Our Heart for Strengthening Small Business

           "We believe the way to have a healthy, thriving city is to having healthy, thriving businesses. If our businesses don’t succeed, then we can’t succeed as a city. When businesses succeed, jobs are created, people are employed, families are provided for, people find fulfillment in their daily lives, kids are raised in better homes, memories are created, people give to charity, the hurting are helped, and the hopeless are raised." 

             - An excerpt from the Opening of our Advance One Day Event, Friday, Sept. 28th, 2012

In recent days, our hearts have been stirred and our eyes opened to a segment of our city we believe God has called us to strengthen and empower...

Small Businesses and Business Leaders

As stated above, we believe the way to build a strong city is to build strong businesses within that city. Additionally, we believe the starting point for anything great is to empower and grow Strong Leaders.

That is what our 1st Ever, Advance OneDay Event is all about! We are excited to host 400 Business Leaders from across Southwest Florida for a day of training, engagement and strengthening of the backbone to our cities... Business.

The day will center around 2 primary strategies:

1.  Strengthening the "Smart Side" of your Business

2.  Strengthening the "Health Side" of your Business

We believe it takes both sides being strong to grow a strong business in our world today. 

Topics will include:

"How Organizations Grow..." 
           ...Dispelling the Myths of Growth and Identifying the 6 Keys to Making the Jump to the Next Level.

"Building Healthy Teams"  
           ...Uncovering what it truly takes to create a culture where everyone brings their best everyday for the good of the company.

"The Changing World of Marketing"
          ...Learning the new rules to capturing the attention of your customers.

"Being #1 and #2 :: Balancing the Tension of Working Together" 
          ...An in depth interview on what it takes for a leader & the #2 to work together long-term.

"Personal Advice for Long-Term Success" 
          ...Insuring our own personal success in the midst of building a great enterprise.

For more information and to register, go to:

http://www.NextLevelChurch.com/AdvanceOneDay

A New Approach toward Community Outreach (Guest Post) by @GabeBedenbaugh

 A major part of our strategy at Next Level Church is serving "the least of these" in our city. I want to introduce you to Pastor Gabe Bedenbaugh, our community outreach pastor who leads the charge in serving the the hurting, broken and forgotten of our city. In this week's Guest Post, Gabe unpacks a strategic shift we've made in our approach to serving the poor.

A New Approach toward Community Outreach ::

  @GabeBedenbaugh

A major shift is taking place in community ministry. Volunteerism is at an all time high. The church, corporate America and non-profits of all sizes are more involved in their communities than ever before. And yet… it appears nothing is changing. Crime and murder rates are still too high. So many are still living in poverty and hopelessness. What we’ve discovered is, its not that we are not doing enough, its that we are not doing what actually helps.

At Next Level Church, we have made a shift in our mindset toward community ministry. A shift away from making our people feel good and a shift toward truly fixing the problem.

A book we’re learning much from is Toxic Charity by Robert Lupton. In his book, he writes, “When we do for those in need what they have the capacity to do for themselves, we disempower them.”

We’re learning the goal of community ministry should be to empower those we are serving, not lead them into further dependence.

Here are three shifts we are making as a church to empower instead of foster dependence:

1. We stopped giving everything away.

Last year around Christmas we set up a “Mobile Mall” right in the middle of the community we serve. The parents could walk through the mall and purchase discounted gifts for their children. We charged $1 per gift (they cost us anywhere from $3-10).

The result: We sold every gift we brought and there were more fathers  present than at any other event we have ever done! Even charging small amounts for items creates a sense of ownership, honor and dignity.

2. We have become more strategic about building deeper relationships.

Its impossible to truly empower people without learning their needs and dreams firsthand. We had to get “knee deep and elbow dirty” to really find out how we could help. We have implemented a “teams of four” strategy, where each of these teams spend time in our community weekly with specific families, building relationships and trust on a deeper level.

3. We have focused on shifting the mindset of our church.

Anytime you are dealing with mindsets, it can be extremely emotional and difficult to change. Often a mindset can be so ingrained in someone, that they can’t see an issue any other way. As leaders, we are continually casting vision and pointing people toward a new approach that will bring honor and dignity to those we serve. The good news is, though it may take time for a mindset to change, once it does, there is no going back to the old way of thinking! A shift like this, leads to people who are committed to empowering others!

At Next Level Church, we’re excited to be making this shift. Though difficult at times, we know it truly adds dignity to those we’re serving in ways we never imagined were possible.

 For more information about Next Level Church's Community Outreach Strategy e-mail Gabe@nextlevelchurch.com. 

#AddingValue

@MatthewKeller

The London Olympics Got It Right! (A Leadership Principle)

One of the things I have been most impressed about (and there have been many) watching the London 2012 Summer Olympics is the overt thread of belief and optimism about the next generation.

During the Opening Ceremonies, when it came to the infamous torch lighting pomp and circumstance, often awarded to past greats and legends, they took a more holistic approach. I loved how David Beckham was visible but not even in the building, then the legendary runner carried the torch in to the stadium, through 500 construction workers (Average Joe's and Jane's) who built the facility.

