Have you ever worked long and hard, all day, only to discover at the end of your day you really accomplished nothing? Yes, it is true you can have activity without productivity. The more that I work with Pastors and Christian leaders, the more I see that the majority of their time is spent putting out fires instead of expanding their ministry.  If this has been your mode of operating, I encourage you to no longer operate in firefighter mode but to know that expanding your reach is your number one priority.

If your serious about expanding your ministry each day you should invest time in activities that expand your reach. The amount of time that you will need to invest depends on the goals of your organization.  I recommend that you devote 2-4 hours each day on activities that will expand your ministry.  I know that this may be hard for you to grasp at first however; this is what it takes if you’re serious. Without people to serve your ministry has no reason to exist. First, I want to list some of the tasks you absolutely should not do during your dedicated EYR time:

• Check voicemails
• Plan or book travel
• File
• Run errands
• Balance your checkbook
• Talk to staff members
• Engage in idle chat
• Plan meetings
• Respond to low-priority e-mail
• Surf the internet
• Pay bills
• Take or make personal phone calls
• Watch television
• Explore new apps

Sample EYR activities to consider focusing on, depending on your niche, your unique grace, and your expansion plan include:

• Building strategic alliances
• Teaching
• Writing (sermons, articles, newsletter, blog)
• Speaking
• Recording videos and audio spots
• Social media (if applicable)
• Website updates
• Networking
• Creating systems
• Sending out cards
• Education
• Creating products
• Business development
• Hosting events

Expanding Your Reach Assignment

1. Make a list of all the tasks that you perform in a typical week. Be specific.
2. Identify activities that do not expose new people to your mission. Prepare to eliminate or delay them.
3. Schedule 2 hours each day during which you focus on activities that expand your reach. (minimally, 10 hours a week)

Are you ready to expand your reach but not quite sure which expansion activities fit your audience or your message? Join Janice at her Road to Expansion Live Event where you will have access to one-on-one help and so much more. Click here to register today!

If you have been wrestling with exactly how you can "market" and do ministry at the same time--you must listen to this interview.  I reveal not only my three part expansion process, but I also dispel a few myths  Christian leaders face when it comes to the idea of ministry marketing check this out!

Expanding Your Reach is not optional but mandatory. If you're ready to reach the masses with your message click here to download your FREE Ministry Marketing Makeover Kit.

Expanding Your Reach Assignment

1. God has called you to be of service in a huge way. What is your mission?
2. What is the message that you’re sending out via online marketing, word of mouth, or print? Is it self-serving?
3. If your message is self-serving create a plan of action so that your message can be in alignment with your mission.

Expanding Your Reach is not optional but mandatory. If you're ready to reach the masses with your message click here to download your FREE Ministry Marketing Makeover Kit.

A quote that really opened my eyes was from a Christian business leader, Dani Johnson. She said that excuses were none thing more than well thought out lies. That really got me to thinking.  The more I seem to work with Christian leaders and Pastors there are 7 major excuses that I have heard why they aren’t expanding their reach.

The major excuses that Pastors and Christian Leaders tell themselves are:

1. I have no desire to be big. Expanding your reach is not for big businesses and mega churches.  It is not for those that desire for fame and fortune. Expanding is mandatory for every believer. God has blessed you with certain gifts that are to be used for his glory and to build up His kingdom.

2. “It’s a good idea, but I’m not quite ready yet.” Have you ever said that when faced with an opportunity to expand your ministry or help someone experience God through you? When you get ready for the sake of getting ready, you put yourself in a place of paralysis.  Fear sets in and others miss out on experiencing God through you.  The amazing thing about God is that he has already equipped you with everything that you need. You were born equipped and ready!

3. It costs too much! The true cost of expansion is the commitment to God. When you’re committed to God and His ways, avenues will open up. Sometimes it may cost you to expand such as purchasing business cards, getting help from others, etc. But remember we serve a God of abundance.

4. I’m not as good as….In Romans 12:6 it states that God has blessed each of us with different gifts that are to be used to impact the world. Comparing yourself, your business, and your gifts to others is time wasted. What you’re really saying is “God I don’t like who you’ve made me to be. I’m inadequate. Can you give me what you gave them?”

5. If its God will, then He will it happen. That is the most passive and lazy approach to expansion that you can ever take. The Bible teaches that the steps of a good man or woman are ordered and he delights in his way. If you’re not moving to expansion or your destiny then none thing is going to happen. You have to take action.

6. It’s too complicated. Expanding your reach is simple. It’s taking things that you already do, consistently, on purpose, and striving to a desired goal.

