Have started Recruiting for next year's Steering?

The best way to assure the future of your MOPS group is to always be in prayer for new leaders. Any time of year is a good time to be asking God to show you who will be the future leaders of your group. Now is an especially good time because you can bring your next year's Steering Team members to the MOPS Leadership for Life Summit on March 24th 2007. Let your Field Leadership Team and MOPS International help train the ladies God is calling to lead your MOPS group next year.

Here are some interesting and helpful articles on recruiting Steering Team Members. Please take the time to contact your CC or leave a comment below if you have any questions or concerns when it comes to leadership recruitment. We'd also love to hear how you find new leaders and your praises of how God is working things out in your group.

Steering Team Selection Tips

Here are some suggestions:

The coordinator asks the present steering team to pray as to whether they sense God’s calling them to continue in their present position for another year (MOPS International encourages two-year commitments). She needs to give them a deadline of one to two weeks away.

During this same time the Coordinator gathers together her Steering Selection Committee. This committee is made up of the Coordinator, Mentor, Discussion Group team Leader and two to four (depending on the size of your group) other women NOT on the present steering team. These non=steering women will provide the needed objective view; they can be MOPS moms, church members, or recent MOPS alum. These women should be prayer warriors, submitted to the Lord, and know most of the women in the group. If a Coordinator decides not to use a specific Steering Selection committee, the current steering team can assume this role.

When the Coordinator has her list of steering positions open for next year, she then will let the Steering Team and Discussion Group Team Leader know what positions need to be filled for the next year. The Discussion Group Team Leader (DGTL) then lets the Group Leaders know the openings. The Steering Team and DGTL then pray, and confidentially and anonymously turn in to the Coordinator their nominations for each position. The nominations should be anonymous, on a sheet of paper with the following; Name of the nominee, positions she is being nominated for and why this individual is being nominated (gifts, walk with Christ, etc.) A steering member or group leader may nominate herself for a position.

The Steering Selection Committee then begins a series of meetings to go over the names and positions. They will pray over each nominee and each position. There is no one way this is to be done; however, you want to keep this process as much in God’s hands and as little in your hands as possible! Perhaps during the first meeting the committee can go over all the names and positions, then break for a week or so to pray over them. Then, when they come back together, they can see where they are. This may take several meetings. The Coordinator should spell out the way the committee will approach the selection process during the first meeting.

Unanimous agreement on a nominee is very important. If one person is in disagreement, it is worth revisiting, or moving on to another person. His is why prayer is so important. A unanimous decision is the best way we know how to trust that God is making the choice, not us. Even if the position is not filled right away, it is better not to fill it, then to fill it with the wrong person.

Once the Committee has come to a unanimous decision on an individual for a certain position, then the Coordinator calls her, and gives her the job responsibilities, Leadership questionnaire, and anything else she might need in order to make the decision. The Coordinator should ask the woman not to answer right away, but spend some time in prayer, and talk to her husband, getting back to the Coordinator by a certain date. Stress the importance of confidentiality while she considers this. That is to avoid hurt feelings if the woman says no and someone else is asked next.

Some additional pointers:

Ø The method described is not the only way steering selection is to be accomplished, it is recommended because it has worked. The whole object of this process is to give God the greatest opportunity to guide the choices. It is important that everyone involved desire God’s choice above all.

Ø If necessary, have a Steering Open House or a Steering Information Tea that will give all MOPS women a chance to see and hear what positions are available. Provide written job descriptions. In your final selection, remember how important it is that the woman you ask to fill Leadership positions have a personal, active relationship with Christ.

Ø We need to be careful not to make the decision for someone else. We pray for God to guide us to the best possible choice for a position; without looking at how busy she is, how quiet she is, etc. We don’t know what God’s plan is. Sometimes He is working to accomplish purposes higher than we can see.

Ø Do not just get a “warm body” to fill the position. That is a huge mistake! If God does not provide someone right away, keep working on it. He may wait and bring someone after you start the year, or He may not. Yes, it can be difficult. Yes, we must be creative.

Ø The Groups Leaders and Steering Team should be trained in August to be on the lookout for potential leadership starting with the first meeting, and going on all first semester. They should know each woman very well by January.

Ø If your group is very small, you may have to be creative with steering positions. You may have to go “beyond the box” and create your morning around the gifts and talents of your leadership making sure to fulfill the mops purpose statement, of course!

Ø This steering selection process can, and should be used for choosing Group Leaders, too. The Group Leaders are so important to your ministry. Make sure that you have God’s best!

Ø Confidentiality is stressed in this process for several reasons:
o To avoid hurt feelings
o To reduce “human” involvement and increase God’s involvement
o It is more “professional”
o It allows for the woman being chosen to the position to sense the importance and the privilege of serving God in this ministry. It allows her to sense that God is involved in her being asked – she is not just being asked on her merit or popularity, but by God’s guidance.

Ø Most of these ideas have come straight from the MOPS Handbook (page 33) and the Coordinator’s Handbook (page 16).