30 in 30: Identify and Meet the Connectors

This is part of a blog series that has 30 practical tips for the pastor looking to start or restart well. You can get the entire series as a Kindle book. The landing page will be updated with each new post.

Every community and church has influential people. Sometimes these are people that enjoy their status a little too much, but other times these are people who just seem to know everybody. You need to get to know these connectors.

These are the people to go to the Friday night football game with or to eat lunch with. If they are always stopping to talk to someone you need to get around them. Sometimes the social dynamic is vastly undervalued in leading the local church, but when done well can be leveraged for great Kingdom work.

Perhaps you don’t think this is important so ask yourself: how many people that you let influence you are people you don’t really like? There are people I don’t connect with and I discount their opinions. They might be authors that I have never me that rub me the wrong way so I don’t read what they have to say. People don’t follow people they don’t like.

This is also about understanding who the gatekeepers are in your community. Administrators at the local school, local politicians, people with a swimming pool and plenty of others are people that can help you in ministry and are good people to introduce yourself to.

If you are getting to know these people simply because you are trying to benefit personally then you have a problem on your hands, but you are completely justified if you are making these connections and meeting these people for the benefit of ministry and connecting with people who are far from God. The issue is how you are looking at this. So get over yourself and get to know people that have influence.