Christianity
**Quick Tips for Christian Ministry**

Professional and personal development for Christians working in ministry and Christian service.

Latest Episodes:

009 How to Deal with Conflict on Ministry Teams Dec 01, 2016

Show notes

Organizational Coach Dr. Ken Thiessen responds to a ministry worker in Southern Africa about team conflict.

She asks:

We have some communication and conflict problems on our ministry team. I feel very isolated and don’t know how to deal with this. Please… could you have your podcast give some regular tips for team conflict resolution. And how to deal with a team leader who doesn’t bring out the best in us?

Dr. Ken Thiessen has a 30 year track record of leading, consulting, and coaching organizations to realize their imagined future.

Church leadership teams will benefit from the resources on his Anxious Congregations website.

The QT4CM podcast is a peer knowledge sharing initiative for personal and professional development of Christian ministry workers. Quick Tips for Christian Ministry is produced with the support of The Great Commission Foundation… to benefit those who serve in the Name of Christ.

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008 Religious trends in Canada [part 3] Nov 29, 2016

Show notes

Dr. Joel Thiessen shares his insights about people in Canada who claim to have no religious affiliation.

Joel is the Director of the Flourishing Congregations Institute at Ambrose University in Calgary.

Follow Dr. Joel Thiessen on Twitter, his website, or The Flourishing Congregations Institute. And read his intriguing book: "The Meaning of Sunday"

Want to contribute your thoughts?

Click here to suggest a topic for a future episode.

Or, click here to send us your proposal to be interviewed.

Want more information?

The Show Notes can be accessed by clicking here.

Or, subscribe to receive the Show Notes each Friday.

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/refresh-ministries/message

007 Fundraising letters vs. meeting donors face to face Nov 24, 2016

Show notes

Anna Burns answers this week's question — "What works best when asking for donations, sending out a fundraising letter or meeting with the potential donor face-to-face?"

Anna Burns is with The Great Commission Foundation.

Click here for the InCourage Journal for Christian Service Workers.

The background music featured on this podcast is by Christian musician Steve Bell and his producer and recording engineer Dave Zeglinski. It's called “O Love“ and is from their Landscape disc in the Pilgrimage boxed set.

Check him out at http://stevebell.com/.

Want to contribute your thoughts?

Click here to suggest a topic for a future episode.

Or, click here to send us your proposal to be interviewed.

Want more information?

The Show Notes can be accessed by clicking here.

Or, subscribe to receive the Show Notes each Friday.

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/refresh-ministries/message

006 Religious trends in Canada [part 2] Nov 22, 2016

Show notes

Dr. Joel Thiessen again shares insights on the dominant trends of religion in North America.

Europe and North America are moving in a progressive and increasingly secular direction. Secularization is a dominant narrative.

The rise of people who say they have no religion represents one in three teenagers, one in four adults. It's the fastest growing "religious" group in the modern western world.

For example in Canada:

...one in two Canadian teenagers never attend religious services today. One in three Canadian teenagers say they have no religion. If you want to know where a religious group is going, you look to your young people. It is very rare that people convert later on in life. It doesn't mean it's impossible and we would all think of anecdotal stories where that's happened. On the whole, you look to your young people.

Another trend pertains to Christian identification. Christianity is the lead religion in Canada. When you ask Canadians, "What religion do you identify with?" 67% of Canadians say, "Christianity." However, over the last decade this has diminished over 10 percentage points. I think the take-home point here is that Christianity is the lead religion in terms of identification, but it is waning. What does that mean for local churches then when fewer and fewer Canadians in your neighbourhoods, in your cities and your communities have even a passing reference to Christianity? A generation ago we could take for granted that people would know who Jesus was, who denied Jesus three times, all these kinds of things. There isn't that cultural memory relative to Christianity. I think that's an important trend to grapple with.

Joel is the Director of the Flourishing Congregations Institute at Ambrose University in Calgary.

Follow Dr. Joel Thiessen on Twitter, his website, or The Flourishing Congregations Institute. And read his intriguing book: "The Meaning of Sunday"

Want to contribute your thoughts?

Click here to suggest a topic for a future episode.

