We were required to read a book that I don’t remember the name of.  What I do remember is that it talks about getting out of our “stained glass fish bowl.”  Basically it speaks about doing our ministry and evangelism outside the four walls of the church.  It admonishes us to stop fishing in our own tank.  It’s great to minister to each other but it’s even greater to go outside of our own church community and minister to people at large.  Some of them will be Christians, some will not.

Not the Greatest Timing

Right now I’m sitting in my timeshare in the Bahamas.  This is my week and I need a vacation to get some relief from the responsibilities of being a caregiver for my 82 year old god-sister.  The only thing that bothers me about leaving for my vacation is that I want to do something for the people in the Atlanta area who are devastated by the floods.  Not the greatest time to take a vacation, but before I left I sent a donation through PayPal to HopeATL.  However, I still want to serve in a more personal manner.  I want to minister outside of my stained glass fishbowl.

My Epiphany

That’s when I had an epiphany!  God gave each of us at least one spiritual gift.  Some people, like Shaun King, have several gifts.  From what I have seen, he appears to have the gifts of evangelism, teaching and administration.  Even though I don’t have the gift of evangelism, I have gifts.   I don’t have to go to the highways and byways and find people to minister to them that’s why God gave us different gifts.  God knew that I would be an introvert and He knew that I would not go out looking for people to evangelize.  So He gave me other gifts to compensate.

Ministry is about serving people.  Ministry is about helping people.  If I demonstrate my love for God by helping others, they can see Him through me and that’s a form of evangelism.  It is definitely ministry.  I know how to plan and organize and I know how to be hospitable.

My Commitment/Your Challenge

Before writing this post, I contacted HopeATL and gave them my information so they can find a place for me to volunteer.  I  also gave them times that I am available to help.  I know there are lots of you out there who can do something:  hand out water, pull up carpet, be a runner for supplies.  I challenge you to contact HopeATL and offer your gifts and talents to help people who have been devastated by the floods.  They don’t have to be people from your church (although that’s a good place to start) just go out and help the flood victims – remember “faith without works is dead.”

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Last week I wrote about planning and hospitality during our Pastor’s anniversary celebration.   The celebration went well.  We had one local speaker and two speakers from out of town.  I enjoyed the planning stage of the event and look forward to the next one.  This is one of the reasons I write so much about hospitality and planning for our guests.  In case you haven’t guessed, my spiritual gift is administration.

I love to plan events.   Every little detail is important; the smallest detail can make or break a successful event.  Even though I enjoy it, I must admit that event planning is a lot work.  It doesn’t just happen.  A lot goes into the planning, organizing and executing the event.  A good team is worth its weight in gold.

I am a strong believer in ministries selecting staff and volunteers based on their spiritual gifts.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration . . . (1 Corinthians 12:27-28)

God gave each of us at least one gift, but just like He doesn’t make us accept Christ, He also doesn’t make us use our gift.  We choose whether or not to use them.  Proverbs 18:16 says “A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men.”  Using my gift, has allowed me to travel the United States and abroad.

Check List & Time Tables

A check list is an essential tool for event planning.  Check lists keep you on track and remind you of what’s been done and what needs to be completed.  Some things to include in an event planning checklist are:

• budget for event
• honorariums to be paid
• anticipated income
• date of event
• venue for event
• site visit (if applicable)
• caterer or cook (if applicable)
• meal service/set-up (if applicable)
• audio visual needs
• number of people expected to attend
• guest speaker/psalmist/musician
• travel arrangements for guest
• travel to and from airport (inbound and outbound)
• hotel reservations
• hospitality basket
• registration fees (if applicable)
• registration set up
• product table
• volunteers needed
• marketing (website, flyers, post cards, radio/tv ads . . .)
• event set-up and breakdown
• post event evaluation (what worked, what didn’t, how to improve)

A time table takes the check list to another level.  Time tables are especially good for teams because they keep everyone on task. Use a time table to to assign tasks and establish deadlines. A time table tell you when a task needs to be completed and by whom.

A final word about building your team.  Even though event planning is mainly planning and organizing, that does not mean each team member needs to have the gift of administration.  Your team needs people who are creative and people with the gift of helps.  The more diverse your team, the better.

When we plan events at our church, I work with our business manager.  Even though we both have the gift of administration, our gifts are a little different.  She is people oriented and I am task oriented.  Together we make a good team.  We bring in other people who are creative and some with the gift of helps to round out the team.

These are some basic event planning tips that will get you started with your event.  For questions, please use the comment section.

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On Tuesday we had a pre-anniversary celebration with comedian Rod Allison.  At the end of his performance, he thanked us for inviting him and complemented our staff and armor bearers for our level of hospitality and excellence.  Mr . Allison enjoyed himself and we enjoyed hosting him because he exemplified what I wrote about in my post, 10 Ways to Get Invited Back to A Ministry.

In previous posts I’ve talked about the importance of hospitality:

• Go The Extra Mile for Ministry Guests
• 10 Ways to Help Your Out of Town Guest Feel Welcome at Your Church
• How to Host a Guest Speaker

On Suite101.com, Janice Benoit defines hospitality in the following manner:

I often am asked, “What is hospitality?” Wikipedia defines hospitality as the relationship process between a host and a guest.

But what does that mean in practical terms? I believe that hospitality is better defined in terms of the guest’s feelings. For instance, does the guest feel comfortable (in terms of location, interaction with other guests, food choices, ambient temperature, etc.).

So an effective way to implement hospitality . . . is to use The Golden Rule. Put yourself in the guest’s place and make sure that you are comfortable with every aspect of your function. Even in party planning, do onto others as you would have done unto yourself!

