How to Maximize Going for Your Goals in 1 Year

Plan to reach more goals this upcoming year by changing how you look at your time.

Se things differently in order to achieve more in less time.

Charity Challenge for 2018

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; 

but the greatest of these is charity.

- 1 Corinthians 13:13 (KJV)

"Change requires action." - John C. Maxwell

Oftentimes, I find myself wondering why we struggle with letting go.  We refuse to let go.  We refuse to let God have His way.

We hold on to the wrong things for the wrong reasons, and then we wonder why we do not have what God promised us.  

The logic is simple, friends.  We cannot take hold of what we should have because we have not freed up our hands to let go of what we are holding onto for dear life.  Sadly, much like the rich young ruler who left saddened from the words of Jesus, what we have a hold on truly has a hold on us.  Perhaps, it even has a hold over us.

Imagine how much collective power we would have if we shared and pooled our resources like the brothers and sisters of the early church, having all things in common.

2018 Charity Challenge

"... but the greatest of these is charity." 

- 1 Corinthians 13:13 (KJV)

Life Path Multimedia is part of the larger vision of Life Path Ministries & Services.  Our work consists of online multimedia content and a message-driven, mobilized outreach ministry.  This blog along with Rev Bruce's Blog serve as the cornerstones of content for Life Path Multimedia, but our online storefronts on Sellfy and Lulu (books and other resources) as well as Zazzle and CafePress (t-shirts, buttons and gear) are how we truly fund the ministry's outreach and good works.

During 2018, we dare to trust God for more support as we seek to expand and enhance our ministry's outreach and evangelism.  Our goal is to take the gospel on the go, taking it to more people on the streets and in all walks of life. One of our goals is to purchase a used SUV and trailer later this year for summer outreach at festivals and fairs, even local 5Ks and marathons.  Also, we want to distribute tracts, Bibles, and more.  We want to make the accusation in Acts a reality that we are turning the world upside down.

For 2018, all we ask is that you check out our storefronts and identify items that you might purchase in support of our ministry.  Consider it an act of charity (translated as "love") and help us help others.  While some of our publications are more secular, our profits go towards the work of our higher calling as Paul wrote in the New Testament.

Check out some samples below.  Also, check back throughout the year for more materials and designs as they become available.

Writing the Wrongs (poetry in protest)

Discover Words from the Underground by Rev Bruce Jackson

(poetry)

Subscribe to our mailing list

Loving Poetry Dark T-Shirt by LifePath
Find more & unique gifts at CafePress

Order @Prayer Always pin on Zazzle

@Prayer is designed to stir up inspiration Pinback Button
by Lifepath08

Almost New Wineskins for the Same Old Ministry

Part of my experience as a minister has been working with young men and other men in the local church's men's ministry and through A.M.E.N. under Life Path Ministries.  I see a lot of young men who have made wrong or unwise choices when I preach at the Consolidated Brig on a monthly basis for their Protestant worship services.  I write a lot of poetry on my own experiences like I did in my last e-book of poems,  Writing the Wrongs.  Somehow, I know that something has to be used to help with our predicament.

I write this post with a heavy heart for what I have seen and heard from our men who are behind bars and down and out on their luck, whether it be on the streets on their own or still at home.  This is to provide young people and the people who work with them with some handy resources and information to do more in the same ministries.

National Network for Youth Ministries (NNYM) has been one of my favorite site's and offers great updates, newsletters and information for youth workers and youth leaders.  I discovered them when we started a mentoring program through our church's faith-based nonprofit agency.  I love what they offer those who serve youth.  They are seriously resourceful to many of us in the field of ministry.

The Body by Chuck Colson is a must-read.
Also, check out:

• Jesus Freak by DC Talk
• Crazy Love by Francis Chan
• He Chose Nails  by Max Lucado

Youth leaders could benefit from articles on compassion and caring for others as well as fundraising and leading groups.  Check out the article on youth leadership strategies that I had posted some time ago.

I pray that this leads to some new ideas and some innovations in the ministry.  I pray that we do not continue to see a decline in college enrollments and increases in prison sentences.

Perhaps, we will see a decline in our young folks desiring to live like reality TV stars and seek to live more like the real Jesus who came and died for the sins of the earth.  That can only come as we try to use some new wineskins or at least almost new ones.

