This will be my last blog for the summer. I realise that there are other things on peoples minds such as holidays – in the UK at least. So I am joining them!
The importance of debriefing
For my final blog before we break let me share with you how we debriefed from the Together on a Mission Conference (TOAM10). Debriefing is a very important part of conference organisation, or indeed of organising any event. For instance, what did Jesus do after the disciples first ministry trip? Debriefed (at least he set out to do so until he was interrupted by 5000 people!). And after feeding the 5000? Debriefed! How else would he have known how many people had attended, how many baskets were left over and so on?
The debrief process
So what did we do after the TOAM10 Conference and how? I gathered 16 of my key players. We planned the 2 hours or so to contain 4 sessions. One aspect of the Conference was discussed in each session:
1) The Delegate experience
2) Meetings
3) Practical Matters
4) The Management Team meetings
Within each aspect there were various topics. For instance there were 11 topics in ‘Delegate Experience’ such as Advertising, Booking System, Videos.
In each session we divided into four groups and discussed the same aspect/topics at the same time. We asked people to make any observations about the particular topic being considered, and then to hold a discussion and make suggestions about ways in which we could improve for next year. These were all recorded by a ‘scribe’.
For the next session we rearranged the groups so that different people were working together. We found this added to the enjoyment of the time and created a positive atmosphere in which people commented openly on what had happened and made some very creative suggestions.
We ended the morning with a very enjoyable lunch as a way of saying ‘thank you’ for all their hard work, before returning to our various bases.
Using the Information
This information will now be collated. It will be combined with comments we have received from delegates through feedback forms which we handed out at the Conference. These were targeted to representative people eg Leaders (UK and International), Wives, Mobilise etc. This ensured we had a representative response. The resulting document will be circulated to the team leaders and they will be asked to come to the next planning meeting (the second for next year’s conference) with observations about the viability of any of the suggestions. These will be implemented if appropriate.
Thus the final meeting for the conference just passed became the first meeting to affect the next – a 12 month cycle!
We hope you will join us there. July 12th–15th. Bookings will open early in the New Year on the Newfrontiers website. If you want to watch or listen to the downloads (Video/Audio for Main Sessions, Audio only for Training Tracks and Seminars) click here >>
Enjoy your summer (northern hemisphere), rainy season (equatorial) or winter (southern) as appropriate!
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Tags: Administration, Newfrontiers
From time to time it is my pleasure to use my blog to draw people’s attention to ministries which I consider demonstrate ‘Good Practice’ among those who are in some way disadvantaged.
This report has been written by the team leaders of Alternatives Pregnancy Counselling Centre in Brighton, UK. This ministry demonstrates great love, compassion and excellence.
Called to Care
Sarah Pooley and Claire Godley
Often when we think of caring for the poor, practical ministries to people living in poverty in places like Africa and Asia come to mind. It’s easy to forget that there are people who are ‘poor in spirit’ and struggling with huge emotional issues in every street in the UK.
One such group are women facing an unplanned pregnancy. In 2009 women living in England and Wales had 189,100 abortions (source: Department of Health) and 40% of women and men will be affected by abortion in their lifetime.
Shocked at finding out they are pregnant, thrown into turmoil and unsure what to do for the best. These women need a safe place and a listening ear to come and talk about how they feel and consider all the options before making a decision.
Our immediate response can be to think of the life of the unborn baby. Saving this life is a natural outcome of helping the woman. David Reardon in his book The Jericho Plan says ‘Only the Mother can help her unborn child. All that the rest of us can do is to nurture and protect the Mother.’
Hailey (not her real name) came to Alternatives in Brighton two years ago with an unplanned pregnancy and was unsure what to do. She had a chaotic lifestyle and was in an unstable relationship, as well as being a drug user. She eventually gave into external pressures and had an abortion. The team supported her through the Journey programme as she worked through her thoughts and feelings following the abortion. And at the end of the course she found herself pregnant again. This time there was no doubt in her mind – she had the baby. Although it has been a difficult time for Hailey the Centre has supported her all the way through and she has stopped taking drugs and has a healthy baby.
Alternatives
So, how do we respond? Alternatives Pregnancy Counselling Centre based in Brighton was set up in 1990. And like many of the 150 other centres across the UK has links with a local Newfrontiers church.
