{"id":36198,"date":"2021-09-16T09:00:25","date_gmt":"2021-09-16T13:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thinkorange.com\/blog\/timeless-values-of-the-orange-strategy\/"},"modified":"2021-09-16T09:00:25","modified_gmt":"2021-09-16T13:00:25","slug":"timeless-values-of-the-orange-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thinkorange.com\/blog\/timeless-values-of-the-orange-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"Timeless Values of the Orange Strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"

One day years from now, chances are you are going to be talking to other children\u2019s and youth pastors, and say something like this,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was there when the pandemic happened.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t it true that many of us who have lived through this have had a little bit of an identity crisis when it comes to ministry and what we do because what we have done for years suddenly doesn\u2019t work anymore?<\/span><\/p>\n

And while this has been an incredibly frustrating time to be in ministry, it actually demonstrates an important principle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What changes should be leveraged to highlight what never changes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So during these seasons of change, we need to lean into each other and remind ourselves to not forget what never changes. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to think in terms of strategy and remember that there is a difference between what changes and what never changes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to connect your strategy to timeless values.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Because models of ministry change, but values never change. Values are actually the parts of your ministry that should drive the behavior of your culture and the decisions you make. So it\u2019s important to ask ourselves what those values should be.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As we talk about this with leaders around the country, we always come back to these major issues or ideas. We call these the five principles of Orange Strategy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Leadership<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You can\u2019t build something that lasts without leaders who are bought into the mission and strategy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Relationships\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

It all comes back to this. We aren\u2019t just trying to get people to simply believe something. We are trying to connect them to each other in a way that makes a difference because kids will grow out of your programming, but they won\u2019t grow out of relationships.<\/span><\/p>\n

Truth\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Because Sunday is coming and we have got to present something. We need to speak the truth to a generation that will shape their faith and character.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Parents\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Because how we partner with parents will ultimately determine the scope of our influence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Service<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Because if you want what you do to last in the hearts and lives of kids, you have to make sure they\u2019re experiencing what it means to be the church while they are still with you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now here is what is true about these values. The shape of these will change. The terminology will change and how you elevate them in your ministry may change, but even in a pandemic, the importance of these values won\u2019t change. These are going to be things you keep going back to over and over again. And if we were going to take these ideas and put them in one sentence to illustrate what a strategy statement would look like, it would look like this:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Influence <\/b>leaders<\/b> and <\/b>parents<\/b> to create <\/b>community<\/b> around a timeless <\/b>message <\/b>that mobilizes the next generation to love God and <\/b>serve<\/b> others.\u00a0<\/b><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

We want to put this in one sentence is because we can look at it and understand that our strategy is anchored to things that ultimately will never change. Then we can distinguish between how we do our programming, and the values we are hoping to accomplish that are timeless and never changing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look closer at the values. We like to restate them this way:<\/span><\/p>\n

Align Leaders<\/b><\/p>\n

When you get your team on the same page, you will have a different kind of impact.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Refine the Message\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

What you said last year might need to be said differently this year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Engage Parents<\/b><\/p>\n

When you engage parents, you exponentially multiply your influence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Elevate Community\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

When you organize around relationships, you give a kid a sense of belonging, and another adult who cares about them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Influence Service<\/b><\/p>\n

So they discover what it looks like to be the church while they are at your church.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We think in terms of these values because even if a pandemic hits, and even if the world shifts and changes, you are still going to…\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Need leaders\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Care about what you are teaching\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Engage parents\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Want kids to have a sense of belonging<\/span><\/p>\n

Invite kids and students to be the church<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

These values never change, but there is another thing we think is important.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you want your ministry to have a lasting impact, you need to rebuild trust.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trust is such a big issue because there\u2019s a generation of parents, families, kids and teenagers who aren\u2019t sure they trust the church anymore.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So, what does it look like to rebuild trust<\/span><\/p>\n

With your leaders<\/span><\/p>\n

In your message\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With parents\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By creating safe places for kids<\/span><\/p>\n

With your community\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Because when we think about the next decade, trust is going to be so important. So how do we start rebuilding it?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We start thinking through the values that are timeless and start with building trust with\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

our volunteers,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

our parents,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

with each other,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

with our neighborhoods,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

and with the actual kid or teenager we’re inviting into safe places.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We start rebuilding trust by leveraging and innovating the things that change for the sake of what never changes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Next steps:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Want to dive deeper into each of these values? Check out our Orange Strategy Roadmap<\/a> or our first masterclass intensive, Redesign Your Ministry to Last<\/a>. You might also listen to our Think Orange Podcast<\/a>\u00a0or grab a copy of\u00a0Think Orange<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As leaders, so much of what we do changes. However there are some things that never change, and our ministry strategies should be connected to those timeless values.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[523],"tags":[],"authors":[1815],"life-stage":[533],"class_list":["post-36198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ministry-leadership","authors-think-orange-team","life-stage-leader-ministry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTimeless Values of the Orange Strategy | Think Orange<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thinkorange.com\/blog\/timeless-values-of-the-orange-strategy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Timeless Values of the Orange Strategy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As leaders, so much of what we do changes. 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