Can Missions Organizations Be Excellent in Today’s Environment?
Yesterday, I received an email from leader in the mission field with some feedback about the value of trying to define a standard of excellence for ministries’ online activities. What he described was a reluctance among mission (and probably all non-profit) organizations to embrace standards because doing so would mean committing to doing what it takes to live up to those standards. As he put it:
We have not had much traction in finding groups looking to set more standards that they would then have to adopt/invest effort to measure up to. It is a particularly challenging time for mission organizations trying to do as much as they can, as well as they can with shrinking resources.
The current period of declined giving and constrained resources has taken a toll on the strategic outlook of ministry leaders. The current conditions seem to be overwhelming some organizations and as a result they are content just doing what it takes to get by. According to another leader in a missions organization:
Our organization is just trying to get something semi-useful up on the web. We do not have the expertise, finance, or skills to do it in a highly professional fashion.
I by no means think that these or other missions leaders are giving up. I know that commitment and sacrifice that these men and women make in their lives. It is amazing the level of dedication that you will find in all levels of missions organizations and it is an honor to get to know and work with them.
I'm doing the best I can.
What do you think? Is excellence online somehow related to the amount of resources at your disposal? Or can an organization be excellent even in this period of budget cuts? And if so, how do we convince mission leaders who are just trying to get by that there is more? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
And I invite you to join with us as we explore these issues in greater detail. Visit us at the State of Ministry Online website to learn more about the Online Kingdom Excellence project and to explore ways that you can be involved.
Discussion of “Can Missions Organizations Be Excellent in Today’s Environment?”
This entry was posted on 11 18th, 2009 and is filed under Excellence, Missions.
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[...] I know that churches, ministries, and missions organizations have a hard enough time accomplishing their core ob…. Who has the time or the budget to learn about, set up and manage a comprehensive web [...]
The web, the cloud, the Internet — whatever you choose to call it — can be an intimidating place. When measurements are made by how many hits you receive or by how many fans or followers you have, it is all too easy to compare your ministry's online "success" to that of others. I believe you are right on in saying that, “Excellence does not mean a highly professional website. It means doing the most with what you have. It means elevating glorifying God and serving others to be our top goals and engaging your audience thorough an intentional web strategy.”
Absolutely organizations can be excellent with limited resources! I think a big part of our ability to "succeed" is in spending some intentional and prayerful time determining what is important, and then focusing our efforts on those things. Without a strategy and without clear goals and realistic expectations it is almost impossible to determine what is important and then let go of those things that aren't.
Thanks for your thoughts! I agree that part of excellence is knowing your limitations and letting go of the other things that aren't important.
The Internet culture is a self-reinforcing culture in that it as something becomes "important" the amount of attention it gets and the content dedicated to it increases exponentially. It makes it difficult not to get swept up in the things that we're told are important but on their own, ultimately do not create Kingdom value.
I believe that true excellent ministries know that their worth comes from God and are able to defy conventional wisdom if what is promoting is not subjected to God's will.
Thanks for you thoughts. I think you make an excellent point when you say we need to be able to "let go of those things that aren't (important)". The Internet culture is a self-reinforcing culture in that when something is identified as important or Digg-worthy, it garners more and more attention which in turn draws more and more attention. As a result it is easy to get swept up in the things that are self-proclaimed as worthy by the Internet culture. And this force in turn creates a pressure for organizations to define their "worth" online based on their performance as measured by popular culture.
The truth is that our "worth" in all things, even online, is determined by God alone. Knowing this should create the confidence and security to let go of things that aren't important. Not only that but I believe that excellence for ministries means being willing to stand in opposition of conventional wisdom when the things that are being suggested are not rightly in submission to God's will.
[...] I know that churches, ministries, and missions organizations have a hard enough time accomplishing their core ob…. Who has the time or the budget to learn about, set up and manage a comprehensive web [...]