Centres provide:
• Free pregnancy testing
• Confidential counselling
• Ongoing support
• Post-abortion / Miscarriage counselling
• Offering space and time to women to enable them to make a fully informed decision
• Many centres also network with local agencies and try to influence and change policies on related issues such as sex education
Those involved in pregnancy counselling centres recognise that they can’t take away the pain or the suffering – only God can do that. All they can do is walk alongside the person and provide support, help them to have all the facts to make a decision and show compassion.
We know that abortion grieves the heart of God and damages the people involved. David Reardon comments ‘As members of the body of Christ we are called upon to be mirrors of God’s mercy and ambassadors of his forgiveness. We can’t do anything for the unborn child in heaven but we can help those wounded by abortion.’
Values that underpin the work of the centres:
• Respect for the women
• A knowledge that ‘there but for the grace of God go I’
• That mercy triumphs over judgement
• Serving Jesus – not fighting a cause
• Not to look at what they can / can’t do but what God is able to do in and through them.
• Prayer is a major ingredient in all aspects of a centre’s work
Care Confidential (part of CARE) is the umbrella organisation that provides support, advice, training and resources to the UK centres. In partnership with the centres Care Confidential also runs a national freephone helpline, web portal and secure online support and advice service.
Inspiration
Psalm 139 v 13 - 16
Isaiah Ch 61 v1 - 3
2 Corinthians Ch 1 v 3 and 4
Jeremiah Ch 31 v 15
Testimonies
Feedback from some Alternatives clients:
“The test was positive, I was in shock and crying. The woman explained things without bombarding me with information; listening, not judging me or telling me what to do.”
“I felt really comfortable to talk here, and very thankful for all the help you have given me.”
Find out more
To find out more about Care Confidential and your nearest pregnancy counselling centre click here >>
You can get involved supporting you local centre by praying, giving and by volunteering. All volunteers are fully trained and supported by regular supervision.
If you have been affected by any issues raised in this article and would like to chat them through with someone please contact Care Confidential on UK freephone 0800 0282228 or on the above website.
Tags: Abortion, Health, Poor, Pregnancy counselling, The Poor
We met with God
Over 3000 Leaders and Twenties have now returned to about 40 nations and are separated by many thousands of miles having spent last week together with a common sense of vision and purpose at the annual Newfrontiers Conference ‘Together on a Mission‘ hosted by Terry Virgo.
There seems to have been a general air of satisfaction as they returned home having met with God through:
• Powerful teaching and preaching both in the Main Sessions, Training Tracks and Seminars (sessions all downloadable >>)
• Anointed Worship
• Some significant prophetic words
• An evening of prayer for the nations
• A visit to the Global Zone to see where they could get involved in going to the nations
• Strengthening their understanding of Newfrontiers’ Vision and Values through the videos
• Refreshing old friendships and making new ones
• …and the glorious sunshine whenever they left the building, perhaps visiting the beach where Hudson Taylor received his call to China!
To share in the joys of the conference have a look at the Highlights video. Reports of the Conference are available here>>
Paddling hard
But while all this is going on peacefully (I hope!) and enjoyably on the surface there is, like the proverbial duck, great energy being expended under the surface by an army of helpers, sometimes late into the night as they duplicate CDs and DVDs, edit videos etc.
TOAM is the climax of 12 months work by a dedicated team. We hold four half day meetings through the year to discuss how to improve the Conference and ‘make good’ where things did not go to plan last year, and to review progress and monitor developments. Then everyone returns to their base and works hard with emails flying through the ether to bring the whole event together.
On the day before the conference begins we invade the Brighton Centre to
• install audio and video equipment in the main hall
• build the ‘set’ on the stage
• put up signs around the building
• prepare displays in the Global Zone
• prepare for the invasion of people on the first day who have lost their tickets and have a thousand and one questions
• put up partitions
• connect to the internet
• Set up the translation equipment and the area for signing for the deaf
• …and much much more
During the conference the Management Team meets for breakfast each day to review the previous day and to plan the current one.
Then at the end, like the disciples who cleared up the hillside when the 5000 departed having been fed with the word, and with loaves and fish, another army (many are the same people) break it all down again and put it on vans and lorries to go into store or to Newday, the annual Newfrontiers conference for teenagers.
However hard we prepare there is always the unexpected.
• Deliveries that do not arrive on time or, when they have arrived, somehow get lost in the melee of setup.
• Unexpected illness or family bereavement for members of the core team of workers.