7. If I do dare to be great and do things in a huge way, I’m going to lose everybody I love. This lie is the biggest deception that the enemy has made us believe. If you’re a pleaser then this lie is the one that is hindering you from moving forward in a great way. The truth is that this lie is rooted in selfishness. It’s rooted in your desire to be liked and accepted by those around you. The truth is expansion has none thing to do with you. When you’re focused on you instead of those who you’re called to serve, you’re being selfish and hindering God from blessing others through you.

The truth is that there are people waiting to experience God through you. And they can’t experience Him if you continue to make excuses and stay in a place of paralysis.

Expansion in Action

1. Based on the 7 excuses, which excuses have you been given as to why you aren’t letting others experience God through you?
2. What is the underlining reason for your inaction? Fear? Not knowing what steps to take?
3. Now that you are aware of your excuses, what steps are you going to take to overcome them?

Regardless of what excuses you’ve been telling yourself and others, I want to help you overcome them. I would like to personally invite you to join me on October 2st at my live event “Road to Expansion.” Click here to learn more.

Do you know that same truth applies to you? You are NOT your situation! Nor are you the sum total of your current circumstances. As a child of God (a Christian Leader at that) your reality should not be shaped by things seen—rather your strength, your hope, and your expectation should rest in the power of God working in you and through you. The moment you release all else and cling to this truth and this truth alone EVERYTHING around you will change.

I meet so many powerful leaders who allow inconsequential matters like low attendance, fluctuating membership, and…yes, even the lack of money define their value. I hope you are not one such leader, but if you are be encouraged in the sight of God you are significant and you were created to make a significant impact on the world around you.

Read that last statement again. This time take it in and accept it as true. You are significant and you were created to make a significant impact in the world around you. Can I share with you something more? Every day that you are not operating in your significance is a day that you are denying someone the opportunity to experience God through you.

As I left Colorado I made a commitment to God and to myself to never again allow “stuff” to keep me from showing up and serving greatly every day of my life. Not ignorance, not fear, not failure, not lack—NOTHING will stop me from allowing God to work in me and through me to impact the world around me. What about you? Will you commit to allowing God’s significance to shine greatly through you?

Expanding your reach is not optional. It's mandatory! I invite you to join me on October 21st at my live event where I will walk you through the exact steps on how to serve others in a big a big way, using your gifts, and not emptying your pockets. Click here to learn more.

Are you feeling overwhelmed with your ministry marketing? It’s great to have goals and high expectations for yourself and your team. We all need to set benchmarks; the problems start when we start to become paralyzed by the sheer volume of what we’ve set out to do.

You may not have realized it, but having a multitude of goals can actually cause us to get less done than if we only had one or two? Why is that? When our To-Do List becomes overwhelming our brains only have two avenues of escape

•   Inaction: That’s when become figurative “deer in the headlights” and we’re on a collision course with unpleasant consequences (loss of funding, disappointing others, etc.)

•   Random Action: That’s when we’re a “rabbit on the run” not looking where we’re going and landing in pitfalls that could have been avoided easily. This type of reaction takes its toll not only on you, but your entire staff as they attempt to make deliver on your instructions.

So how do visionary leaders, like you, avoid sliding into either of these activities? How can you keep yourself and your team motivated? Let’s explore four effective ways to achieve your vision:

1. Refresh. Stop everything that you are doing. Take a deep breath. Take a break.

Taking a day off (or even a few hours) to clear your mind will ultimately help your establish priorities. Take the time to discover what your true priorities are. I have found that most often when we are overwhelmed and unsure of exactly what to do, we start operating in what I call “survival mode.”

We engage in activities that have no clear strategic results.  Action that is not-purposeful is just as bad as inaction. It takes just as much time and energy to do something random than it does to do something right. And when you do the right things you get the right results.

2. Reboot. Now that you have taken time to refresh your mind and your body. It will be a good idea to reboot your marketing systems.

You know kind of like the way you reboot your computer when it runs slow or get stuck and won't do anything at all. I don't know about you, but I quite frequently press CTRL+ ALT+ DELETE To jump start my computer after I have overload it by running multiple programs at once?  Do you know why you do this?

Rebooting your systems clears out all the "gunk" and glitches in the system and allows your computer to get a new start. And if you (the brains of the operation) are feeling stuck then chances are your ministry marketing systems are stuck as well.

Rather than forcing things that to work (you know, pressing the ESC key twenty times when we get frustrated) take a moment and reboot all your marketing programs and systems. It’ll give your programs a fresh start and reinvigorate everyone who is working with you too.

3. Regroup. Let's get organized again.

Most ministries lack the clear organization and focus they need to get the results they expect. Because of this lack of organization ministry marketing is often performed on an ad hoc basis, or worst yet,  as a mere after-thought .

