Mercy Ministries: Issues

• What is the "life expectancy" of a Mercy Ministries initiative?  Your initial mercy ministries activities should be reasonably long lived, i.e. continue to be relevant and manageable over a period of years.  Those that require capital expenditures, e.g. a building or other facilities, should be expected to have an even longer life.

That doesn't mean that your initiative might not need to change somewhat over time.  Any healthy activity will need to change to reflect a changing membership, service community, financial capabilities, etc. 

• How long before we add a second initiative? Be careful about overextending.  Before considering a totally separate second initiative, consider the possibilities of organic growth for the first one.  For example, a program aimed at supporting low income children (e.g. an after school program) might easily grow into a tutoring program (parenting classes, ESL, job interviewing, etc.) for their parents.  You might also consider the need for an emergency response capability, e.g. a team that might swing into action around emergencies like fires, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, etc. that might be common to your area.  Such a capability might be held in reserve but could offer an opportunity to engage and enlist members of the community who are not yet part of your church.  Even if it is never needed it could make the community safer while bringing people to Christ.
• Should the church give money outside its own operating budget? Yes.  It is good stewardship and will reap a return a hundredfold.  If you do not, you will be perceived as willing to substitute volunteer labor in place of precious dollars. 
• Are there any safety or security issues? Yes.  Safety and security are extremely important.  Consult legal advisers and insurance agents to better understand your risks and the measures you can take to mitigate them.
• How do we evaluate potential partners? Potential partners should share your vision for mercy ministries.  They should also share your values.  Their missions may vary as each one finds its own way to reach the vision.  Consider their reputation, visibility, mission, size, stability, operating style, and most important, consider the "Value Proposition."  The "Value Proposition" is simply the quid pro quo for each partner.  Is it a healthy one?  Does it carry expectations that simply cannot be met or which are too modest for the Vision?
• How do we evaluate current partners? Expectations should be clear (and in writing) from the outset.  Accountability should be established (who is responsible for what) and should be monitored frequently, no less often than quarterly.  Partnerships are at risk over misunderstandings about expectations ("I thought you had a higher level of skills."  "I didn't realize you wanted to be paid."  "I thought you had access to our target community."  "You mean you're not insured?").  Since expectations can change, the accountability milestones should not only look at results and outcomes but should also invite a dialogue over possible changes in the circumstances and expectations of the partners.
• What results should we expect from our outreach and service?  You will need to define expected results/outcomes.  Hopefully they will be measurable in some manner that can be communicated to both the church members and also to those being served.  But while results should be measurable, outcomes may be based on "softer" data, i.e. the stories of those who have been served and blessed by your ministry.  Don't forget to gather these kinds of stories in addition to the "hard data" of statistical results.  And don't forget to listen to the stories of your members who are strengthening their faith by serving others.  The changing of one human life is critically important and meaningful.

"What do you think?  If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?"  Matthew 18:12

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