• The fire alarm and building evacuation during the counting of the offering. Is it a devious plot?
• The poor delegate who collapses as people are flooding out of the building and an ambulance needs to be called.
It is at such times that we draw deep on the grace of God and I give Him thanks for a team who are loyal and dedicated, and quickly ‘fill in’ to cover the problem.
The final TOAM
And so it is over for another year. Or, rather, next year’s preparation will begin with a debrief in the next few days.
2011 will be the last TOAM in its present form and we anticipate a great gathering. Don’t miss out – put the dates in your diary now. July 12th – 15th. Bookings will open on the Newfrontiers website in January.
See you there!
Tags: Administration, Newfrontiers
Translation
First, Google Translation has now been added to all Newfrontiers websites including my blog! For my blog see the panel on the right.
Traducción atraves de Google-traducción ha sido añadido a todas las páginas web de Nuevas Fronteras, incluyendo mi blog! Para ver a mi blog , ver al panel de la derecha.
Notices pt 2
Having touched on the Why? and What? let us now ask three further questions – How? When? and Who?
How?
Notices are about public communication and need preparation (and prayer!). In considering what you want to communicate ask yourself what you expect people to do with the knowledge – the ‘take away’. Then plan how best that will be achieved.
Visual aids
It is well known that visual communication is more effective than spoken communication – it has been said that ‘a picture speaks a thousand words’. So are there ways in which you can use visual aids, remembering that they are aids and not an end in themselves? Similarly, verbal ‘pictures’ help people to remember what you are communicating, so use stories where appropriate (hence the power of personal testimony).
Visual communication can use many different media – printed (good if some response is required), PowerPoint, Video etc. Be creative as far as your budget allows! But be careful to prepare such visual aids so that they enhance what is being communicated, not distract from the theme and purpose. Sometimes visual aids are remembered more than the content they are trying to convey, like some stories in a sermon which may be remembered more than the topic they are illustrating.
When?
Traditionally notices come in the middle of a meeting, often between the worship and the preaching. This has benefits such as:
1. It allows people to relax after what may have been an intense time of worship. But be careful not to ‘lose the Spirit’ by bringing notices insensitively.
2. People’s time span of focussed concentration may be only 30-40 minutes, so something different helps between the worship and preaching. But beware not to lose a ‘bridge’ if the Spirit has been speaking in a way that helps introduce the preaching.
On other occasions a flow to the meeting may be anticipated which should not be interrupted – perhaps a special Christmas service. It is then worth considering having the notices at the start. If so, make sure they are not just ‘tucked in’ to get them out of the way but that they are still relevant and important.
Who gives them?
It is not everyone’s skill to give notices! Consider what needs to be communicated and, if appropriate, you can even have more than one person. Some notices need to be communicated with passion – almost preached – so ensure that the right person is appointed who can achieve this. For instance, finance is not easy to present with vision and passion so choose someone who has faith for finance and can highlight the key points without getting lost in a myriad of figures. And try to find alternatives to graphs and pie charts – be creative!
In addressing Notices in this two-part series I hope I have conveyed that they should be given more thought and preparation than is often the case. They can then serve you in your church and illustrate your relational values by the manner in which you give them, not just dry information.
Finally, I have just seen Mark and Bev Landreth-Smith of the Beacon Church in Camberley giving notices at last year’s Together@ Butlins 2010 Weekend. Why not mark them out of ten against my (relatively boring) checklist?! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT4Jn8C4xvQ. I give them eleven!
Tags: Administration, Finance
From Zimbabwe to Kenya
In March I attended the 6-monthly Foundations for Farming Champions Conference in Zimbabwe. It was a great pleasure to meet two men from Kenya. One, Ashford, I knew from a previous visit to his country when I accompanied him on a medical visit to an unreached people group in Tharaka. He is an Ophthalmologist (eye specialist) so I was surprised to find him attending a Farming Conference! However, I learnt that he had been brought up in a farming environment and was keen to do well.
I had not met his colleague before, Peter. He works for the ministry of Agriculture in Kenya as an agricultural advisor.
For various reasons I wondered how they would get on in Zimbabwe at the Conference. Why would an ophthalmologist really want to learn about this form of agriculture? Would an expert be prepared to learn new techniques? Whatever the future held we had a lot of fun and laughs together and at the end I warned them I would be visiting Kenya in May and expected to see outstanding crops.