Focus on Freelancing

I write all sorts of content as a freelance writer.

I have no real niche.  I write poetry and fiction.  I write about religion as much as I write about sports and community activities and events.  I blog, journal, present, teach, and edit online as a freelancer.

 I write e-zine articles and post to multiple blogs.  I write for a wide variety of audiences.

You can join me on my freelance journey at iWriter, too.

I have published articles on Squidoo and HubPages, too.  My articles include content related to writing grants and freelance writing opportunities.  I also publish my own books of inspirational poetry on Lulu.


Get a copy of one of the Bible studies offered by Life Path Ministries & Services.  Subscribe to get inspiration from one of my other blogs either Rev Bruce or Life Path.

Assess Your Board

The following statistics are based on a BoardSource Report (2007):

• Only 5% of nonprofits list fund raising as a "board strength"
• Nearly 50% of nonprofit board members are 50-64 years old
• 92% of boards have an external financial audit
• 87% of nonprofit organizations made governance policy changes
• 70% of surveyed nonprofits established a policy for board members to review the IRS Form 990

So where do you stand?

Do you even know?

The danger zone is not when you know that you are wrong.  The danger zone is when you do not know if you are wrong.  That's where the real danger lies for any nonprofit board of directors.

You need to know your challenges to face your challenges.  If you do not know them, how do you plan on facing them? Use a proven assessment tool.  Work with nonprofit consultants or business development specialists/ analysts.

Get informed on what you need to get your board back on track.

Victorious with Volunteers

"Attempt great things for God; expect great things from God." -William Carey

We can accomplish much for God.  We can accomplish much for God by devoting and dedicating ourselves to God's business.  We accomplish so very much through what God already provides us within the Body of Christ. 

We can become victorious through the efforts of our volunteers.  Our work serves as an offering to God as we serve Him with joy and gladness.  Our victories are vicarious vignettes of what God does through us as His servants, His vessels, and His instruments.  We have to answer to God for how we handle what God has provided for us.  It comes down to stewardship, serving as God's servants.

Learn more about the riches of volunteer resources available:

• http://www.volunteerpower.com/
• http://www.christianvolunteering.org/
• http://www.churchvolunteercentral.com/

Modern Messaging

"Things should be made as simple as possible, but not any simpler."

-Albert Einstein

Today's technology has all sorts of possibilities.  Can I offer some simple possibilities that float around in my imagination? Here there are:

• Gospel-on-the Go: Blackberry Bible Buddies,  mBible, Mobile Ministry Meetings
• Sunday Specials: Clips from Church, Sermon Soundbytes, and Live From...
• Pastor's Portal: Daily Devotional Message, Faith on Facebook, LinkedIn with the Lord, and Youth on YouVersion
• Christian Corner: Christian Community Calendar (Every city, town, province, and municipality should have some kind of calendar that shares the upcoming Christian events like Christian film festivals, holiday celebrations, etc.), Christian Business/ Resource Directory, and Christian Communications Channel (The closest thing I have seen to this is a system like OntheCity from Zondervan... or http://www.voxox.com/ and maybe Salesforce's Chatter system that was just unveiled)

Imagine if you thought more about how to use the technology as a tool.  See how you could get the Word out over the Web (Wow! That was another good one.  Can you patent online content? Hmmm...).

Virtual Venues

The new information technology—Internet and e-mail—have practically eliminated the physical costs of communications.- Peter Drucker

In this technological age, you have to consider going into virtual venues.  You have to see how to maximize the current technology to your advantage.  See how to establish yourself within online communities that can expand your territory.  You set yourself apart from the crowd by what you put out there.

Here are some considerations for enhancing your multimedia capacity:

• Podcasting (iTunes, MP3 downloads, etc.)
• Document sharing (http://www.scribd.com/, http://www.slideshare.net/, http://www.box.net/ )
• Blogging (http://www.wordpress.com/, http://www.blogger.com/)
• SMS text messaging (http://www.voxox.com/, http://www.eztexting.com/, http://www.tatango.com/ )
• Video conferencing (http://www.skype.com/, http://www.tokbox.com/ )

Whether you are are seeking new clients for your brick and mortar business or seeking to expand your ministry's presence, you need to see how to use technology to your advantage.  it can streamline your current communications in new ways.



