If you have been following the ministry for a while, you know that our heart is to extend the gospel, our outreach and the ministry as far as we can while uniting the church together in service. Last year’s strategy was built around providing a toolkit and resources for churches to launch their own ministries. This year, we are making an adjustment and adding an element we lacked last year - one that we believe will help more churches start teams and more projects get done.

We have been blessed with some very gifted volunteers but until now, have not organized them to act together. We are convinced that we can use volunteers more effectively for leadership roles on projects and in assisting in all aspects of running the ministry. The last couple months, we have been meeting with some faithful people that have been involved and committed to the vision of HRM and are now stepping up to use their time and expertise in critical focus areas. These areas include project site visits & leadership, networking to professional resources, fundraising, planning, supporting existing church teams, and ministry expansion into other areas of Metro Atlanta. We are currently calling the group The Core Team. It will act both as an advisory board and an implementation team.

If you're in Atlanta and you, or someone you know, have a heart for this kind of thing, please let me know. We think this is an excellent strategy to increase our impact and number of projects in 2013 from around 50 to 75 and the number of churches participating from 15 to 23.

We've talked quite a bit in the blog about the need for home repairs for our primary service constituencies inside and outside the church - widows, single mothers, the elderly and disabled - but aside from the primary blessings of serving Jesus and our brothers, sisters and neighbors, there is also a practical reasons for your church to consider a home repair team.

In almost every church there is a group of handy people that are called upon for their skills. Some help maintain the church building, some go on construction-related mission trips, and some help with the occasional odd job presented by a needy congregation member. Most of the time these previously mentioned groups serve when called upon, but they are not actively looking for projects. Did some faces and names come to mind?

Men (and women) on the periphery of the ministry are found in many churches but cannot figure out how to serve in the church if they don’t sing, teach, direct traffic, or participate in childcare. But, they can use their hands! When these people are engaged, there is an army of handymen ready to jump in and “get it done”.

So, what might move a church like yours toward starting a home repair ministry team?

• An existing handyman group needs organizing or refining for effectiveness
• There are interested men in the church
• There is someone in the church with a need
• The pastor or staff have the idea of starting a team for outreach purposes
• To build a Men’s Ministry
• There are needs in the community close to the church

So, one of the best ways to form a home repairs team is to identify these handy people and get them behind, and committed to, an effort to launch your home repairs ministry. Or, put another way, encourage them to do what they were already doing, only in a more organized and effective manner.

We can help you get started with a library of resources to help you start and run a team.

Today we finish the blog series on guidelines for a home repair ministry. While this is probably not an exhaustive list, it should help you understand the questions you will want to consider as you start or grow your team. It may also help you to understand the best size and scope of your ministry.

Did we miss anything or leave anything out? Want to add a question or issue we missed? Send us an email with additional questions that home repair ministries should consider.

To access to the full article (including information not present in the blog), you can get it at no cost by registering for the site.

Photo courtesy of Jonathan Ogilvie - http://www.eyebrightdesign.co.uk/

XV) What tools should you have on hand?

Depending on the size and complexity of your ministry, you may want to maintain either a set of tools or rely upon the volunteers to bring their own. See blog for recommended tools to have available

XVI) How will you determine repair priorities?

The ministry should establish a protocol determining who is served first when there is a waiting list.

XVII) How will you evaluate the work performed by volunteers?

It is very helpful to consider what criteria you will use to evaluate the work done by your volunteers. How will you communicate with the homeowner to determine if their needs were met? See the document “Success indicators” under the Project Completion section for suggestions on how to evaluate your team’s work.

XVIII) What procedures will you have in place to respond to project emergencies?

Although most repair efforts involve limited risk, even using a ladder or fixing an element in a hot water heater can pose potential threats of harm or injury to volunteers or homeowners. By having emergency procedures in place, ministries can have a rapid response in the event of problems. At a minimum, ministries should maintain emergency contact telephone lists for all volunteers. Because some homes may not have working telephones, volunteers should be encouraged to carry a cell phone with them.

XIX) What will be your confidentiality standard?

Home repairs ministries should take special care to protect the confidentiality of homeowners. Regardless of the state of the home, gossip should never be tolerated in a Christian ministry. It is best to develop a written statement reminding volunteers of their obligation not to share private information about homeowners with others who do not have a need to know.

XX) How do you handle cases of suspected abuse or neglect?

Unfortunately, it may become apparent to volunteers that abuse or neglect is present in a home being repaired. Volunteers should be trained to spot signs of abuse and report their suspicions to the appropriate authorities.

See Part One    See Part Two

Today's blog continues the discussion on what questions your team should be asking when considering or starting a home repair team in your church. See Part One

We'll continue our look at some practical questions you and your team will want to consider to help you increase your ministry impact and avoid potential unpleasant surprises. To get access to the full article, you can get it at no cost by registering for the site.