To be honest, I had severe doubts that I would in fact see anything. I am delighted to say that they proved me wrong! Two more outstanding men for this task it would have been hard to find and it was my joy to congratulate Edward Buria on what appeared to have been an excellent choice when he sent them!
Inspecting the site
When Ashford and Peter returned from Zimbabwe they had very little time to put their new found knowledge into practice if they were to benefit from the next harvest season. But Ashford acquired a small parcel of land (about a tenth of a hectare), and prepared the ground and planted in two days, March 18th and 19th. Then he went each morning to his field before attending his clinic in order to weed and maintain the soil. Peter visited weekly to offer advice and to help deal with a disease that attacked the crop. Together they worked hard to produce a model for others to inspect – and they have succeeded 100%!
A healthy weed free crop
When I visited at the end of May I found a crop standing about 2 metres high with healthy cobs forming on each of the lush stands. Mulch had been in short supply but Ashford had imported some and that part of the field where he laid it was weed-free. He had had to weed only twice in two months. The other part of the field was also weed-free but this took four weeding sessions to achieve.
Interestingly and very helpfully Ashford’s neighbour planted in the next field also on March 18th. What he succeeded in doing was to provide a powerful visual aid about the effectiveness of Foundations for Farming compared to the traditional rural methods, as shown in the photo, since his crop is virtually useless. Weeds abound and the height of the sparse crop is, at best, well below one metre.
It will be two more months till harvest and they (and I) are full of expectation that it will yield a good crop, perhaps at the rate of 2-3 tonnes/ha. Ashford is already planning to acquire 8 hectares next season and to plant a variety of crops ~ maize and various legumes. I look forward to my next visit!
Training others
A programme of traing others is to be launched in July. The hope is to teach church leaders so that they can encourage their people. Who knows, maybe this will contribute significantly to alleviating the repeated problems of failed harvests in Kenya due to a shortage of rain as Foundations for Farming optimises the benefits of what little rain there may be.
Tags: Foundations for Farming
The sober truth!
How many of your people would say the notices are the most interesting part of your church service?! I venture to guess – not many. Why? Because the church service is about meeting – first with God and then with other believers. Vital components of such meetings are, of course, Worship, Prayer, Preaching etc. But notices also have an important part to play. For instance they can be a great way of promoting a family feel in the church. Yet, in many churches, they are the ‘turn off’ time when people often hear but don’t listen. Why? There may be many reasons: too wordy, delivered by an administrator who is not confident in public, content not been carefully prepared, to name a few. So let’s take a fresh look.
Why?
The reason for giving any particular notice should fall into one of three categories – to Envision, to Inform or to Edify/Inspire.
• Envisioning expands faith – this may be about a programme-with-purpose, such as about an Alpha course; about a building project to help the church fulfil its vision (e.g. to reach its community); about money and future Gift Days (for what purpose is the money being given?); about some overseas church you may link with etc.
• Information is probably what people most expect from notices. But even this should not be dry - it must be clear and there must be good reason for giving it verbally rather than in some other way. (We will look at alternative ways later).
• Notices can also edify and inspire. Testimonies are powerful for edifying people. They also help build the family of your church as people get to know what God is doing others’ lives.
Let me give you an example. A notice about giving, if well presented, can be very inspirational. Recently I visited the Newfrontiers church in Bath (UK) and Andy, the leader, spoke excellently in the notice time about money and the importance of the elders ensuring that their people have plenty of opportunity to give in order to be blessed. Jesus said ‘it is more blessed to give than receive’ (Acts 20:35) and Paul commended the churches in Achaia for their expressed wish to give out of their poverty (2 Cor 8:1-5). Generosity produces blessing for the giver as well as the receiver. By the end of this short ‘notice’ people were really inspired and wanting to give for the particular purpose being presented.
What?
I have already touched on some possible content - testimonies and giving. But, here are a few general principles that are worthy of consideration:
• Matters that need particular emphasis.
• Matters that need ‘platform’ presentation, not just general information.
• Matters for which a ‘public’ notice is the best way to communicate. With sufficient forethought would a handout be better? If a notice is not relevant to the majority of people present would a letter or email do the job better?
Information can, of course, be very dry and thought needs to be given to presentation in order to communicate the content in a memorable way. Do you want to highlight a matter that is referred to in some handout? If so, what are the salient points and what would be redundant? For instance, it is not necessary to give the time of an event – focus on the purpose and the ‘take aways’ from the event (nothing to do with McDonalds!). Are you wanting to tell people some family news – an engagement or a birth perhaps? This should be done with joy (and perhaps humour!).
