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Enjoy this guest post from our friends at 95Network! They connect small and mid-size churches to BIG resources through content, conferences and grant funds.  

I recently had a problem ... I couldn’t find my wedding ring. (Classic husband move, right?)

It seemed like I had searched every square inch of our home with no success. As I’m sure you can imagine, I was devastated. My wife had gotten this wooden ring specially crafted and engraved!

After what felt like an eternity, I finally worked up the courage to tell my wife. I was positive that she would be crushed.

But after I shared the news, she just looked at me and laughed. She walked over to our bathroom and seconds later returned holding my ring. “This is where you put it this morning. It was just sitting on the counter,” she told me.

It was right in front of me the whole time, but I couldn’t see it.

Though it often doesn’t involve a wedding ring, every church has blind spots. At times, leaders may recognize that something is wrong or missing, but they simply can’t see what the issue is. Or, in other cases, leaders clearly see the issue but don’t know how to address it.

In ministry, you often are so involved in the day-to-day that it can be difficult to take a step back and analyze where you’re going and how you’ll get there. That’s why an outside or fresh perspective can be so helpful in any area: communications, leadership development, structure, etc. When you bring in a leader or even a team who can offer fresh perspective, three things can happen:

1. They’ll say the hard things. This can often create a little anxiety in a leader, but there is so much value in hearing an honest opinion from someone who is looking at your church with greater objectivity.
2. They’ll offer creative and tested solutions. Particularly if you bring in a group that specializes in a certain area of ministry, their experience and knowledge alone will be worth the investment from your church.
3. They’ll strengthen and challenge your approach to ministry. A great outside perspective will reinforce what you’re doing well and challenge what you could do better.

Especially in smaller churches, pastors may recognize they need to invest in the health of their ministry. They’re hungry to make the greatest impact for Jesus they possibly can. But a lack of resources gets in the way.

95Network exists to connect small and mid-size churches to other leaders, coaches or organizations that can make a difference. We primarily do this by offering grant funds to help churches afford the resources they need. Yep, you read that right: grant funds. And we’d love to partner with your church.

If you’d like to learn what this could look like for your church, get in touch with 95Network, or send a note to the Fishhook team. We hope to hear from you soon!