Binders

I was taught by a good friend and mentor, Jeff, that you should always have a binder whenever you consult on a project. It should be filled with valuable items that you may need at a moments notice and organized for easy locating. This was before Google Desktop and other solutions that index your IM sessions, documents, emails, etc. and offer a central way of finding things. But a binder is also crucial when you were away from your PC, or even worse, in the event of a hard drive crash and lack of backups (I’m sure that has never happened to you!).

So, how are you managing your ministry? Do you have a binder that enables anyone, anywhere, to get access to the critical components of your ministry, like procedures, volunteer and vendor contact information, etc? Is is easily available to the staff and volunteers? Is it stored away in a safe place as not to be accidentially thrown away or reveal sensitive information? Or, do you just “wing it”, hoping everyone knows how to reach the right people, do the right things, and new volunteers will just “pick things up as they go”?

Binders convey what is most important regarding procedures, contacts, decisions, etc. and are the lifeblood of your ministry. Consider creating between one and three binders that perform the following functions:

1. Manage procedures and manuals for new or existing volunteers
2. Track important contacts, licenses, permits, etc
3. Track important meeting notes, decisions, emails, and ideas

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