Tag Archives: Integrated Strategy
Orange Week: Integrated Strategy Recap
Posted on 17. Jan, 2010 by Kenny.
It was a great start for Orange Week. Sunday’s usually not the biggest day for blog reading, but it was a spectacular day for day one of Orange Week. In case you missed it, here’s the recap.
- I began the day with an introduction to what Orange really is with this post here.
- I followed immediately with a post laying out the first element of the Orange Strategy, which is Integrated Strategy.
- Dan Scott posted a two-parter on integrated strategy. In case you don’t know, Dan’s the Man when it comes to Orange. He’ll probably share later this week his specific involvement in the Orange “movement” but his church really “gets it.” He posted one post revealing his church’s 0-18, end in mind strategy. Brilliant. He followed up this amazing post with a second part explaining how his church’s family ministry is staffed, how they’re organized and how they meet. Good practical stuff.
- Kendra Golden wrote a thorough post about her role at Life Church and how they’re being more intentional about their strategy which is very cool. The material Life Church creates is published free for churches to use, so it’s certainly worth checking out.
- Matt McKee defined what Integrated Strategy was and used beautiful illustration using parking lot cones. Genius! Read it, you’ll never forget it.
- Jonathan Cliff wrote a great post describing his journey as a pastor at a church where he’s the only one bought in to the Orange strategy and he’s doing what he can and doing a great job. It’s a good post, but not his best. To read his best post, click here.
- Anthony Prince wrote another great post on integrated strategy. He talked about how the student ministry and children’s ministry had to figure out how to work together to cope with the economy. Really good thoughts.
- Sam Luce bragged about how he’s been doing Orange longer than Reggie Joiner. Just kidding. Sam’s got incredible insight. Where most of us have worked at several churches or with more student pastors than you can remember, Sam’s been a part of a church legacy where he’s been in his spot for more than ten years serving with just two different youth pastors that have shared an integrated strategy for YEARS.
- Gina McClain brings a little “car talk” in her perspective of Integrated Strategy.
- JC also tackles Integrated strategy by talking about the struggles of moving from student and children’s ministry approach to a family ministry approach.
Anthony Prince wins the reward (it’s an imaginary reward of course) for the coolest Orange graphic today. Sam, don’t be a hater becasue it’s a storm trooper.
I’m also giving away the DVD “Essence of Orange. You can still enter to win by noon-ish tomorrow. Click here for details.
One of my blogging friends will be giving away a great new Orange product tomorrow, so keep your eyes open. It’s something I know little about, but would love to get my hand on it.
Oh, last but not least. If all this talk about Orange has convinced you that you need to attend the Orange Conference this year, then click here to register.
Continue Reading
Orange Week: Integrated strategy
Posted on 17. Jan, 2010 by Kenny.
Integrated strategy. Let’s look at both of these words.
My favorite definition for strategy from dictionary.com is:
“A plan, method, or series of maneuvers or stratagems for obtaining a specific goal or result.”
A strategy is a plan of action with an end in mind. Too often churches fail to take the time to develop strategy. Massive programs and ministries exist to make a difference in a community, but rarely is the question asked, “Are we producing the desired results?” Or eve more importantly, “Do the produced results really matter?”
As it relates to you who are reading this post, what do you want students and children to be when they grow up? What traits do you want them to exhibit? What values do they need to posses? This is the specific goal or result as talked about in strategy. Next is where integration comes in.
If a children’s ministry has a different strategy from the student ministry, both will be frustrated and see limited success. Both will be pushing kids toward different ends. Okay, so maybe the children’s ministry and student ministry come together on the end goal. Unless their methods and plans are in alignment, it’s unlikely they’ll achieve their goal. The bottom line is that children’s ministry and student ministry must work together and be in alignment. This is an integrated strategy.
Once a church has an integrated strategy for children and youth, everything can be evaluated in light of the end goal.
During Orange week others are blogging on the same topic each day and links to their posts will show up in the comments. Be sure to visit their posts to see how the elements of the Orange strategy are being carried out in real-live scenarios. If you want to share your thoughts surrounding this topic you can either by replying in the comments or writing a post on your own blog and linking back to this specific blog post (so the link to your post will show up in the comments).
Continue Reading
Welcome to Orange Week!
Posted on 17. Jan, 2010 by Kenny.
Welcome to Orange Week. This week several leaders and voices for Children’s ministry will be posting about Orange. It’s something that so many are very passionate about, including myself. This series of posts (more like a blitz) is for anyone. Those familiar with Orange will find my posts and those of others a refreshing reminder. Those who aren’t familiar with Orange… hang on tight, you’re about to drink from a fire hose! Hopefully by the end of this week, you’ll have a very clear picture of what Orange is.
So in a nutshell, what is Orange?
Orange represents change. It’s the color of transition. What color do you think of in the Fall? Orange. Similarly, many feel some serious changes confront the church. Business as usual hasn’t been working. Children growing up in the church are leaving their faith once finishing High School in alarming numbers. Change is needed.
Orange represents partnership. It’s the merging of two colors to become a third. With Orange, this partnership is between the church and families. It’s when the church, heavy with resources combines with parents, who have significant influence, begin working together to make a bigger impact. Two combined influences will make a greater impact than two influences.
Simple, huh? Really it is. But there’s more. Central to the Orange “philosophy” are five core elements:
- Integrated Strategy
- Refine the Message
- Elevate Community
- Reactivate the Family
- Leverage Influence
Over the next five days we’re going to look closely at these five elements to see how we can be agents of change that will impact THIS generation.
During Orange week others are blogging on the same topic each day and links to their posts will show up in the comments. Be sure to visit their posts to see how the elements of the Orange strategy are being carried out in real-live scenarios. If you want to share your thoughts surrounding this topic you can either by replying in the comments or writing a post on your own blog and linking back to this specific blog post (so the link to your post will show up in the comments.
Continue Reading