Response
Are you looking for a response? If so I have two tips:
1) Specify the group of people you want to communicate with before giving the detail e.g. ‘this notice is for mothers with young children’.
2) Be sure that people know what they are expected to do in order to make that response e.g. ‘Go to the Table at the back of the hall at the end of the meeting and Josie will take your name and give you more details’ (make sure Josie knows about this and is prepared!).
Volunteers
If you are looking for helpers consider carefully whether a notice is the best way to identify them, particularly if they are committing to a long term role (e.g. ministry with the children). It is much better and more honouring to think of the types of people you need (i.e. what skills and gifting you want) and then consider who has that gifting.
Then approach them.
‘I have noticed how you are always encouraging people (pastoral gift?). Well done! I really would like you to consider welcoming people as they arrive on a Sunday as I know how well you would do that. Could you pray about this and see if you would like to join a rota?’
Approaching someone in this way tells them you care about them – you don’t just want to get a job done, which is the subliminal message of a notice asking for volunteers.
In the second part of this series on notices I shall consider some other questions: How? When? Who?
Tags: Administration, Finance
Manyangalo
In 1924 people from 8 tribes were brought together in the centre of a 160,000 acre (250 sq miles) game reserve. They had been brought there to care for the area and tend the animals. Over the next 80 years the land changed ownership several times, the most recent being in 2004. The new owner no longer wanted these people (now numbering several thousand) on his land and began to take steps to remove them. But they had no other home - several generations had been born and raised there!
Lawyer saved
At about this time Martin Mithega, a senior lawyer in Meru, became a Christian in Edward Buria’s church. Having previously had no time for the poor (as they could not pay substantial fees) he now felt he wanted to help them with free legal advice, so he set up a new practice through VOLASE (Volunteers for Legal Aid Service), a NGO.
Martin heard about the group in Manyangalo and over a period of several months obtained tenure for them of the area of land on which they were living. They now have plots of their own with individual title deeds.
Ignorance through isolation
It was in 2004 that I was first taken to visit these forgotten people. Some did not even know that Kenya had become 
independent although that had happened in 1963! Most of them didn’t have the National Identity Cards to prove they were Kenyans and so could not exercise their democratic rights such as voting.
The conditions were very basic: one toilet for several thousand people (so most practiced the ‘bush culture’), very poor accommodation that was cramped and smoke-filled from cooking, life that was in survival mode, and so on.
Transformation
Since then there has been a remarkable transformation and it was a joy to visit once again recently to see what an impact the love and care of the Christian community has brought. They are now arising as a people of dignity with their own school, shops, some newly built houses (albeit still fairly basic but improving) – even their own football team called Manyagash Football Club with a strip donated by Edward and his church!
They have also just turned on the taps of a major water project which takes water to all parts of the community. With great foresight Edward has arranged for a large gravity-fed water tank to be erected and for trunk pipe-work to be laid, spreading out across the area to toilets, showers and washing areas. It is hoped there will even be sufficient for irrigation for the crops.
Food security
The area is very fertile and there is now an abundance of vegetables and cereals being grown, sufficient to feed the community with some spare for market, thus yielding income to raise the economic level. It is hoped shortly to introduce Foundations for Farming into the community through the church. In due course this will accelerate income generation, thus improving the overall economy.
But there needs to be wisdom as they move forward. Development is good, but it brings its own challenges such as HIV/AIDS and crime, which they had previously avoided.
A remarkable story
Perhaps the most remarkable part of this story is the harmony that exists between these different tribal groups. Where there has been serious tension in other parts of Kenya following the elections of December 2007, with many still displaced following the inter-tribal conflict, here, in Manyangalo, there is peace and harmony. They speak one another’s languages and there has been harmonious inter-marriage among these tribal groups. They had never previously reported any crime because they all knew they had their common enemies to fight, which were poverty, disease, ignorance and their oppressors. They had had no access to medical facilities, so were using herbs and products from trees. This is a fascinating sociological case study!
Hope reborn
There is fresh hope amongst these forgotten people and a new generation is emerging to the glory of God. What a testimony of God’s love and grace expressed through the sacrificial love of Edward and his team!
