Imagine something with me for a minute… Let’s say I walked into your office right now and said, “Hi, I’m Nelson Searcy and here’s $1000. I want you to use this $1000 to improve your church.” What would you do? What’s the first thing that pops into your mind?

Would you invest in your volunteers? How? Would you do something special for your staff? How would you spend that $1000? Would you be willing to use it to reward?

I started thinking about this question when I came across a recent blog post by Phil Gerbyshak. He had some good ideas around the concept of using the $1000 to thank and motivate his staff. He said that he would reward his staff by buying:

• “A Good Lunch: I manage 8 folks, so at $25 per person, that’s $200
• Refreshing Beverage of Choice: Some like iced coffee, some iced tea, and some want juice. At $5 per person, this would spend another $40 of my $1000.
• A Box of Thank You Notes: Hand written thank you notes are a very effective way to let your team know you care, especially if you offer them with specific praise. 40 thank you notes means 5 thanks per person. That’s another $25 spent.
• 40 Stamps: I like to mail my notes to my team at home, instead of just handing them to them at work, so their family can see them too. $16.80 cost.
• Frozen Custard: If you’ve never enjoyed frozen custard before, you don’t know what you’re missing. Maybe it’s just a Wisconsin thing, but instead of ice cream to fill a sweet tooth, I’d go and get some frozen custard from Kopps, not far from where I work. $50. (What special treat is near your church?)
• Direct Lighting: One of the worst things that can happen at work is eye strain, and it happens frequently if you don’t have good lighting. My team sits at their desk in front of their computer all day, so an investment into some direct lighting would be nice. I’d guess this would be $300.
• Amazon Gift Cards: Maybe this is cheating, but this is what I’d buy. With whatever is left over, I’d buy Amazon gift cards in various denominations to have on hand for the next time I need a spot reward. $400.”

Click here to read the opinions of some others who chimed in.

So, any ideas? What would you do? Spend some time this weekend thinking about what you could do to boost your team’s morale – with or without the $1000.

Have a great weekend!

Nelson

© Nelson Searcy. All Rights Reserved.

About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.