Remember random actions produce random results and cannot random generally be cannot be duplicated. Now is the time to gather the critical components of your ministry marketing:

- Goals
- The plan
- Processes/programs your are using within the plan
- The steps you'll need to take to complete those processes

The key to success is to make sure that all of these elements are all in one place that is easily accessible to your team at all times. Then Review, Rank, Prioritize.  Review, Rank, and Prioritize your ministry marketing goals.

Now you are ready for our fourth and final step.

4. Re-open. One at a time

Re-open only those programs that are critical to the goal you want to achieve right now. Today. Not next week, not next month -- Today.  We often get overwhelmed because we cast BIG visions, Develop BIG plans, and set BIG goals. Then we set out to achieve it all in one BIG step.

That is an insane expectation! And if you are feeling a little crazy right now, this is probably why. Rather than trying to tackle everything at once focus on ONE thing at a time.

- What would you like to achieve within the next 30 days?
- What steps do you need to take to achieve that goal?
- Who will you need to help you make this a reality?

Whew! We covered a lot of material today. Now let’s break it into chunks so that the ideas and lessons that we discussed can actually do some good.

Here’s your ministry marketing assignment:

1. Take a look at your schedule and determine right now which day this week you are going to REFRESH.

a. Write it on your calendar.
b. Send messages to your team letting them know that you are taking a planning day (or a couple of hours whichever your schedule permits).
c. Decide where you will go and how long you will be there.
i. *Be sure it is a place where you can truly refresh…don’t leave one place of chaos and jump into another 

2. Identify the systems/ programs you have running that need to be halted and restarted.

a. Get organized right away.
b.Take a look at what you are currently working on.
c.How can you reorganize it and get it all in one place so that you can operate more efficiently?

3. Okay, now you are ready to try again

a. What will you engage in right now?
b. Why this project or program?
c. Be sure to share with your team next steps and any deviation from the original plan (the last things you want to do is have your team go one way and you another)

Are you feeling overwhelmed in your ministry but are ready to expand? Click here to schedule your F.R.E.E. Ministry Marketing Breakthrough Session with Janice. You can share you vision and ask key questions.

I am still on a HIGH from the time I shared recently with the wonderful Pastors of the North Georgia Missionary Baptist Convention. How refreshing it was to be amongst leaders committed to changing the world through the Word of God and open to learning the most effective ways to do so. While my time was amazing—once I got there—the road to Euharlee, Georgia was very long! It was during my trek up I-75 that I had this amazing discovery. There are no shortcuts! None. Not in life. Not in business. Not in ministry. And definitely not to Euharlee, Georgia! I am convinced that there are ZERO shortcuts along the road to success.

Now you may disagree with my statement—but my experience has taught me every success requires a sacrifice. Every victory will cost you something. I’ll be the first to admit that in my own life I sometimes forget this truth and I anxiously try to hurry God’s process along. I find myself believing that if I read the right book (even the Bible), study at the feet of the best teachers, hire the industry’s top rated mentors and even pray fervently and consistently—all I desire will just appear. Hahaha—not so. The truth is -- reading, studying, and praying though admirable activities are only the beginning; true success requires more. Failure to apply the knowledge, practice the principles and DO THE WORK—will leave you with NO results. In all areas of our lives and ministry, we must to do the work to reap the rewards-- both spiritually and practically.

If you are saying to yourself—I will do the work! I have done the work. I am still doing the work—why am I not receiving the results?” then I want to encourage you to trust in the Lord and have faith in the process. My travels this weekend taught me there are three essential ingredients to success in everything:

1. A proven process – you will never get to Euharlee, GA (or wherever you’re headed) without a map that details your path,

2. Faith - unwavering trust in God to get you safely to your destination despite what you encounter along the way,

3. Patience - you must remain committed to the journey even when the destination seems far, far away.

It is my prayer that you will embrace these principles and enjoy the journey. Until next week, be blessed.

Do you have a vision but are struggling with the road map to make it happen? Click here to download my F.R.E.E. Ministry Marketing Makeover Kit.

The key to doing this is to focus on building relationships. People are more likely to do business, attend church, and whole-heartedly support those that they know, like and trust. No matter what type of ministry you have: church, civic, business, or entrepreneurial endeavor--establishing strong relationship is the key to success and sustaining growth.

Here are three of my absolute favorite, most impactful and HANDS-DOWN most profitable expansion activities:

1. Connect with others through strategic networking.

One of the quickest ways for people to come to know you (and like you) is to meet you! By attending conferences, events, and networking meetings in your local area you can quickly establish a loyal group of supporters (or even customers) in your local community. The key to networking is focus and intent—meeting just to meet is fruitless. Be sure to look for events and organizations where those you are called to serve are likely to be present or those who influence those you serve hang out. A great place to find such groups an online hub such as Meetup.com and other locally focused websites which make it easy to find and connect with potential partners in your area.

