Whenever we at Mustardseed get involved with a church, it means they've decided to outsource something. Whether it be web design, print design, video production, or audio recording, that church has come to us because they need some help outside the expertise that lies within their ministry. I think this is a good thing (not just because it pays my bills) but because it recognizes that a ministry can't be an expert at everything and they're willing to ask for help.

Once they've decided they need a hand, there's really two approaches they can take. One will lead to confusion and failure while the other will lead to fruitful ministry. We've been involved in projects of both sorts...and we hope to share our experience so you can benefit from it and make the right decision when you outsource. What follows are the two paths most people take when outsourcing:

Just get it done!

Let's say you're in a really busy church. Or you're in a really busy season. Or, you're just plain busy. On top of all this busyness, it's been decided that you need to produce some media for your ministry or church as a whole (maybe it's a website, maybe it's a print piece, whatever...) You quickly look around and see that there's no one who can produce it for you within your ministry...you don't have time for meetings or agendas about it, so let's just outsource it and get it done!

So, you contact your service provider of choice and tell them you need "X" and "Y" done and give them the parameters. The quality has to be excellent and the result has to fit your vision. You think to yourself "they're the experts, they'll get it done". You tell them you have no time for in-depth meetings on the project, so you send them on their way, and...whew! Done. One more thing off your plate. Move on.

If you haven't guessed yet...this is exactly the wrong approach to outsourcing your projects. Let's look at how this "Just get it done so it's off my plate" approach works out in reality:

• First, through a few lines of requirements passed through e-mail or over the phone, you've essentially just given full control of your ministry image, approach, priorities and future to someone who has absolutely no involvement or intimate knowledge of your ministry. And, yes, that's as bad as it sounds.
• Second, you don't realize that you have an image of the final product in your head, which you expect to receive. Or even worse, you have NO image, yet you expect some abstract concept that can't possibly be lived up to. This wouldn't be so bad if you were working intimately with the creation team...but since you're not, you expect those things to just materialize. "They're experts, they should know what I'm thinking" is the subconscious approach. But, it's just not true. Just because media folks are experts doesn't mean they're mind readers. So, while you trust them to make the right decisions, your mind is closed to their approach (which may not match your vision) because of this subconsciousness expectation.
• Finally (although I could probably go on forever), this is a horrible use of God's money. By not being involved, you're just throwing money at the problem. Money and experts don't solve ministry problems...ministry leaders do.

So, don't be disconnected from your outsourced projects. It will frustrate your designer, you will end up with a product which no one (you or the designer) is happy with, and you will have missed the opportuntiy that God has given you to "do ministry". Afterall, things like this are exactly why you're a ministry leader!

So...be involved in a productive way

We've, hopefully, established that you should be involved when you outsource projects. Doing this will assure that your final product reflects your ministry and it's mission and goals, making it effective and a wise use of budget money.

But, possibly even more important than that, being involved means you fully understand the project when it's completed. If you're building a website this is extremely important. You MUST be involved as it's being built so you understand how to most effectively use the final product. No amount of explaining or documentation can be as effective as constant involvement during development.

It's always good to be involved in the project, but being overly involved can cause problems as well...so we must strike a good balance.

• Always be available to the people creating your project. If you're never available for questions or don't respond to e-mails promptly, your not involved enough in your project. This will make the developer think that you don't care about your project...so why should they?
• An open mind is extremely important. You're hiring a company because they're experts at design and communication. You are an expert at your ministry's mission and goals. So, it's extremely important to remember these roles. As soon as you're telling a designer how to design and the designer is telling you what your ministry goals should be, lines have been crossed and the project will fall apart.

  You may have some ideas of how your project should look or work...but remember, you're paying an expert because they know better what is more effective. So, this is a hard balance. Be involved, but be open to new ideas...if you can do that, your project will thrive because it allows both set of experts use their gifts.

• Determine the project's priority Your involvement time and energy should be in direct proportion to how important the project is. If you're building a church-wide website it's a very important use of your time and attention. Attend those day-long meetings with your developer, set aside time to pre-plan the project effectively. Not doing so will result in a product you're unhappy with and will not equal the priority it was given.

Summary

So, be involved but open-minded. (that pretty much sums up this entire article) Remember that you're hiring someone to HELP with your ministry as part of your team...not do your ministry work for you. If you remember who is an expert at what...that will go along way to getting a high quality project that reflects your ministry goals and will be as effective as possible.