I chose this definition because it is right on point.  Treat your guests the way you would want them to treat you and it will make you a better host.  The best book that I have read on hospitality is  Be Our Guest: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service by the Disney Institute.

Over the years, our church has become known for its hospitality to guests.  We have learned by observing other churches, taking note during restaurant experiences and reading books on customer service.  If you want to take your church to another level of hospitality, continue to learn and practice what you learn on your guests.  It’s not that hard, practice makes perfect.

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Ministries invite you to their church to participate in conferences and special services for one of several reasons:

• They have relationship with you and want you to be a part of their event
• They have watched your ministry from afar and believe you have something to offer their congregation
• They want to establish relationship with you and your ministry

Whatever the reasons are for inviting you to their church, the ministry expects a fruitful and pleasant experience.  Whether you are invited back or not depends on how effectively you minister and what kind of guest you are.  Several years ago, our church invited a well known minister to preach at our annual conference.  We had seen him on television and heard him speak at other conferences.  We were excited that he had accepted our invitation, we looked forward to his visit and were glad when he left.  He was not invited back.

The impression that he left was that he was stand-offish, distant and that he was doing us a favor by coming to our church.  To be fair, this may not have been his intent and it may not be a fair assessment of his personality, but it’s the impression that he left with us.

If you want to be invited back to a ministry, consider the following tips:

1. Be friendly:  A smile and a little conversation goes a long way – even if you are tired from your trip.
2. Respond to ministry requests in a timely manner:  The host ministry may ask for a bio, photo, W9, etc. to be sent by e-mail, fax or snail mail, don’t put it off until the last minute.
3. Be on time for service:  Guests who run late cause anxiety and stress for the host, be on time.
4. Thank the pastor for your invitation:  The host church could have invited someone else but they chose you, express your appreciation.
5. Have expectations but leave your demands at home:  You may be accustomed to a different level of service at your home church but you are a guest.  Don’t be obnoxious by making demands.
6. Minister within the allotted time given:  If the ministry gives you 40 minutes to minister, you should be sitting down in 40 minutes.
7. Do what you were asked to do:  If you were invited to sing, don’t give sermon before you sing.
8. Thank the ministry assistants assigned to you:  Armor bearers, drivers and ministry assistants appreciate a gesture of thanks.  If you took ministry products and they were particularly helpful, consider giving them a complementary gift of one of your products.
9. Accept your honorarium with grace:  If your honorarium is less than expected accept it with grace.  Unless you informed the ministry of a set fee or a fee range, you don’t have the right to complain.
10. Know when to call it a day:  At the end of a long morning, afternoon or evening service your hosts are tired.  They may enjoy your company and conversation but enough is enough.

Most of these tips are just good manners.  Follow them and your host will enjoy your company and may invite you back.

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Your Ministry Helper has posted several articles about hosting ministry guests.  While you know that your staff and volunteers should be friendly to your guests, you can go the extra mile with a little lagniappe – a little something extra!  When that something extra is unexpected, it’s even better.

Hotels and restaurants are in the hospitality business.  Their standard operating procedures are based on Biblical principles.  There is no justifiable reason that secular entities should be more hospitable than the church.

Some of these suggestions are primarily for guests that you bring in from out of town.  Some of them can be applied to any guest that you invite to your church – local or out of town.

When you invite a guest speaker or singer to your church, there are some things they expect:

• an honorarium
• to be picked up from the airport on time
• to be picked up in a clean car
• to be put up at a decent hotel
• to arrive safely at the hotel/church
• and they hope their hosts will be friendly

When you go the extra mile and add a little something extra it makes your ministry more memorable.  It helps you stand out from the crowd.  So what are the kinds of things that help you stand out from the crowd?  Most of these are very simple and easy things to incorporate into your ministry.

Contact the Guests Office Before Their Visit

• You can do this with a phone call or by providing a form that will give you the following information:
• What your guest prefers to drink before, during and after ministering
• What temperature they prefer for their beverages:  cold, with ice or room temperature
• Food preferences:  chicken, fish, beef . . .
• Known food allergies
• Dietary restrictions (low sodium, no pork . . . )
• Favorite snacks

A Nice Hospitality Basket

A hospitality basket is a nice gift especially if your guest will be with you for a few days.  These baskets come in very handy when your guests is a little hungry but doesn’t want a meal.  It saves them a trip to the hotel gift shop or vending machine.  They are also welcomed for a late night snack.

If you do your homework and speak with someone from your guest’s office you can find out what kind of snacks your guests prefers.  Some people like healthy snacks like fruit, juice and granola bars; some people like chips, sodas, chocolate and cookies.  Two things to include in either type basket are few bottles of water and some fruit.

If there is someone on your staff or in your ministry who can make a professional looking basket that’s great.  If not, order a basket to your specifications.

Meals at the Church

If your ministry provides meals at the church like lunch during a conference or dinner after an evening service, make sure it is food that your guest prefers.  For instance, our church had a guest to preach a three day conference at our church.  I found out from his office that he loves sweet potatoes and anything with pineapples.  So, our dinner menu included candied yams and pineapple pound cake for dessert.  It made quite an impression.

Also pay attention to known food allergies and dietary restrictions.

These are just a few things that can make a memorable visit and help your ministry stand out from the crowd.  A little lagniappe goes a long way.  These suggestions are a loose interpretation of Biblical principles of hospitality.  Going the extra mile was not something extra, it was expected.

Suggested Reading:

10 Ways to Help Out of  Town Speakers Feel Welcome at Your Church

How to Host A Guest Speaker

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