Tags: Kenya, Relief and Development, Sustainability, The Poor
A literary masterpiece?
Minutes are recorded to serve those present and to ensure that the decisions taken are followed through. Failing to take minutes, or making them ‘inaccessible’ through poor presentation, may represent a loss of benefit from the original meeting. Minutes should not seek to have the accolade of a literary masterpiece! They are functional. Familiar and well-understood abbreviations or shortened sentences are perfectly acceptable if that makes them easier to use.
Formatting
Some simple formatting can also help (see below – numbers correspond to those in the illustration).
1. Bullet points often promote clarity as they highlight the key points being made.
2. Text should not look ‘heavy’. Blocks of text are daunting to read so it is better to have short sentences and paragraphs separated appropriately with lines to give white space on the page.
3. Decisions should be clearly identified within the text. Words like ‘Agreed’ can be highlighted by making them ‘bold’.
4. Similarly ‘Actions’ need to be clearly identified e.g.
Action: John Smith to prepare report.
John Smith’s initials are then placed in the third column at the same horizontal level as the text of the stated action
5. Where actions from the previous meeting are being followed up include the number of that previous minute in brackets after the heading
How to handle Actions
The body of a minute may refer to a particular action to be taken. As illustrated, I put the initials of the person taking that action in the 3rd column. Once the minutes have been completed all the actions associated with each individual are then grouped at the end with the item number and sufficient detail to ensure the action can be understood without referring to the minutes. Thus that individual can quickly work through the list from this short summary.
NB This action list does not form a part of the minutes (i.e. it does not need ‘signing off’ as a part of a legal document) and should be on a separate page. It is just a tool for efficiency and to save time.
Follow up of the actions is carried out in advance of the subsequent meeting. By receiving reports of the actions before the meeting it is not necessary to take valuable time during the meeting to review actions unless further discussion is required. So a list such as the following is circulated in advance – perhaps 2 weeks in advance – so that everyone can respond by a stated date.
The responses are combined and pre-circulated. In preparing the Agenda (also to be pre-circulated) only those items that require further discussion are included. The other items are assumed to have been understood and agreed by all parties.
Template
The template for Minutes, including all the aspects discussed in this short series, thus looks like this:
I suggest you now create a similar table and save it as a Template (in word as .dot) for future use. Remember, the grid I have shown should be concealed in the final minutes. It has been shown in these illustrations purely to help you create the format.
This concludes the series on Effective Meetings. To summarise I have sought to address:
1. Overview of meetings
2, 3 Types of meeting
4, 5 Agendas
6 Chairing meetings
7, 8 Minutes and Actions
Tags: Administration
Welcome to Kenya!
It is always a great pleasure to visit Kenya and to spend time with Edward and Fridah Buria. Edward brings apostolic oversight to many Newfrontiers churches in East Africa. 
This larger-than-life couple have a huge vision and a track record of success that is inspiring, including about 200 churches they have planted in Kenya and significant involvement in the neighbouring nations including Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Ethiopia and Sudan. Over the years they have run several successful businesses in order to release funds for the ministry, from printing and metal fabrication to coffee, bananas and tree planting to produce scaffold poles, a living and vibrant example of Paul’s teaching in 2 Thessalonians 3 about supporting apostolic ministry through tent-making .
Samburu
During my time in Kenya I was able to visit Samburu, one of the main areas to suffer with the severe drought last year which was followed by torrential rains causing flooding resulting in death and roads being cut, and other hardships. This brightly coloured tribal people are incredibly resilient . Edward has planted several churches in the region and it is through them that food, livestock and other relief (e.g. micro-finance to stimulate a more sustainable future) has been distributed. Not only was I able to witness food distribution to about six churches in the Wamba area but I was also able to chat to some women who had been given camels, cows, goats or sheep in this or in previous crises. They explained to me not only how they relied on these animals but also how the replacement of the animals they had lost through drought brought sustainability. The benefits are achieved through milk, breeding for sale and so on which become manifest in nutrition for the family, the ability to pay school fees etc.
Sponsoring children
In Samburu I was able to meet an old friend from previous visits, Philip, a church leader and coordinator for Compassion of their programme for supporting about 200 children in the Wamba region. Several years ago we were able to help arrange this partnership between Compassion and the Newfrontiers churches in Samburu through which children are sponsored for their schooling and other benefits. The partnership is now much wider and over 1000 children across Samburu are being helped. Sponsorship is still needed and I would like to encourage any reading this blog to become involved by contacting Compassion and specifying your wish to sponsor a child in the Newfrontiers churches there.
