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You are here: Home / Archives for ministry

Facing the New Year

by Zach Clark

As we embark on our next year together, it’s important to point out the value of the face-to-face meeting. In our world, there are countless ways to communicate without actually connecting. At DLC, we’re focused on building and growing relationships.  Guess what? So are your donors! Efficient communication has its time and place.  Effective communication […]

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: communication, development, development and leadership, facetoface, leadership, leadership skills, ministry, stewardship

Mission or Movement?

by Zach Clark

What came first? The mission statement or the movement? Like the age-old chicken or the egg, there isn’t a definitive starting point that always hits the mark. If you’re in development, you may find organizations and ministries for which you could ask – and never answer – this very question.  Sometimes, organizations hit the ground […]

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: @zachclark, development, developmentandleadership, leadership, ministry, ministry leaders, mission, prospect planning, strategy, vision

What’s the Plan?

by Zach Clark

Resting in peace, not dead.  Between jobs, not unemployed. Thrifty, not cheap. Unique, not odd. Golden years, not old age. Euphemisms are proof of just how much the English language loves to spin.  It’s time for a spin in development. It’s time to present the possibility of Planned Giving. Organizations faced with the stress of […]

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: development, donor development, generosity, giving, leadership, ministry, nonprofits, Planning, prospect planning, relationships, strategy, vision

Shaken, Not Stirred

by Zach Clark

“For behold, I am commanding, and I will shake the house of Israel among all nations, as grain is shaken in a sieve, but not a kernel will fall to the ground.” These words from Amos 9:9 are resonating with me and I feel called to share them with you during the latter part of […]

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: believe, Bible, faith, God, Jesus, leadership, ministry, ministry leaders, self-leadership

Shaped by Sway

by Zach Clark

As humans, we cling to what is tangible when defining our success.  In the world of advancement, it’s tempting to measure success by funds raised and the number of zeros before the decimal point. But, to get to the top, we look at the bottom line.  Development is the work of raising money.  We must […]

Filed Under: Articles, Uncategorized Tagged With: belief, development, faith, focus, fundraising, God, leadership, ministry, ministry leaders, mission, relationship building, success, vision

Playing the Long Game

by Zach Clark

Think back to when you were a senior in high school. Try to place yourself back into the mentality of the world being your oyster. The future was wide open, and yours for the taking! Or was it? Did your parents help guide you through it? Perhaps you found an out-of-state school with all the […]

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: faith, God, grief, Jesus, leadership, ministry, ministry leaders, parenting, purpose, self-leadership, suffering

What’s Your Type?

by Zach Clark

Years ago I adopted a strategy when addressing board members in a way that’s direct but gentle, effective but compassionate. When working with board members who serve at schools, a colleague of mine likes to ask new board members how many children they have attending the school. As most parents do, a smile will spread […]

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: boards, christian schools, development, development and leadership, encouragement, faith, inspiration, leadership skills, ministry

Virtual Vision

by Zach Clark

Have you ever purchased a lawnmower and then decided you’d rather use it as a shower curtain? Probably not. Form follows function – in more ways than one. You’ve heard us advocate for hiring better rather than hiring often. What does that mean when you hire an individual for an office position and they’re now […]

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: calendaring, development, hiring, leadership, ministry, strategy, team building, virtual, vision

Ordinary for the Extraordinary

by Zach Clark

Missionary and evangelist Jim Elliot once wrote, “Forgive me for being so ordinary while claiming to know so extraordinary a God.” Elliot had a heart for unreached people and a passion for sharing the Gospel. For more than three years, Elliot worked with four other missionaries to orchestrate Operation Auca. The Huaorani people were an […]

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: christianschools, development, faith, followup, generosity, giving, God, leadership, ministry, mission, missionary, vision

Growing Pains

by Zach Clark

Growing Pains

May I be blunt? I don’t really have any interest in you learning for the sake of learning, though I’m the first to admit I have a teacher’s heart. I’m more interested in what you and your team are going to do with the skills, tactics, and tools we discuss. Keeping this in mind, let’s […]

Filed Under: Articles, Featured Tagged With: @effective, @giving, challenges, Christian leaders, christian leadership, development, development and leadership, developmentandleadership, leadership, leadership skills, management, ministry, mission, motivation, relationships, self-leadership, vision