Cyber Challenges

"The ways in which churches are reaching out to people over the Internet are expanding."- The Barna Group

You have a website.
So what?
Your pastor is podcasting, blogging and streaming videos daily.
So what?
Your ministry team is using social networking and microblogging, tweeting and texting at a fast pace.
So what?

Identify more than what you are doing.  That's just the evidence of some form of effort.  You have to get to the point to where you actually measure the effectiveness of what you are doing.

• Who is reached by what you put out there in cyberspace?
• What is the result of all of your web activities? New converts? Increased visitors? Something else?
• How do you know that your cyber presence is working out?
Google Analytics or some other measurement tool?

Think it through.  You do not want to simply do something.  You want to do something that changes the world.  You want to face your cyber challenges with purpose and intent, confirming the call and cause of your mission and taking action to bring it forth.

Take a moment and see what tools exist that can help and support you to have a critical web presence.  Look at Techmission and Tech Soup for articles and solutions on using technology to its full advantage.  Invest some time engaging your team and focus groups into how to use technology to communicate internally and externally as well as broadcast sermons and services offered by your church or organization.  Take the time to turn your cyber challenges into Internet innovations.

Calendar Considerations

To everything there is a season...- Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NKJV)

Your calendar should not determine your actions. Use your calendar to distinguish your actions. You need to identify what time you need to plan and perform, even perfect, what you are are doing daily, weekly and monthly. Your calendar should include your quarterly and annual activities, too.

Your daily planner may work for identifying things to plan as well as things to perform. Franklin Covey and Day Runner make some great planners. As far as technology, I prefer using Google Calendar online as opposed to MS Outlook or any other program. Google Calendar interfaces with my Gmail account and offers me present reminders as well as collaboration with my contacts in Gmail or other emails. I just prefer it to other online and software alternatives.

Let your calendar help you keep up with appointments and assignments like meetings and special events. Schedule your daily and weekly activities in a monthly view. Print out copies of your next three months to get into view what are your regular meetings and activities as well as what special events and activities you have coming up on the horizon.

Sites for Support

I am an avid "web-crawler." I search the web for sites that can help me with my work and ministry. I have discovered some sites that truly can support you as you seek to enhance and expand your ministry for greater effectiveness in this day and age.

Here is a short list of sites for support:

• http://www.outreach.com/ Great resources from banners to do-it-yourself templates; be sure to take a look at http://blog.outreach.com/ for tips and ideas on a wide range of outreach topics and http://www.outreachmagazine.com/ for articles and information on outreach. Look into their church-planting resources, too.
• http://www.lifetreecafe.com/ If you are in ministry or seeking to get one started, here is a possible resource that will cause you to be "missional." Check out what this conversational and casual gathering can do for your church and the un-churched. Read what it's about. It will take some planning and strategies on your part.
• http://www.lifechurch.tv/ This church is taking multi-site ministry into a whole new era. You have to check out their online worship experience as well as their resources and messages (even those that are not live.) Open is a great resource for downloads of templates and forms that will help administration and ministry leaders. YouVersion has to be one of my favorite sites on the web. With everything from "live" worship and the audio Bible to Bible reading plans and the means for sharing via Facebook and Twitter, this site will rock your world. Church Metrics is a cool free tool that allows you to track everything from attendance to commitments and baptisms. It's web-based and even has a mobile application for on-the-go ministry and small group leaders.
• http://www.urbanministry.org/ Tons and tons of information and resources for "street ministry" and beyond. I use the Word Press blog application for Saved2Serve, our network for ministries, faith-based organizations and parachurches. You have to check out their Church Grants and Volunteer sub-sites. This site is a real winner.
• http://www.ebase.org/ I like E-Base for nonprofits and donor tracking because it does something different than Church Metrics. This download allows you to track donors, volunteers, and other things such as outreach campaigns. It allows you to see what works and what doesn't in a data storage format almost like CRM software for business.

These sites are useful and worth exploring. I see them as mechanisms for strengthening and supporting your work in ministry. Be sure to visit our web database for the free download of "When the Laborers are Few." This will help those who have few "workers" for the harvest that is before them in their part of the vineyard.

