The FellowshipOne Blog

Leadership Inspiration for the Month

By Mark DeMoss, Director of Customer Success

“I wish I could be a fly on the wall at a dynamic church to see how they do it.”  How many times did I say that as a ministry leader over the years?  More than I can count. 

I’ve had the privilege of attending many informative conferences and read countless books on ministry leadership topics.  While these were helpful in my quest to find better ways to lead and develop my area of ministry, conferences and books only provide one-way communication.  It’s not dynamic.  I wanted more than just information.  I longed to sit down with an experienced ministry leader to have an authentic, encouraging and safe conversation.  It would be so good to share the challenges and opportunities I have in my ministry with a trusted advisor—someone who has more experience and has travelled a little further down the path ahead of me and who would take a genuine interest in me and my ministry at my church.  Now that would be so helpful.

Over the years as a ministry leader, I’ve wanted to be a fly on the wall at:

  • A church that successfully expanded from one worship service time to two on Sunday.  How did they make that transition and DOUBLE their Children’s Ministry volunteer positions without burning out?  “
  • A church that made the transition from not having enough volunteers to having PLENTY of volunteers.  “
  • A church where new people feel welcome and connect easily. 
  • A church that revitalized a stagnant Groups ministry into a dynamic discipleship community. 

A church that develops leaders as Paul describes in Ephesians 4:11-13 “…equip His people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up….” 

Ever feel this way?

When it comes to successfully running a ministry, I’ve wanted more than just information.  I’ve wanted to ask questions about how they went from here to there.  I’ve wanted to ask how their people embraced (or rejected) the changes.  I’ve wanted to hear from someone not afraid to share the mistakes they made and lessons they learned.  How did they balance all this given the speed of ministry?  What I’ve really wanted was a ministry success partner. 

On a few occasions I got my wish.  Over my 20 years working full-time as church staff, I’ve had a few, rare and wonderful “fly on the wall…” conversations with experienced ministry leaders. It was so encouraging and helped me avoid making the same mistakes they had.  I benefitted in so many ways.

I am so grateful for these few “mentors” in my life and ministry.  I’m better because of them.  But why is this so rare?  Why is this not a regular part of ministry leadership?  As I read the experiences of the first century church leaders, it seems they encouraged one another and didn’t feel like they were going it alone as much as we do in the modern era. 

Well, I have great news!  You already have a ministry success partner with FellowshipOne.  We are passionate about helping you succeed in ministry at your church.  Since 2004 we have been the “fly on the wall at…” thousands of churches.  We’ve learned a lot from this unique vantage point—best practices, pitfalls to avoid, the strengths and weaknesses of various ministry methods, and so much more.  As a FellowshipOne customer, you have a dedicated Church Success Partner ready and able to connect with you and your ministry team.  No need to go it alone, and no need to be a fly, when you can soar like an eagle with the help of a trusted ministry advisor. 

Take that step today and setup a time to connect with your Customer Success Manager.  Don’t remember who that is?  Call us and ask for your customer success manager at 866-383-2437 or email our team at CSM@FellowshipOne.com.  Your Customer Success Manager is ready to schedule a time that works for your busy schedule.