1. Building the Engaged Church
Larry Hammond

2. Building An Engaged Church
What is a Strength?
How Can You Identify Strengths
How to Manage Non-Strengths
What is Engagement?
Why Does It Matter?
What Drives Engagement?
How to Develop Engagement

3. Why Am I Here? Background Passion Values
Legacy – “Want to Impact Lives”

4. Humor

5. What is a Strength?
A strength is the ability to provide consistent, near-perfect performance in a given activity. This ability is a powerful, productive combination of talent, skill and knowledge.

6. What are Talents?
Talents are naturally reoccurring patterns of thought, feeling or behavior that can be productively applied.
Unlike skills and knowledge, talents naturally exist within you and cannot be acquired.

7. What is a Spiritual Gift?
Spiritual gifts are gifts that are bestowed on Christians, each having his or her proper gift to strengthen the church.
Spiritual gifts are God-given graces meant for works of service, to benefit and build up the body of Christ as a whole.

8. Focus on Strengths Strength Strength Strength Strength Strength

9. Focus on Strengths “The gift you have received, give as a gift.”
- Matthew 10:8

10. Focus on Strengths Strength + + = Skill Knowledge Talent
(Ability to perform)
Knowledge
(What you know)
Talent
(God-given gifts) + + =
Strength

11. What are Skills?
Skills are basic abilities to move through the fundamental steps of a given task.
They can be acquired and developed through formal or informal training.

12. What is Knowledge? Knowledge is, simply, what you know.
You can acquire knowledge through education or training.

13. Creating a Strength
When you enhance a talent by adding the right skills and useful knowledge, you have created a strength.

14. Five Clues to Talent Yearning Rapid Learning Flow
What kinds of activities are you naturally drawn to?
What kinds of activities do you seem to pick up on quickly?
In what activities did the “steps” just come to you automatically?

15. Five Clues to Talent Glimpses of Excellence Satisfaction
During what activities have you had moments of subconscious excellence, “How did I do that?”
What activities give you a kick, either while doing them or immediately after finishing them, “When can I do that again?”

16. Putting It Simply People don’t change that much.
Don’t waste time trying to
put in what was left out.
Try to draw out what was left in.
That is hard enough.
First, Break All The Rules

17. Leadership
Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal.
“A leader is someone who can get things done through other people.”
Warren Buffett

18. Leaders
Leaders stay true to who they are – and then make sure they have the right people around them.

19. Non-Talents Always seem to be a struggle.
Practice does not make it perfect.
Harmless if does not play a role in your life.
Becomes a weakness when you try to use it.

20. Non-Talents—What do you do?
Manage, don’t FIX
If you can avoid using them, then do so!
Use support systems
Complementary partnering
Leverage your talents

21. The “Weakness-Prevention” Assumptions
“You can learn or do anything if you just try hard enough”
“You have the greatest room for growth in your areas of greatest weakness”

22. Weakness
A lesser talent becomes a weakness only when you try to use it.
Whenever possible, avoid using your areas of lesser talent.

23. Strengths-Building: The Right Assumptions
Some behaviors can be learned. Many are nearly impossible to learn. There are differences between talent, skills, and knowledge.
The best in a role delivers the same outcomes, but can use different behaviors.
Weakness-fixing prevents failure. Strengths-building leads to success.

24. Spiritual Gifts
Your spiritual gifts help you find what the ministry is that God wants to see you accomplish.
Your talents are God’s way of showing you how you will accomplish it.

25. Discovering Spiritual Gifts
Help your congregation discover their individual Spiritual Gifts and their talents.
Doing so will create a powerful combination as discovering Spiritual Gifts defines the outcome and discovering talents defines the steps.

26. Invest in Your Strengths
If you spend your life trying to be good at everything, you will never be great at anything.
While our society encourages us to be well-rounded, this approach inadvertently breeds mediocrity.

27. Find Your Leadership Strengths
“I’ve never met an effective leader who wasn’t aware of his talents and working to sharpen them.”
Wesley Clark
NATO Supreme Allied Commander (former)

28. Focus
When we focus on our talents, we are more effective at our tasks and roles.
We are also more successful, happy and fulfilled.