2. Speak to those you are called to serve.

Whether online or offline—there is power in the spoken word. Speaking locally in your community, at networking events, local conferences and workshops or by hosting your own event is a great way to gain credibility and exposure to those you are called to serve. Not only does speaking earn you instant “expert” status it also allows those you are called to serve the opportunity to “experience” your ministry first-hand.

3. Ask for referrals.

“Ask and you shall receive.” Do you know that this Biblical principle is true and it works? Really! People LOVE to help—even more they love to feel as if they’ve helped. Think about it, when you ask for directions how many people at the gas station willing spew out information? Or when you’re looking for a “good” school for your kids or the best barber in the neighborhood aren’t you bombarded with recommendations? Likewise, when you offer those you serve an unforgettable experience they are more than happy to share it with others—but you have to ask them to! It doesn’t have to be hard simply ask those you’ve served if they know of anyone who can benefit from an experience similar to the one they’ve enjoyed with you or your ministry.

While technology’s advancing by the second and “virtual” communities are on the rise--these principles of expansion will never go out of style and if you ask me work a lot faster than some of the cool new techno-tools available in the marketplace today!

Your “Expansion in Action” Next Steps For The Week:

1. Take advantage of at least one networking opportunities in your local community or region. Create a list of three others you will visit within the next thirty days. Be sure to follow-up with those you meet with a personal note. (I use a simple online service that allows me to send greeting cards from my computer directly to the recipient’s physical mailbox! How’s that for a lasting impression? Feel free to check it out.)

2. Check out your community’s events calendar. Identify three events or groups in your area that can benefit from your unique gift or service. Offer to speak to their group. Yes, even speaking locally on a complimentary basis can add value to those who experience you and establish a long lasting relationship with key influencers in your area.

3. Identify five current (or previous) people you have served with your ministry/business. Ask them for referrals.

Expanding your reach is not optional; it is your God-given responsibility. The ONLY way to expand consistently, effectively, and without compromise is to work with someone who knows, understands and can strategically guide you toward fulfilling your God-inspired vision. Download your F.R.E.E. Ministry Marketing Makeover Kit by clicking here.

Many times the reason we aren’t receiving the results we expect in our lives, our ministries, and our businesses is because we are waiting on something to happen. Stop waiting on your breakthrough to fall from heaven—and go after it! This week, I would like for you to join me in an exercise of liberation and breakthrough. Those of you who know me know I don’t usually do this sort of thing, but I feel the need to compel you Janice as a spiritual leaders positioned by God to make an impact on the world to get radical about the results you expect for yourself, your family, and those you are called to serve. Radical results follow radical action.

Join me in this transformative exercise:

1. Write down three things you’ve been waiting for in your ministry/business or life. (For some of you, it may be financial others personal—it doesn’t matter what it is write it down now.)
2. Beside each request write down what you need to do to make it happen. Be honest! Even if it’s out of your comfort zone write it down. If you are struggling to figure it out, make this the focus of your prayers “Lord, what I need to do, change, or become for this to come to past?”
3. Set a date for when you will have, be or do what you’ve been waiting on. This date is not a wish—this is one that YOU believe.
4. Tell no one what you wrote down. Unless it is a prayer partner, this is between you and God alone. Right now is not the time for you to seek the approval (or validation) of anyone around you. This desire came from God and it being made manifest is between you and Him alone.
5. Act as if it has already occurred.  Live each day from here on out as if it has already happened. Wait on NOTHING and no one—move forward as if it is already done.

I want to simply ask of you one thing—when you receive that for which you believed please let me know. Email me at breakthrough@moruwa.com I am praying and believing God for miracles to overtake the lives of Christian leaders all around the world—why leaders? For it is only when we experience true breakthrough can we then lead others to do the same.

God bless you!

“If you’re not out of your comfort zone, then you’re probably not walking in obedience to God” What a bold proclamation—filled with such resounding truth! As I read a recent blog post from beloved client, business partner, and now dear friend Janice Fletcher, President of Christian Coach Institute, I am reminded that the privilege to serve as a leader is one that should not be taken lightly. Beyond the center stage appearance at events or fancy titles on business cards and websites, the call to lead requires a daily walk in humility, courage and an abundance of God grace.  Regardless of the subject matter: sports, medicine, finance, ministry, or business-- at its core all leaders are life influencers.  Janice did an excellent job of gathering the top “10 Traits of Great Leaders and Life Coaches”, take a moment and read her post here as featured in the Christian Post.  Click here to read Janice's article. 

Are you ready to expand your reach but you don't know how? No need to worry, I am here to help.  I would love to learn more about your vision, let's get acquainted. Schedule your complimentary "Get Acquainted" session and let's see if I can assist you with your next step! Click here to schedule your F.R.E.E. appointment.