IX) How will you find homeowners to serve?

Once you have identified who qualifies for services offered by the ministry (e.g. by age, income etc.), you will need to connect with homeowners in need.

X) How will the homeowner be screened?

Defining a process and methodology will help you ensure that each applicant is qualified and that your team can handle the scope of the job.

XI) Who will assess the home repair request?

It is helpful, when a request comes in, to have a preliminary assessment done by a member of your team. This will help guide your decision and next action steps.

XII) How will you track requests and their resolution?

Having a process or plan will help you to make sure requests are finished and also allow you to show your team's impact on the church and/or community.

XIII) Who will pay for the cost of repairs?

Generally, volunteers should not be expected to pay for the cost of repairs. That being the case, who and how will these projects be paid for? We have a blog article focused on this topic - So, how exactly do we pay for this? The website also has additional information on this topic for registrants.

XIV) What building professionals are available if needed for help and/or advice?

It is a good idea to create and maintain a list of building professionals who are available to provide free or reduced price advice on particular home repair requests.

The third and final blog in this series will be released next Monday, December 17.

Made a decision to start a home repair ministry in your church? Investigating what it takes to start one? Whichever phase you are in, here are some questions that you need to be asking as you prepare to get started.

I) Who will you serve?

For example, will you focus on your congregation? Senior citizens? Single mothers? Those with disabilities? The economically poor? Anyone who asks for assistance?

What types of minor home repairs will you perform?

II) When and how often will home repair work be done?

Home repair ministries use a variety of work models, ranging from one weekend per year, once a month, every weekend, to whenever it is convenient for the volunteers and homeowner.

III) Who will lead the program and what organizational structure will you use?

Your ministry will need to determine the leadership and organization of your home repairs team, including how you will report and work with your church’s staff and ministry structure.

IV) How will you recruit volunteers?

You will need to have a plan and process to recruit your ministry’s volunteers.

V) How will you screen volunteers?

To ensure that volunteers have the level of skill required for particular tasks and to protect your ministry, church and the homeowner, you should have a process for volunteers to be screened.

VI) How will volunteers be oriented to the ministry?

Although volunteers will typically come with a certain set of skills, training them is an important part of developing an Outreach ministry.

VII) How will you keep track of your volunteers and their skills?

To best use your resource and know what projects to take, you need to know how many volunteers you have, their skills and their availabilities.

VIII) How will you communicate to volunteers the liability attached to their service?

If your church is not covering personal injuries resulting from someone’s participation in a home repairs ministry, you will need to have a clear policy and communicate that policy with your home repairs ministries volunteers.

For more questions and guidelines to ask when forming or considering your home repair ministry, stay tuned for part two next Monday 12/10. For more detail on these guidelines, please sign up for our ministry resources (no charge).

Once your home repair team is taking projects it is important to have criteria by which you can make a "go/no go" decision.

It is generally good practice not to make a snap decision on helping if there is any doubt. Get back to the team and talk about it. Make a visit or even multiple visits to the site with more people, if questions remain. It is easy to tell the homeowner that you need to present the information to the team so that they can make a decision.

Don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be. It could be as simple as sending a father and son to change the flush mechanism of a leaky toilet. It may not even be necessary to make a pre-project site visit. Let the person visiting the site evaluate and complete a project if possible.

What criteria will be used to evaluate a project and Go/No Go?

Projects should be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Size: Is it feasible for the team to tackle the project in terms of time and people needed?

• Safety: Can you do the project without putting the homeowner, ministry, or volunteers at risk?

• Skills Required: Does the team have the skills required to complete the project? You can run off your volunteers if you give them projects that they don't know how to handle.

• Repair or Improvement: If the project is deemed a repair, it is eligible for volunteer assistance. If an improvement, unless it is absolutely necessary, it automatically becomes a referral to a professional. The exception to this is when an improvement is necessary because of a specific, critical situation (i.e. handicapped ramps). Sometimes special projects (playgrounds, fences) are considered if they make the home more “livable” for adults or children.

• Financial Situation: While the ministry does not have rigid income requirements for assistance, the financial situation of the homeowner is considered. If the homeowner is struggling financially, then help may be offered based on assistance from a financial ministry.

Is your church considering or open to home repair as an outreach or mercy ministry? Or are you in the process of organizing? One of the most important steps in setting up your home repair team is determining how you will be organized. Over the next couple days, we will be sharing with you some descriptions of positions within a home repair team. This model represents a fairly sophisticated team, and is just one way of staffing, but our hope is that it's helpful in starting your service ministry or optimizing the team that you have in place already.

