Ministry Incubators
They say the first step is the hardest. This cliche especially rings true for the person whose vision for ministry means having to start from scratch. Fervor and excitement quickly wane at the thought of all the red tape separating him or her from their passion.
The "Ministry Incubator," an innovative concept designed to assist these visionaries, is emerging in more and more large churches. Given that the startup phase of a new ministry demands unique leadership skills--different from the ongoing skills needed to maintain and fine-tune the ministry--the ministry incubator idea was born to meet these specific challenges. By pulling together a group of people who are particularly gifted and experienced in these startup issues, minimal time is lost on unnecessary bureaucracy or false starts and more time can be devoted to actual ministry.
A typical incubator team might include experts in the area of law, finance, marketing, real estate and systems/organizations. Ideally, this team commits to at least one year in helping the individual or group get started. The incubator team invests its collective wisdom and expertise in doing things that often bog down the people with the true vision for the ministry. Applying for 501 c. (3) status, writing by-laws, finding an appropriate facility/location, setting up and recruiting a Board, defining a marketing strategy, etc. are activities which are second nature to the incubator team, yet might present a real energy drain for the vision-caster.
Because it is leaving in place an established ministry complete with a capable, functioning board to provide ongoing direction, the ministry incubator team is free to take its entrepreneurial skills to the next ministry start-up.
The genius behind this concept is that it allows incredibly gifted people, who often have difficulty finding opportunities in the church which truly utilize their professional talents, to put those very skills to work for the Kingdom in direct, concrete ways.
For more information on Ministry Incubators, contact:
Steve Roese
Executive Pastor
Irving Bible Church
Irving, TX
972.831.8777
srr@irvingbible.org
Tim Snow
Executive Pastor
University Presbyterian Church
Seattle, WA
206.524.7301
tims@upc.org
"Used with permission of Leadership Network, 800-765-5323"