29. StrengthsFinder® Themes
Achiever
Activator
Adaptability
Analytical
Arranger
Belief
Command
Communication
Competition
Connectedness
Consistency
Context
Deliberative
Developer
Discipline
Empathy
Focus
Futuristic
Harmony
Ideation
Includer
Individualization
Input
Intellection
Learner
Maximizer
Positivity
Relator
Responsibility
Restorative
Self-Assurance
Significance
Strategic
Woo

30. Harmony Individualization Communication Relator Empathy Includer
I am intrigued by
the differences
between people
Harmony
I hope no one
has a disagreement
Communication
What stories
do I have?
Relator
I hope I
get to spend time
with a person
I know well
Harmony
Individualization
Empathy
How is
each person feeling?
Communication
Relator
Responsibility
I will complete this
by Friday
Includer
I wonder if anyone
is feeling
left out?
Empathy
Includer
Responsibility

31. Clear it
Confrontation to resolution
Command
Competition
Command
Developer
Positivity
Maximizer
Woo
Maximizer
Polish the pearl
The very best it can be
Developer
Help others grow
Their growth is your fuel

32. Achiever
Inside out push
Everyday starts at zero
Keeps you moving
Achiever
Activator
Belief
Significance
Discipline
Self-Assurance
Adaptability
Focus
Restorative
Self-Assurance
Inner certainty
Robust
Belief
Be of service
Altruistic
Work must matter
Significance
Outside in pull
Craving for significance
Keeps you reaching

33. Analytical
“Prove it”
“Show me the numbers”
Context
“How did we get here?”
Back to the blueprints
Analytical
Arranger
Deliberative
Connectedness
Consistency
Futuristic
Learner
Ideation
Input
Intellection
Context
Strategic Thinking
Futuristic
“There’s got to be a better world”
Always projecting
Input
“Wow that’s interesting”!
Inquisitive
Like to collect things/ideas
Ideation
In love with ideas
A new perspective
A new connection
A new concept
Arranger
The present is precious
“There’s got to be a better way”

34. Humor

35. The Power of Being Called
When you discover your talents and link those talents with your passion, there is no telling what God can accomplish through you.

36. Leadership that Lasts
Perhaps the ultimate test of a leader is not what you are able to do in the “here and now” – but instead what continues to grow long after you’re gone.

37. Why Do We Need a Formal System to Identify and Communicate about Strengths?
Helps identify and quantify attributes that can be considered subjective.
Provides a language / tool to discuss strengths and weaknesses.
Creates a science to support or deny self-perception.

38. Present or Engaged?
Present… or
Engaged…

39. From Doing to Being
To become healthy again, the Church needs to stop doing and start being.
We need to stop focusing on institutional preservation and instead focus on the basics and what it means to be the church.

40. Involvement and Engagement
Involvement is not engagement.
Involvement is what you do, in and for your church.
Engagement is how you feel about your church. Engagement is all about emotions.

41. What is Engagement?
Engagement is the “emotional bond” or “attachment” that members develop with the church during repeated, ongoing positive interactions. This bond goes beyond a single moment in time and is instead, defined by the enduring behaviors, attitudes, actions and heart of the church and its members.
Or, simply put, when members are engaged, they are emotionally connected to the church, passionate about its mission and service, as well as seamlessly aligned with the church’s purpose and direction.

42. What is Engagement?
Engagement describes a sense of belonging to a “family” that stems from one’s experience of making a meaningful contribution to an organization and realizing the value in it.
Church engagement is typically expressed in four themes:
1. life satisfaction
2. willingness to invite a friend to church
3. community service
4. financial giving

43. “What a great experience, how do I get more involved”
Three Member Types
“What a great experience, how do I get more involved”
“Let’s hit the door as soon as the pastor has finished”
NOT ENGAGED
“Our church is really going in the wrong direction”
ACTIVELY
DISENGAGED
29%
54%
17%
ENGAGED

44. Engaged Members
These members are loyal and have a strong psychological connection to their church.
They are more spiritually committed, more likely to invite friends, family members, and coworkers to church events and give more both financially and in commitment of time.

45. Not Engaged Members
These members may attend regularly, but they are not psychologically connected to their church.
Their connection to the church is more social than spiritual. They give moderately but not sacrificially and they may do a minimal amount of volunteering in the community. They are less likely to invite others and more likely to leave.

46. Actively Disengaged Members
These members usually show up only once or twice a year, if at all.
They are on the membership rolls, and can tell you what church they belong to -- but may not be able to name the pastor.
In general, they are unhappy with their church and insist on sharing that unhappiness with just about everyone.

47. Why does Engagement matter?
Spiritual
Health
Spiritual Commitment
Member Engagement + =

48. Indicators of Spiritual Health
Life Satisfaction
I am completely satisfied with my life.
Inviting
In the last month, I have invited someone to participate in my congregation/parish.
Serving
How many volunteer hours a week do you give to help and serve others in your community?
Giving
How much have you given to further the church’s mission?

49. Why does Engagement matter?
Engaged members:
are nearly three times as likely to be extremely satisfied with their lives.
are more than ten times as likely to invite friends to their faith community events.
volunteer more than two hours per week in their communities.
give up to three times more money to their faith communities.
don’t burn out; they only become stronger, more energized and more engaged.

50. Why does Engagement matter?
Engaged churches:
Engaged churches reach out to people and make them feel valued. Provide clear expectations for members and clear expectations on what they can expect from their church.
They let members know their opinions count and that their participation is important.

