One of my mentors once said to me, “Well begun, half done.” A good start is crucial to the success of PSR. There are two ways to introduce this change: 

A Casual Approach

During a time when you are talking with a staff member-but not during a “meeting”-say something like:

“I’d like to do a better job working with you in your ministry here. I came across a new idea and I was wondering if you’d be interested in trying it for a month-there is a one month free trial. All you do is record your ministry activity in Google Calendar and we both get a report on Monday that summarizes the previous week. This would help me to understand all that you do. Right now I feel like you are doing good things I know nothing about. Would you be willing to give it a serious try?”

A Formal Approach

During a staff meeting, say something like, “I need to confess that I have not been doing a good job of training and leading you in your ministries. Frankly, there are times when I don’t know how or what you are doing. This is not good for me or you. I sense that you are doing good things, but I want to know about these things and celebrate them with you. I also want to affirm good work. So starting next month on the first, you will record daily all of your ministry activity in Google Calendar. This takes just a few minutes a day. You and I will also receive a report from PastorStaffReport.com every Monday summarizing your ministry. I also want to plan a weekly, 30-minute meeting with each of you to review, celebrate and hone your ministries. For now, create your own gmail account (or use an existing one) and familiarize yourself with Google Calendar. You’ll be updated on what to do as we move forward.”

Of course, different people will respond to this differently. So email me if you have any questions and we can work through the startup together.  We can schedule a phone call if we need it. 

In conclusion, keep these two foci:

• Focus on the Positive! “I want to know about and celebrate your ministry.”
• Focus on updating the calendar DAILY. “It is part of your job to do the calendar every day.”