Or, click here to send us your proposal to be interviewed.

Want more information?

The Show Notes can be accessed by clicking here.

Or, subscribe to receive the Show Notes each Friday.

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/refresh-ministries/message

005 Special Episode with YouTube Musician David Wesley Nov 19, 2016

Show notes

In this special episode you will learn some YouTube worship music video creation tips. David Wesley of Basement Praise and YouTube fame shares with us the story of how he got started making his music videos and his process for creating his multi harmony praise and worship music tracks.

From time to time we will be bringing you these special episodes with Christian Creatives, such as musicians, authors, and other artists who create as a ministry.

David is a Canadian musician who describes himself as a "self-producing artist creating multi-track magic in my basement to share the gospel and have a little fun on the side :)...." And he brings a lot of enjoyment to us!

In this podcast episode he tells the story of how he started making his music videos. And, he explains how he put three songs together in his "Amazing Grace" medley.

You can enjoy the full version of David Wesley’s "Amazing Grace" medley by clicking this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8plSomxS5Yo.

This piece is a "Mash-up" of 3 modern adaptations of "Amazing Grace":

"But For Your Grace" - by Rita Baloche
"Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)" - by Chris Tomlin & Louis Giglio
"Grace Like Rain" - by Todd Agnew & Chris Collins

The other music track we featured on this podcast is David's "In Christ Alone", which you can watch on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/oab9giH2cG0

Want to contribute your thoughts?

Click here to suggest a topic for a future episode.

Or, click here to send us your proposal to be interviewed.

Want more information?

The Show Notes can be accessed by clicking here.

Or, subscribe to receive the Show Notes each Friday.

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/refresh-ministries/message

Mark Crocker 2 — **004 Are Short Term Missions Worth It?** Nov 17, 2016
Show notes

In this fourth episode we hear insights on Short Term Missions. Are they worth the cost and effort?

Mark Crocker is Executive Director of STMleader.com

Mark shares with us his insights on Short Term Missions, having trained tens of thousands of volunteers to head overseas and make a difference. Mark served as the chair for short term missions at the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada’s Global Mission round table. He now consults and trains for faith-based and secular NGOs. He heads of STMleader.com and Stopover.ca. His training courses are practically geared for STM beginners and masters level college courses. Mark leverages his extensive experience in the field, which includes leading multi-million dollar development projects in Congo and Haiti.

You can read about Mark’s STM leadership training and certification at the website STMleader.com. He can also be reached through Stopover.ca where he provides diversity training and benevolence coaching. He and his team specialize in delivering customized training to individuals and organizations. Their coaching is engaging and memorable and will immediately give you the tools you need to make an impact as you travel abroad.

Here are a few links to Mark Crocker's articles on the subject of his talk:

http://stmleader.com/is-stm-a-waste-of-time-barometer/

http://stmleader.com/stm-is-a-waste-of-time/

http://stmleader.com/good-leaders-need-training-bad-leaders-dont/

**Facebook**: https://www.facebook.com/STMleader/

**LinkedIn**: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/crockermark

**Want to contribute your thoughts?**

Click here to suggest a topic for a future episode.

Or, click here to send us your proposal to be interviewed.

**Want more information?**

The Show Notes can be accessed by clicking here.

Or, subscribe to receive the Show Notes each Friday.
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/refresh-ministries/message

003 What is the DNA of a Flourishing Congregation [part 1] Nov 15, 2016

Show notes

Dr. Joel Thiessen shares his insights about what makes congregations thrive.

Joel is the Director of the Flourishing Congregations Institute at Ambrose University in Calgary.

In this episode Dr. Joel Thiessen points to five things that are emerging as starting points for entering this study of "flourishing congregations".

Congregations that have a clear self-identity. They know who they are, they know what it is they're trying to do, and where they're going.
They have a committed leadership. They equip and empower leaders, they have leaders who stick around for the long haul, and leadership is a central part of how and why congregations flourish.
They have a desire to grow numerically, but they also desire to grow spiritually and organizationally. They measure. They count. They are accountable in various ways for the kinds of things they're doing at a congregational level.
They are a hospitable community. These are places that receive people well, that are warm places that people feel connected to, that they feel loved, and embraced, and these kinds of things.
They have a vibrant spiritual life among leaders, among congregants, across a congregation.