Building the 200

by Zach Clark

As we grow increasingly intentional in 2020, I want everyone to call to mind those on your list of people you’re shepherding. Ideally, you call to mind your master list of the 100 to 200 people you’ve focused on relationally this year. As development directors, the most we can interact with yet still create and […]

Filed Under: Articles, Featured Tagged With: @giving, @zachclark, challenges, Christian leaders, christian leadership, development, development and leadership, leader, leadership, leadership skills, ministry, motivation, success

Going Virtual in a Viral World

by Zach Clark

We are living day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute, or so it seems, when it comes to event planning in our current pandemic circumstances.  It’s springtime and for many leaders this season is synonymous with the big event. The large gathering. The fundraising mothership.  But, we can’t. So what can we do?  […]

Filed Under: Articles, Featured Tagged With: @giving, @zachclark, challenges, Christian leaders, christian leadership, development, development and leadership, developmentandleadership, donors, fundraising, leader, leadership, leadership skills, ministry, motivation, success, technology, virtual

Redefining Success | Navigating COVID-19

by Zach Clark

Many of you have reached out with the same basic, but ever so complicated, question: What do we do now? Although many things remain to be sorted out, we have three important steps for you and your organizations to take today for a stronger tomorrow.  Update Timelines At this point we have no way of […]

Filed Under: Articles, Featured Tagged With: @zachclark, believe, challenges, Christian leaders, Covid-19, development, development and leadership, donors, faith, focus, fundraising, goals, leadership, leadership skills, ministry, mission, nonprofits, Planning, prioritize, success, team building, vision

The Process of Bearing Fruit

by Zach Clark

These are challenging times.  It’s important, and I believe helpful, to call to mind those who came before us and have stood where we stand.  While we’ve no proof that any of the disciples were ordered to shelter in place due to a virus, we DO have proof that they faced many trials of all […]

Filed Under: Articles, Featured, Uncategorized Tagged With: @effective, @zachclark, challenges, Christian leaders, christian leadership, cultivating, development, development and leadership, developmentandleadership, donors, faith, fundraising, leadership, leadership skills, ministry, mission, motivation, productivity, scripture

4 Simple Questions for Complicated Seasons

by Zach Clark

Too much to do, too little time. Sound familiar?  For most leaders, end of year can be a stressful time. With mere days left in the giving year and calendars filling up with holiday celebrations and obligations, December can be a tricky month to navigate.  It doesn’t have to be. At all times, but especially […]

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: @zachclark, Christian leaders, christmas, December, development, development and leadership, donors, end of year, follow up, fundraising, maximize time, minimize distractions, ministry, seasons, self-leadership, time management

3 Ways to Show Vision Through Hospitality

by Zach Clark

Calling all Marthas! Jesus gave credit where credit was due for Mary’s focus on the importance of time spent with our Savior.  I’ve considered, however, from time to time, the number of people who give the Marthas of the world a bad name. There’s something to be said for the gift of hospitality.  We all […]

Filed Under: Articles, Featured Tagged With: @zachclark, Christian leaders, christian leadership, development, development and leadership, developmentandleadership, donor retention, donors, hospitality, leadership, leadership skills, ministry, mission, Planning

Be Enough in 6 Steps

by Zach Clark

  Satan is limited. He cannot disrupt the plans of our God, but he can and he WILL try to distract us long enough to minimize our potential to postpone our power.  When – and notice I say when, not if – this happens, it is crucial to remind ourselves we are enough. We must […]

Filed Under: Articles, Featured Tagged With: @zachclark, Bible, Christian leaders, christian leadership, faith, God, influence, leadership skills, ministry, mission, self-leadership, team building, truth, vision, wisdom

Do More with Less

by Zach Clark

The expectations placed on people working in ministry organizations continue to climb. Take a moment to learn how to begin doing more with less.

Filed Under: Videos Tagged With: Christian leaders, leadership, ministry, pressure, productivity

Characteristics of a High-Performing Development Leader

by Zach Clark

Finding and growing development leaders is a hard task. Take a look at these vital leadership qualities to help you in your quest.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: christian leadership, development, fundraising, leadership, leadership skills, ministry, networking, traits

How to Determine Your Capacity

by Zach Clark

Adopting the Capacity Method can help reduce the overwhelm and make you feel more in control of your day, your ministry, and your life.

Filed Under: Exclusive Resources Tagged With: capacity, fundraising, leadership, ministry, productivity

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