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Similar to Minimum Viable Belief: Experimentation in a Faith-Based Organization [Lean Start-Up Conference "Ignite" Presentation]
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Minimum Viable Belief: Experimentation in a Faith-Based Organization [Lean Start-Up Conference "Ignite" Presentation]
- 1. What they look like from the outside… STARTUPS CHURCHES
- 2. What the best leaders in both do… Startup ENTREPRENEURS Church ENTRAPRENEURS Plant Grow Revitalize Experiment
- 3. Forces at work… Exponential Change Extreme Uncertainty C H U R C H
- 4. Uncertainty… 25 20 15 10 5 0 “Rise of the NONES” 1972 2010
- 5. Change… 0 A denominational singularity? 1900 2100 2000 Denominations Followers Event horizon?
- 6. And Murphy’s Law of human nature… uncertainty disunity conformity
- 7. To survive a ride thru this wormhole… must be lean, flexible, experimental, & driven by a…
- 8. Minimum Viable Belief What How Why What How Why Why of Whys A vision that transcends existence
- 9. Rapid Iteration Prototyping (R.I.P.) Because it’s okay to let bad ideas die… APPLY program/product seasonal experiment ASSESS our assumptions ADAPT MVB vision Toss?
- 10. 20 years of experimentation Startup & Expansion Member marketing, engagement, & giving Community relief & development Worship & education Conflict transformation & social change
- 11. Prototyping program – Round 1 Need: more young families with children Fall 2010 Summer 2010 Children’s service Children’s service pilot Spring 2011 Focus group eval. ■■ design VISION ■ ”it’s just what we asked for”
- 12. Prototyping program – Round 2 Summer 2011 Design tweak Fall 2011 Children’s service launch Spring 2012 Team data analysis ■■■ VISION ■ adults missed sermon
- 13. Prototyping program – Round 3 Summer 2012 Combined service (best of both) Fall 2012 Intergenerational launch Winter break 2013 Team data analysis ■■■■ VISION ■ nursing moms not staying for fellowship
- 14. Prototyping program – Round 4 Winter break 2013 Holy Nursing campaign design Winter 2014 Holy Nursing campaign launch Spring 2014 Team data analysis ■■■■■ VISION ■ staying, but more kids = more noise (tweaking continues)
- 15. Prototyping member giving – Round 1 Need: giving consistent with vision Summer 2007 Bells & Whistles program purchase Fall 2007 “B & W” pilot Keep one term Winter 2008 Team review ■■■■■ VISION Toss “B & W”
- 16. Prototyping member giving – Round 2 Spring 2008 Keep “Giving Estimate” Fall 2008 “Giving Estimate” campaign Winter 2009 Team review ■■■■ VISION ■■■ more gave, sooner, more generously
- 17. Prototyping member giving– Round 3 Spring 2009 “Reasons not to give” Fall 2009 “Reasons” implementation Spring 2010 Team review ■■■■■ VISION ■■■■ increased giving (during a recession)
- 18. Prototyping member giving – Round 4 Winter 2014 Killing the campaign Spring-Fall 2014 Qtrly Town Halls + Annual Ingathering Winter 2015 Team review ? ? ? VISION
- 19. What could startups steal from us? Vision creates Culture A lean, transcendent vision can create a flexible, durable, self-guiding culture that can outlast its founder.
- 20. Contact Info. The Rev. Ken Howard Rector St. Nicholas Episcopal Church about.me/ken.howard saintnicks.com practicingparadoxy.com 301-704-3290
Editor's Notes
- I know… Churches? Startups? Seriously? SERIOUSLY. I’ve started companies, non-profits, and faith communities. They may look different, but they’ve got a lot more in common than you think.
- Consider… How entrepreneurial church leaders actually lead churches: They start them…grow them…revitalize them…experiment with them. And today’s faith communities are almost always lean, at least financially.
- Consider… the forces at work… Like startups, today’s churches and faith communities live at the intersection of extreme uncertainty and exponential change, within and without. (Just like startups) Examples:
- Uncertainty… The “Rise of the NONES”… Those who check “none of the above” for religious preference in polls. In 1972, less that 1 in 30. Now, more than 1 in 5.
- Change… All faiths fracture… Christianity’s no different. First slowly: 1,600 denominations, 1,900 years. Then it went exponential, jumping to 45,000 by 2014. A singularity. (And we’re beyond the event horizon.)
- Exacerbated by common misconception: That conformity leads to community. And the antidote to uncertainty and change? More conformity, of course. When human nature is such that the opposite is true.
- These were the forces we faced starting our church. Like a ride through a wormhole. To survive, we knew we had to be Lean, Flexible, Experimental… and driven by a Minimum Viable Belief.
- A Core Belief A Foundational Vision. A WHY of WHYs. Transcending success… or survival. For us, that the transforming power of God’s love made all other considerations secondary.
- Everything revolved around our MVB. A cycle of experimentation: ADAPT… APPLY… ASSESS… Which we called Rapid Iteration Programming (RIP)… to remind ourselves it was okay to bad ideas die.
- For nearly 20 years, we’ve been applying this Lean-like approach to every aspect of congregational life, from startup to worship to giving campaigns. Let’s walk through two examples:
- Young families were underrepresented. So we convened a parent focus group, defined, designed, refined, piloted a children’s service, and got a green light from the group: T’was everything they asked for.
- But not entirely what they wanted… We launched… Initial response was strong… But over time many young families moved to our main service. Seems parents missed their adult sermons.
- So… we merged… best of both… Holy Play area… Adult sermons… Called it “Intergenerational”… They loved it! But some parents weren’t staying for fellowship. Nursing moms worried they might be frowned upon…
- So we designed & launched a “Nursing is Holy” campaign. Our assisting priest (a nursing mom) was game… Social media posts… discussions… being present… And…Success! With unintended consequences more noise (fine tuning continues)
- Example 2… Member giving. Always tweaking. Found a great turnkey giving campaign others thought was easy, effective, and fun, so we bought it… tried it… HATED IT!... Dumped it. Except for… A single term.
- Their word, “Giving Estimate,” was simpler, less contractual, and less churchy, requiring less explanation than our term, “Pledge.” So we ran a regular campaign with the new term. Response? More responded, sooner, and more generously.
- Why? Communicated freedom rather than obligation. So next year we went one step further, holding discussions about things that might hold people back from giving. Response: 20% increase (during a recession).
- That was 2010. This year, another big step into freedom, we killed the annual giving campaign in favor of year-round conversations about mission, ministry, member engagement, and money. Response? We’ll let you know…
- Lean, transcendent vision creates flexible, durable, self-guiding culture that can outlast its founder… from startup to maturity… Minimum Viable Belief.