If you want this information in a complete document, download the PDF file. More information like this is available by signing up on the web site (no charge).

Part I - Leadership Team Member

Your Home Repairs leadership team should meet at least monthly to:

● Discuss new projects
● Review status of open projects
● Set goals & direction for the ministry
● Assign project responsibilities

In addition, for each project handled by your ministry, a leadership team member is specifically assigned to the project. When the project is assigned, the leadership team member is responsible for:

● Managing the project if there is no Project Leader (PL) - the Project Leader position will be discussed in more detail in a future blog
● Obtaining a list of volunteers and insuring they are contacted
● Coordinating with the Project Leader and the Project Coordinator (PC) to establish a date for the project (see PC role information below)
● Insuring that the status of the project is maintained in the Home Repairs Database (reporting project & volunteer information)
● Assisting in scoping the project & making sure that your ministry coordinates with the homeowner

Churches are trying to get the most outreach impact they can from available resources, but there’s a tricky issue – available resource. On top of that, we know we have limited hours in a day and can feel it - palpably. Churches have to be smart and strategic in the Kingdom work they do to be good and faithful stewards of what God has given them.

So here’s the punchline. For this opportunity, you may not need to think about starting a new ministry. Your church may already be sitting on top of one that already exists (or at least has the potential to exist) in your church! Think about this. Who’s the guy you call or would call if you had a widow in your church with a leaky faucet? Who is always helping out when something breaks or needs to get built. Does a face or two spring to mind? Odds are pretty good that this person may not be formally plugged in with a ministry and has trouble figuring out where and how to serve. Why wouldn’t you want that guy reaching out to more people in your congregation or your community? Maybe it’s time to turn ‘em loose!

And you do that by starting a home repair ministry. A home repair ministry is an opportunity for your church to love on and serve your widows, single moms, elderly and disabled members, and to serve these same groups out in your community. In fact, once your team learns how to get referrals you may find what our Executive Director describes as a very odd phenomonon. People in your comumnity inviting your Christ-followers into their homes. How's that for an outreach opportunity? Cool, huh?

You’re probably thinking that this sounds good, but let’s get real, staff and ministry leaders don’t have time to throw at another ad hoc thing. The beauty of a home repairs ministry is that it’s designed to be lay-led. Past receiving the occasional update, staff doesn’t have to get further involved unless they want to.

If you’re looking for some guidance on how to get started, we have a library of content including ministry vision, how to get started, how and where to get referrals, project management, volunteer management and more. We like to think of it as a home repair ministry “in a box”. Get a Sneak Peek of what's available!

We also provide access to a network of churches with home repair ministries (right now mainly in Atlanta, but starting to spread nationally). Will you join us? We do not charge for the site (but you can make a donation if you are able). Check out what you get from Home Repairs Ministries

You can also click “Contact Us” near the bottom of this webpage to directly contact us with questions you might have.

If someone were to ask you about the most critical resources that you need to carry out your ministry (or if you are considering starting a ministry), what would you answer? Would it be:

• A place to meet and organize
• A strong, engaged leader
• Money to carry out your mission
• Time

We know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the heart of any Christian ministry. But did you ever think about your volunteers being the life-giving blood cells carrying the oxygen (i.e. your ministry service) to where it needs to go? Are you pouring time and effort into your ministries' volunteers?

Whatever your particular ministry is (our is home repairs ministry), volunteer management and relationship building will be one of the key factors in your ministries' success and longevity. It is difficult to succeed if you are not recruiting, engaging, training and following-up with your volunteers in a systematic way.  Here are six suggestions for managing and growing your volunteers and improving your ministry impact.

1)      Screen your volunteers – This may seem like a strange thing to feature in a section on volunteer management, but it is a critical step for ministries focused on outreach and interacting with clients. Perform a background check and protect your clients AND the volunteer. Screen for potential problems on the up-front and save yourself and your volunteers from potential trouble.

2)      Keep track of your volunteers' skills in a database – For a ministry that is very multi-faceted like ours it is important to know what your volunteers' skills are and what kinds of jobs they can and cannot do. The church presents a wonderful diversity of giftedness. As Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians (4:16) - From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (NIV – emphasis mine). Knowing the skills of your volunteers gives you a chance to put them in projects where they can succeed. Remember to have your volunteers give you their schedule for service (when and how often) and honor it. By the way, we have a volunteer spreadsheet that we have used that your welcome to use if you sign up as a Ministry Partner .