Inspiration for Implementation

Ministry Mechanics: Inspiration for Implementation

Then the Lord replied:“Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it."- Habakkuk 2:2 (NIV)

Put your plans in writing in order to put them into action. Consider what it will take for others to run with it. How will you help others to wait for it and its appointed time? The Lord Himself says that it will certainly come. Put the vision in writing. Put the vision into action.

Originally posted at http://urbanministry.org/blogs/saved2serve/2010/07/07/write-it-down/

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.-Ephesians 4:11-12 (NLT)

We all have been positioned for a purpose. Christ gave gifts to the church, the people of God, for a purpose. He provided gifts so that these gifts would be used for His purpose. These varying gifts are to be used in concert to help God’s people ready themselves for God’s work and build up the church. Consider why God has provided us with such positions. Rethink about your approach to Christian leadership.

Look at Position for a Purpose where a full document shares further about this topic. http://lifepathministries.christianarchives.org/.

Biblical Models of Ministry
Moses (delegation)
John the Baptist (behind-the-scenes leadership)
Paul (Mobilizing ministry)
Modernize the methods of ministry
John the Baptist: preparing the way
Jesus Christ: preaching and teaching
Paul: mobilized ministry
Show & Prove (James 2:14-19, 26)

“Our purpose in all things is to please God.”- John Wesley

Ask yourself if you are living up to such a calling. See if your life matches up with giving God your best effort. After all, in the end, we do it for His glory. It is not for the kudos that we could get from our friends and co-workers. We do so to the glory of God, expecting nothing for ourselves.

Originally posted@ Saved2Serve Blog

Ministry Mechanics: We promote success while providing support to organizations, ministries, grassroots and community-based groups, faith-based programs, nonprofits, and small business. Contact us for a Ministry Makeover or any of our other services whether standard or customized: revbruce@ministriesinaction.com

12 Things to Change Your Ministry

Ministry Mechanics:
12 Things to Change Your Ministry (And This World)

1. Pray for God's will, not just success (Matthew 26:39)
2. Study the Bible (morning, noon and night) (Psalm 1:2)
3. Promote Christian fellowship (Romans 14:19)
4. Reach out to someone like Christ did (Mark 16:15)
5. Speak kindly of and to others (Matthew 5:44)
6. Give graciously (Luke 6:38)
7. Support others in recovery and restoration (Exodus 6:6)
8. Train your replacement (John 13:15)
9. Market your ministry (Psalm 34:1)
10. Build a community (Acts 2:44)
11. Develop a personal mission statement (Isaiah 61:1-2)
12. Worship while you "work" (Psalm 100:2)

There are numerous other activities that one could do, but these 12 serve as a starting point to keep in mind as you seek to bring about change. If you are going to serve as an "agent of change," you will need to be ready and willing to implement change.

Multimedia Ministry Tools

...These that have turned the world upside down are come here also.- Acts 17:6 (KJV)

Christians are called to do something with the Word. In fact, they are called to do something with the Word in the world. (Why am I using "they," we are the unified body of Christ so let me use "we" and "us.")

We should use all that we have to turn the world upside down where we go in the world. Whether it be work, school, college or the community, we are to be used by God to share His Word as we interact with this world.

Here are some tools we can use:

• website
• blog
• email
• e-newsletter
• podcasts
• video
• SMS text messages
• Instant Messaging (IM)
• Social media

Think about how you can use your tech tools to turn the world upside down.

Power Tools

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.- 1 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)

As a "workman," you need to be sure that you use your tools and use them correctly. Definitely, you need to be sure to have yourself some power tools of faith. Those are the ones that give you power when nothing else will.

Power Tools (of Faith):

• Prayer: Stay prayed up so that you stay powered up.
• Bible Study: Stay connected to the Lord through His Word, allow it to enlighten and empower you as your primary source of power.
• Fasting: Go without so that you can appreciate when and what God provides for you as well as feel empathy for those who go without day and night; the poor and the needy.
• Meditation: Pick a verse or a phrase from the Word and focus on it. Allow it to minister to you throughout the day. When you're up, meditate on it. When you're down, meditate on it. As you prepare to end your day, reflect upon it.

Use your "power tools" to keep you powered up for the good fight.