Once the torch entered the stadium it was passed to 7 members of the Next Generation who each took a turn as they circled the stadium. Once they made it around, they stopped and handed the torch to 7 past legends (sponsors) in their particular sport. What a great way to honor those who have gone before them and paved the way for them.

Then... in an unexpected twist, the sponsors handed the light back to the young athletes as if to say, "The future is not ours to carry... its your turn now!" At this, the future athletes then ran past the 10,000 current olympians and made their way to the center where they, together, lit the torch. Which was made up of the 204 individual nation's copper bowls.

As I sat on my couch watching the cauldron illuminate, I couldn't help but say out loud: "They got it right!!! They trusted the next generation with the most important part!!!"

What We Can Learn:

The symbolism built into the Opening Ceremonies that night contains a powerful message for everyone of us who are leaders in anyway today. Here are a few key applications that jump out at me...

1. It is necessary and right to honor those who go before us.

     I am a HUGE proponent of giving honor to whom honor is due. There is a generation who paid a great price for the life and opportunities we have. We must never forget to honor them every chance we get. We stand on their shoulders. We reap where they sowed. We have success where they had struggle. Thank you older generations for the price you paid for us. We are better because of you.

2. It is right to honor those who sacrifice and serve behind the scenes.

     I love that the construction workers were invited in to the celebration. So often, those who sweat and bleed and sacrifice behind the scenes never get invited in when the vision is complete and the celebration happens. What can we do to honor those who serve our vision faithfully behind the scenes?

3. It is right to trust the young generation with the Important Stuff, not just the trivial stuff.

     When it came down to the actual lighting of the torch with 1 Billion (that's 1,000,000,000) people (1 out of every 7 people alive on planet earth today) watching, they didn't relent with their belief in the next generation.
     Too often, we in leadership circles, have been guilty of saying we believe in the young generation, saying we trust them, saying we want to empower them, but then when it comes to the big moments, we hold on to the ball.
     If 7 young people can successfully light the Olympic flame in front of 1 Billion people, it probably is conceivable to think the young leaders in our organizations can carry more than we think they can.

PERSONAL STORY ::
     Once upon a time, I was a young leader, bursting with vision and potential and leadership. What I wanted more than anything was for someone in the older generation to give me a shot. When that shot didn't come, I graciously took my talent, energy, ideas and potential and went somewhere else.
    Today, I am so grateful to lead an organization built on empowering young leaders. There is no greater joy for me today then to create opportunities that develop and stretch young leaders and make them better and stronger. I am committing the rest of my leadership life to empowering young leaders and giving ministry away!
     At Next Level Church, we're not waiting for them to be perfect. We're trusting them now. What we're discovering is, when given true belief and opportunity, they rise to the occasion. And even when they fall short of the mark, they're amazingly thankful and teachable because of the chance we were willing to take.
     In conclusion, I can't think of a downside to empowering the young generation. Thank you London 2012 for getting it right and leading the world into a new day! May we leaders follow behind you.

#AddingValue

@MatthewKeller

3 Apps I use Nearly Everyday

In a world of hundreds of thousands of Apps, sometimes my iPhone can feel a little overwhelming. So over the past few weeks, I've tried to pay attention to the Apps I really use, and the ones that are more occasional in my world.

Here are 3 that I find myself living in, several times a day:

1. Twitter App.
     In my opinion, the twitter app is the easiest, most user-friendly way for me to "Read the Newspaper" of my life. Twitter for me is like reading the newspaper and all my friends and heroes are in the headlines. Complete with Pictures, editorials and comments.

     Additionally, and honestly, quite surprisingly, when I want to find out some piece of breaking news that I've heard about, I don't go to google, or my internet browser, I actually go to the search feature in the Twitter App. Amazing! I think I like the "bite sized" version of things that Twitter forces you to have.

     To hear more on my philosophy of who I follow, don't follow and why, go here.

2. Hootsuite.
     I LOVE Hootsuite for one primary thing: I can time release tweets!!! This is the single greatest feature ever, because inspiration doesn't always strike at equally spaced times. And I never want to overwhelm followers with 4 or 5 tweets in a row. I know personally, I always skip over those in my news feed.

     So the best thing is to input them and time release them for later in the day or even on other days. Seriously, I probably have close to 200 tweets scheduled to release right now. Thank you Hootsuite. Life changing for those of us with a message to share and inspiration to give.

3. Evernote.
     The final App that I'm just living in right now is Evernote. I think their mission is to be like a One-stop-shop for Data Collection. I love Evernote for a number of reasons.
             1. It's free. Come on free app lovers!!!
             2. It can record audio and saves it in mp3 form.
             3. Its SUPER EASY to email audio and other files to others.
             4. It sinks with my iPhone, iPad and computer. Like seriously, when I'm done recording something, within a few seconds it shows up on my phone. Unreal.
             5. You can share folders, etc.

      Honestly, I haven't even begun to fully utilize Evernote like it has the ability to be utilized. Michael Hyatt did a whole article on it, you can see it here.

? What Apps are changing your world right now?

I would love to hear your thoughts...

#AddingValue

@MatthewKeller