s Best or Starbucks a visit.  So, my $5.38 per day on beverages comes out to be $1,963 per year.  So, the bitter realization is that I spend more on beverages in any given year than 21 Ethiopians spend on EVERYTHING.

Action.  I know that I can do without Diet Coke and Starbucks.  Neither of those companies will wither and die.  21 Ethiopians might.  So, I’m going to fast from beverages for at least this week.  I’m hoping to make it permanent.  I will consciously put money that I would have spent on them into a fund for the work that Compassion International is doing.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, Compassion is an organization you can put 100% of your trust in.  God is working in huge ways through them, and if you don’t already sponsor a child - do it today.

* Source: World Bank, “GNI per Capita 2003,” World Development Indicators database (New York: World Bank, 2004)