Photo courtesy of Cristian Galletti (http://about.me/cgalletti)

3)      Train your volunteers and onboard them – Whatever your volunteer's skills are, they should be familiarized with how your ministry operates, what support they can expect from leadership, your program history, etc. Give them the information that they need to be productive and to determine if your ministry is the right one for them. Better to find these things out early and get the right people involved and not just warm bodies (although with creativity you can have unskilled laborers – of which I include myself - involved in cleaning up, setting up and feeding the other volunteers). If your ministry is not a fit then there certainly is another ministry home for the volunteer. Regardless of your volunteer's skill set, leave jobs with a significant potential for injury (i.e. the use of high ladders) to professionals.

4)      Recommend liability insurance if your ministry carries injury risk – Just like at home, injuries can occur when volunteering with a home repair ministry. Falling off ladders, tripping over cords and wires, and other injuries do happen to volunteers. If your volunteers are not covered for personal injuries, it is strongly advised that you clearly explain the necessity of carrying personal liability insurance prior to engaging in any home repair efforts. It is the obligation of a home repairs ministry to notify volunteers of the lack of personal liability coverage. To protect your ministry you should also have your volunteers sign a legal waiver form.

5)      Do not take on jobs that you lack the volunteer skills for (or lack the manpower to do the job quickly) – We try to never take on a project that takes more than one or two days. Long projects tend to sap the strength and morale of your team.

6)      Follow-up with your volunteers – Ask them if their skills are being utilized correctly. See if there are other roles that the volunteer might want to take on or learn. Look for opportunities to move volunteers into a leadership position (as appropriate). As with paying jobs the potential for leadership and/or growth can motivate your volunteers to stick with you.

By taking the time to help your volunteers thrive and succeed you will ultimately encourage them to stick with you for the long haul and help your ministry serve with excellence.

Our home repairs ministry team has learned some valuable lessons in our service and also received some great advice from other churches. The old truism has proven accurate – experience really is a great teacher. We’ve taken some of that experience and synthesized it into a list of ministry do’s and don’ts. If you are just starting a home repairs ministry (especially), or even if your church has been at it for a while, we hope that these will help you avoid unnecessary pain!

First, a brief bit of background. Our home repairs ministry launched in 2002 as a part of Perimeter Church’s Community Outreach ministry. Our mission - to address internal church and local community home repair needs. In our 9 years of existence, we have helped hundreds of people through our many projects.

And we’ve had some miscues. For one project we had a high school group commit to bring a dozen or so students on a Saturday morning. We were renovating a house in the inner city of Atlanta. The Project Leader spent hours on Friday afternoon getting tools and materials loaded and ready and headed out very early on Saturday to meet them. About ten minutes after start time the group had still not shown. They never did show. We learned a powerful lesson that day. NEVER fail to contact the people or group close to the project date and make sure to get a projection on numbers. If you’ve never had that problem before, count your blessings and start calling your volunteers shortly before the project, whatever service or mercy ministry you are involved in. Communicate, communicate, communicate.

Looking back, it was in some ways a funny story. But there can be profound spiritual repercussions to a bad service experience. Remember, we are ambassadors for Jesus Christ when we go to serve a client. If the client is not a believer, our outreach could actually have the opposite effect and sour their receptivity to the gospel! Despite the best and purest intentions, doing the wrong thing, or not doing the right thing, can also potentially lead to embarrassment, disgruntled volunteers and (shudder) legal issues. By putting safeguards and processes in place you can make your ministry more effective, fruitful and impactful. In addition, your volunteers will enjoy their work and be more likely to stay with the ministry.
So, in the spirit of making your community outreach and home repairs projects more fruitful, we present the following list of 5 key do’s and don’ts. While not an all-encompassing guide, I hope that these will help make your ministry more effective.

1. Don’t assume the homeowner knows what the plan is. Sit down with the homeowner and review the Scope of Work that your group will be focusing on. Have the homeowner sign the “Scope of Work” agreement.

Having an agreed-upon, thorough Scope of Work with the homeowner helps establish accountability and sets expectations. Because the homeowner knows what to expect you significantly reduce the risk of potential frustration and a bad witness.

2. Don’t underestimate the cost of repairs.

This is especially critical as your funding could be coming from an external source, including the homeowner. It is much better to overestimate what you need than underestimate. A home repairs ministry should have contingency plans when a repair has increased costs.

3. Do include the homeowner in any decision-making that may arise.

This affirms the dignity of the homeowner and that the property is his/hers. Changes to a home can get emotional, so when in doubt, ask.

4. Do repairs while the homeowner is present.

Again, show respect for the homeowner and protect yourself from unfair accusations by making sure that the homeowner is aware of all work being done.

5. Do connect your efforts with other local groups already doing home repair.

Amplify your ministry impact and display unity in the body of Christ by teaming with other church ministries on repair jobs. Or, as Ecclesiastes 4:12 tells us “…a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

1 Corinthians 10:31 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”