Activity Verses Productivity

I hear these words being thrown around a bit in churches all over but particularly new churches. But what do they mean?

Activity defines the person who is willing to put in time, but not willing to engage himself – a person who tries hard, but is not willing to care. Active people are essentially going through the motions, doing what they are told, but adding little or no value in the creation process.

Productivity defines the person who is fully engaged in what he is doing, and not just at the office, but in life. Productive people are passionate about their goals, accomplishments, and destinations. They are creators. They can change a concept into an experience and a napkin sketch into an operating business. That is the power of productivity.

So why is it so important to a new church plant? In my view it is critical for all churches like businesses to focus on productivity, versus activity, because both simply have fewer resources and less room for error. If everyone is just being active yet not productive the business and the church will not move forward. In today’s business climate, if you are not moving forward you, you are moving backwards, and we all know businesses will not survive for long going in that direction. Neither will churches

If everyone in a growing church contributes at a high level of productivity, it not only makes for a great church, it makes for an incredible collective experience. This is particularly true of any staff or volunteer. Staff people MUST be producitivity oriented before joining the staff. Volunteers will start as activity oriented people and your leaders will emerge as productivity oriented people not activity oriented.

When developing volunteers into a staff position, BEFORE they are given a title and a role, they must be fully engaged into productivity not activity. The problem with most volunteers staff is they think they ARE ALREADY productivity oriented not activity oreiented. The ones that have potential to rise to the top will listen and accept the task list needed to become  truly productivity oriented.

Those that wont, they will be a drain on the church staff, not perform, find excuses, tell people they will do things and not get them done... the list goes on and on. What do you do?

Get Rid Of Them .