ECAAF
For three days during my visit I was able to take part in the East and Central Africa Apostolic Forum (ECAAF). This annual event, organised by Edward, seeks to encourage and equip men in translocal ministry in East Africa. Five African nations were represented – Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Sudan and Ethiopia. What an enriching event! It was humbling to speak to many of these leaders and learn of the trials and challenges they face on a day to day basis, whether the problems associated with HIV/AIDS, drought and political persecution, or just the ‘normal’ challenges faced in any church.
The programme addressed many issues related to working in an apostolic movement, including such practical matters as pastors being self supporting through tent-making (a largely counter-cultural stance in Africa), the handling of donor funds, using modern IT to convey the message of the gospel, sensitivity to the environment, administration and so on.
These sessions were significant and equipping. But the times round the meal table were equally enriching and humbling, such as the occasion when one brother from Sudan shared how, as a 9-year old, he and 16,000 other children had had to walk for one month from Sudan to Ethiopia to escape from civil strife, then two years later for three months at night to Uganda, followed by another trek to a refugee camp in Kenya before finally returning to Sudan where now, at the age of 32, he has an evangelistic ministry. ‘People in our context never know how long they have to live and they need to learn about Jesus’. This was Christianity at the front line!
In the next blog about Kenya I will tell you about the initial steps to introduce Foundations for Farming into the Newfrontiers context in Kenya and about the remarkable impact of the gospel on a group of ‘forgotten’ tribes-people.
Tags: Drought, Edward Buria, Relief and Development, Sustainability
The Importance of Minutes
The lack of adequate minutes can lead to frustration and inefficiency. ‘Minutes’ may seem a bit formal but notes of some sort are not negotiable - a ‘must’ from every meeting if the full benefit of the meeting is to be realised.
The detail included in these notes can vary – there is no right or wrong. Some people like to keep the notes simple and record only decisions and actions. Others (including myself) prefer to have some of the discussion that led to the conclusion. It is rarely necessary to give a version which includes ‘he said this…’ ‘she said that…’, although the Houses of Parliament in the UK require this and the result is famously embodied in the Hansard proceedings!
What I am sharing with you can apply to any type of meeting as it will give you a format that I have developed over many years. I find it works well in helping to streamline actions, monitor follow up etc.
Minutes can be taken onto a laptop and, if you use the template I suggest, the minutes can be virtually completed in the meeting itself with only minimal editing needed after the meeting finishes.
Five components
There are five main components to the minutes I take.
1. Heading – Title of meeting, Venue, Time and Date
2. Names of those present (or ‘apologies’ for any missing)
3. Topics discussed – a ‘retrospective agenda’ which provides an index of the main headings from the minutes for easy reference.
4. Minutes
5. Actions
A simple layout, which is based on a Word table, looks like this (I do not show the grid when printing the minutes but select the ‘no border’ option):
In this layout each row of the table carries all relevant information related to the particular topic. So, when editing, a minute can be moved with ‘cut and paste’, carrying with it both the item number and the initials of the person taking action. This is particularly helpful if a topic is referred to in two parts of the meeting (common for long meetings) so that the two discussions can be positioned together into the same area of the minutes.
The body of the minutes
Often an agenda item will have several sub-sections and even sub-sub-sections. These should be numbered separately using the 1, 1.1, 1.1.1 system as illustrated.
I use one cell on the table related to the single number (1, 2, 3) for both the heading and detail of the minute if there are no sub-headings. However, if there are sub-headings I use a cell related to a single number for the title and another cell for sub-heading and detail at the 2nd (1.1, 1.2 etc) and 3rd levels (1.1.1, 1.1.2 etc).
In the illustration the middle cells for items 1 and 5 contain only the heading (since there are sub-sections) whereas the middle cells for items 2-4 include both the heading and the detail.
Topics Discussed
This mini-table is constructed after the minutes have been completed. It is very helpful in looking back over meetings to see when a particular topic was considered without the need to explore the body of the text. The summary includes only Headings and Sub-headings ie 1, 1.1, 1.2. It does not include sub-sub-headings ie 1.2.1, 1.2.2.
In the next blog we will continue to look at formatting minutes and also how to handle the all-important matter of following through the agreed actions.
Tags: Administration, Planning
