26Jul 2010 by Nigel Ring

Conference Administration – Debrief

Administrative Skills, Conference Administration, Equipping, News, Together on a Mission
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…
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14Jul 2010 by Nigel Ring

Conference Administration – Behind the scenes at TOAM 2010

Administrative Skills, Conference Administration, Equipping, News, Together on a Mission
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…
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14Jun 2010 by Nigel Ring

Effective meetings pt 8 – Formatting Minutes and Handling Actions

Administration in the Church, Administrative Skills, Equipping, Good Practice, Meetings
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…
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28May 2010 by Nigel Ring

Effective Meetings pt 7 – Taking minutes

Administration in the Church, Administrative Skills, Equipping, Good Practice, Meetings, Planning
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…
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25May 2010 by Nigel Ring

Effective Meetings pt 6 – The importance of good Chairing

Administration in the Church, Administrative Skills, Equipping, Good Practice, Meetings, Planning
Skill Chairing meetings is a skill; effective chairing is measured both by the outcomes of a meeting and the fulfilment of those attending. What I shall share here is for the more formal type of meeting and will need to be interpreted appropriately into different settings. Who should chair a meeting? Often the ‘senior’ person assumes he or she should chair the meeting. But there may be several reasons for this not being good. Particularly, a) They may not be skilled in chairing. b) They may be the major contributor (e.g. the Lead Elder or visionary) and can dominate because they also chair. Many meetings I attend are chaired by someone whose primary role is to handle the dynamics of the meeting, leaving those who are the major players opportunity…
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17May 2010 by Nigel Ring

Effective Meetings pt 5 – Agendas. A practical example

Administration in the Church, Administrative Skills, Equipping, Good Practice, Meetings, Planning, Zimbabwe
International eNews Before continuing this series on Effective Meetings, and looking at Agendas, I want to commend the International eNews of Newfrontiers. Through this you can receive a monthly update of news around the world (see extract from the current one below) and have food for prayer for yourself or the church. To subscribe Click here>> Agendas To many people an agenda is just a list of topics you plan to discuss in a meeting. But it can provide so much more if you give it a little fore-thought. This can really serve you and save you a great deal of time. A well constructed agenda can also make a meeting much more fulfilling as it ensures everyone knows where you are going and it guides you to the essence…
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