Dr. Joel Thiessen also points to other determinants in the DNA of flourishing congregations:

Embrace risk and try new things
Stewardship — not just of money — of resources, land, volunteers
Intentional discourse on "what are we leaving to the next generation"?
Ability to navigate conflict well
A strong outward-facing presence in the community

Follow Dr. Joel Thiessen on Twitter, his website, or The Flourishing Congregations Institute. And read his intriguing book: "The Meaning of Sunday"

Want to contribute your thoughts?

Click here to suggest a topic for a future episode.

Or, click here to send us your proposal to be interviewed.

Want more information?

The Show Notes can be accessed by clicking here.

Or, subscribe to receive the Show Notes each Friday.

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/refresh-ministries/message

002 How to get your ministry emails and reports read by your supporters Nov 10, 2016

Show notes

In this second QT4CM episode we are benefiting from the insights shared by Anna Burns on how to get your newsletters and emails read by supporters.

Jenny, a ministry worker in Québec, sent us this voicemail:

My question is: “how do I get people to read my ministry reporting emails and requests for donations?

It seems that my donors don’t often open my emails.

What do I do?"

Anna Burns is with The Great Commission Foundation.

Anna asks "Would you want to read your own newsletter?" She gives us tips for getting supporters to open and engage with our communications.

Click here for the "Ask Anna" article she referred to in this episode.

Click here for the InCourage Journal for Christian Service Workers.

The background music featured on this podcast is by Christian musician Steve Bell and his producer and recording engineer Dave Zeglinski. It's called “Come back to me“ and is from his Landscape disc in the Pilgrimage boxed set.

Check him out at http://stevebell.com/.

Want to contribute your thoughts?

Click here to suggest a topic for a future episode.

Or, click here to send us your proposal to be interviewed.

Want more information?

The Show Notes can be accessed by clicking here.

Or, subscribe to receive the Show Notes each Friday.

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/refresh-ministries/message

001 Background Introduction and Benefit intentions Nov 08, 2016

Show notes

This first episode describes the background and intent of the Quick Tips for Christian Ministry podcast.

Are you serving in any Christian ministry? Are you on a church leadership team or board? Maybe you are a pastor, worship leader, chaplain, or a missionary or evangelist. You may be a Christian serving in humanitarian aid. Or maybe you are thinking about Christian ministry as a vocation in your future. Well this podcast series is for you.

Want to contribute your thoughts?

Click here to suggest a topic for a future episode.

Or, click here to send us your proposal to be interviewed.

Want more information?

The Show Notes can be accessed by clicking here.

Or, subscribe to receive the Show Notes each Friday.

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/refresh-ministries/message

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Quick Tips for Christian Ministry

Organizational Coach Dr. Ken Thiessen responds to a ministry worker in Southern Africa about team conflict.

Dr. Ken Thiessen has a 30 year track record of leading, consulting, and coaching organizations to realize their imagined future.

Dr. Joel Thiessen shares his insights about people in Canada who claim to have no religious affiliation.

Joel is the Director of the Flourishing Congregations Institute at Ambrose University in Calgary.

Anna Burns answers this week's question — "What works best when asking for donations, sending out a fundraising letter or meeting with the potential donor face-to-face?"

Anna Burns is with The Great Commission Foundation.

Dr. Joel Thiessen again shares insights on the dominant trends of religion in North America.

Joel is the Director of the Flourishing Congregations Institute at Ambrose University in Calgary.

In this fourth episode we hear insights on Short Term Missions. Are they worth the cost and effort?

Mark Crocker is Executive Director of STMleader.com

Dr. Joel Thiessen shares his insights about what makes congregations thrive.

Joel is the Director of the Flourishing Congregations Institute at Ambrose University in Calgary.

In this second QT4CM episode we are benefiting from the insights shared by Anna Burns on how to get your newsletters and emails read by supporters.

Jenny, a ministry worker in Québec, sent us this voicemail:

Anna Burns is with The Great Commission Foundation.

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