51. What Engagement Creates
Engaged churches create:
a strong feeling of belonging
a sense that individual member contributions are extremely important
a sense that the overall mission is truly important and worthwhile

52. Focus on Outcomes Outcomes are the result of causes.
In order to affect the outcomes that are the indicators of spiritual health, leaders must focus on improving the causes of spiritual health.
It does not work the other way around.

53. How Do You Develop Engagement?
1. Inform
2. Form
3. Take Stock
4. Measure
5. Communicate
6. Chart the Path
7. Focus on Strengths
8. Live it

54. How Do You Develop Engagement?
Step 1: Inform
Become familiar with the concepts of church engagement
Explore the theological, systematic foundations in embracing engagement as a vision
Study the available research on engagement

55. How Do You Develop Engagement?
Step 2: Form
Plant the seeds of engagement with the church leadership groups
Organize and participate in foundational conversations with church members
Connect an engagement framework with living a spiritually committed life

56. How Do You Develop Engagement?
Step 3: Take Stock
Take a hard look at the current state of the church
Actively listen to parishioners to gain insight on their experiences
Develop a list of positive building blocks and a list of areas which may require more focus
Celebrate and cherish the relationship that exists among parishioners

57. How Do You Develop Engagement?
Step 4: Measure
Develop a way to measure success
Explore the benefits of objective measurement
Develop goals and a timeline in order to evaluate the progression
Adapt, redefine and refocus when you hit bumps in the road (you will as no road is perfectly smooth)

58. How Do You Develop Engagement?
Step 5: Communicate
Nurture the desire and importance of belonging
Share the story of engagement and its importance
Offer parishioners the chance to share their own experiences
Continually invite parishioners to become part of the process of building an engaged church

59. How Do You Develop Engagement?
Step 6: Chart the Path
Develop the course of the church over a series of years
Consider the interrelated nature of the various aspects the church plays in the parishioners lives
Ensure the pastoral plan focuses clearly on engagement
Develop a timeline that aligns the strategic vision with tangible steps

60. How Do You Develop Engagement?
Step 7: Focus on Strengths
Educate on the impact of talent focus on parishioners
Offer parishioners the ability to explore their own talents
Explore the possibilities of the talents which exist within the congregation
Align the people with the purpose and then get out of their way

61. How Do You Develop Engagement?
Step 8: Live it
Your actions speak louder than any words you say
Lead the way, as you embrace engagement through your own actions, others will follow
Leadership and fostering engagement is not only contagious, its exponential

62. How Do You Develop Engagement?
Discover what each member’s strengths are
Match each member with a role that enables them to leverage their strengths
Explain the overall strategy & goals
Explain how their role fits into the overall strategy
Explain the roles of the other members
Point them in the right direction
Get out of their way

63. How Do You Measure Engagement?
Survey instruments are available that word questions in a manner to attain specific response.
Gallup ME25
Surveys must be anonymous and participants must be free from “expected response” or peer pressure.

64. Member Engagement
1. As a member of my congregation, I know what is expected of me.
2. In my congregation, my spiritual needs are met.
3. In my congregation, I regularly have the opportunity to do what I do best.
4. In the last month, I have received recognition or praise from someone in my congregation
5. The spiritual leaders in my congregation seem to care about me as a person

65. Member Engagement
6. There is someone in my congregation who encourages spiritual development.
7. As a member of my congregation, my opinions seem to count.
8. The mission or purpose of my congregation makes me feel that my participation is important.
9. The other members of my congregation are committed to spiritual growth.
10. Aside from family members, I have a best friend in my congregation.

66. Member Engagement
11. In the last six months, someone in my congregation has talked to me about the progress of my spiritual growth.
12. In my congregation, I have opportunities to learn and grow.

67. Dimensions of Engagement
Opportunities to learn and grow
Spiritual progress
How do we Grow?
Members committed to spiritual growth
The mission or purpose of my church
Best friend
My opinions count
Do I Belong?
Encourages spiritual development
Recognition
Opportunity to do best
Leaders care about me
What do I Give?
What do I Get?
My spiritual needs are met
• I know what is expected of me

68. Spiritual Commitment’s Foundation
The foundation of spiritual commitment is congregational engagement.
Congregational engagement describes the emotional degree of belonging an individual has in his or her congregation.
The more engaged members there are in your church, the healthier it is. Focus on engagement and spiritual commitment will follow.

69. Engagement and Outcomes
Life Satisfaction
Serving
Engagement
Spiritual Commitment
Inviting
Giving

70. Connect People to Ministries
1. What are your talents and strengths?
2. What do you love to do?
3. If time and money were no object, what would you do for God?

71. Humor

72. Questions?

73. References Growing An Engaged Church. Winseman
Living Your Strengths. Winseman, Clifton, & Liesveld.
Now, Discover Your Strengths. Buckingham & Clifton.
Strength Based Leadership. Rath & Conchie