Dad's if you were unable to make the Dad's Prayer Breakfast organized by Craig Bardsley, you missed out on some great fellowship, a gripping challenge from Cary Shiner, good food and a wonderful time of meeting in our Lord's presence to lift up Maranatha.
Cary challenged the prioritization of our time. In our American world and culture, we are encouraged to look out for old number one. That includes the time when we get home from work and think, "I just need some down time", and we flip on the TV and veg out. As Cary reminded us, our families need us each and every day, and we need to be investing in them. Turn off the TV and make the investment. And once you turn off the TV don't let other things take its place, i.e. your smartphone. I was challenged. I think if the men of Maranatha would take up this challenge, we would radically change our families, our school and our community.
Any time you meet with men of like faith and interests before the Lord, it is an incredible encouragement. This pointed out to me that I need to get back with my small group and invest time regularly in prayer with them. Are you meeting in the presence of your Saviour with other believers on a regular basis?
New Landscaping
Beautiful new landscaping
Monday, March 28, 2011
Committee Meetings - March
Last week was a busy week of meetings. The Lord is at work at Maranatha, and it can be seen clearly in the advancement of the ministry from the Board's perspective.
Finance - we have found a consultant that we are going to recommend to the Board for evaluating our preschool's effectiveness and future. As I mentioned in previous posts, the preschool is a key piece to our school from two main vantage points: 1) it is a primary gate to attract new families to Maranatha and 2) it serves as an essential profit generator to fund operations of the K-12 schools. So this consultant, if confirmed by the Board, will be looking at how we are perceived in the community, the strength of our programs and what we can do to better market our school among other things. Hopefully we will have items we can tackle even before the new school year starts.
Facilities - we reviewed all of the work that has occurred this year to maintain and upgrade our facilities. We then reviewed plans for the upcoming months which includes building the monument sign at the North Campus and some additional signage on the west end of the North Campus. Finally, we discussed the position of the Committee on future growth plans for our facilities that we will present to the Board this Thursday. I will share the results of the Board discussion in a later post.
Planning - reviewed the input we received from the 5 focus groups concerning succession planning for the superintendent. We received invaluable insight and gained the advantage of multiple perspectives on how this position affects the school. In the next step of preparation, we will be massaging all of that information into working documents that will help in the transition process. A reminder, there has been no announcement that Dr Daugherty is retiring, the Committee and the Board are just being proactive in planning for this momentous event when it does occur.
Development - this committee is meeting this Thursday and will tackle some important topics such as specific plans to grow our school, an evaluation of a consultant firm that could help us in our development efforts and get some updates on the effectiveness of our current development efforts.
Please pray for wisdom, unity and discernment for our Board as we discuss and decide on these important topics.
Finance - we have found a consultant that we are going to recommend to the Board for evaluating our preschool's effectiveness and future. As I mentioned in previous posts, the preschool is a key piece to our school from two main vantage points: 1) it is a primary gate to attract new families to Maranatha and 2) it serves as an essential profit generator to fund operations of the K-12 schools. So this consultant, if confirmed by the Board, will be looking at how we are perceived in the community, the strength of our programs and what we can do to better market our school among other things. Hopefully we will have items we can tackle even before the new school year starts.
Facilities - we reviewed all of the work that has occurred this year to maintain and upgrade our facilities. We then reviewed plans for the upcoming months which includes building the monument sign at the North Campus and some additional signage on the west end of the North Campus. Finally, we discussed the position of the Committee on future growth plans for our facilities that we will present to the Board this Thursday. I will share the results of the Board discussion in a later post.
Planning - reviewed the input we received from the 5 focus groups concerning succession planning for the superintendent. We received invaluable insight and gained the advantage of multiple perspectives on how this position affects the school. In the next step of preparation, we will be massaging all of that information into working documents that will help in the transition process. A reminder, there has been no announcement that Dr Daugherty is retiring, the Committee and the Board are just being proactive in planning for this momentous event when it does occur.
Development - this committee is meeting this Thursday and will tackle some important topics such as specific plans to grow our school, an evaluation of a consultant firm that could help us in our development efforts and get some updates on the effectiveness of our current development efforts.
Please pray for wisdom, unity and discernment for our Board as we discuss and decide on these important topics.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Heritage Council
On Tuesday the 15th, Dr. Daugherty and I hosted an event called the Heritage Council. This was Dr. D's idea to reconnect with past board members and administrators. The concept is that since these people invested their lives in providing leadership, time and money to the school, we should keep them plugged in so that we can learn from their wisdom and counsel. In addition, these people believe in Maranatha and hopefully will be encouraged to stay involved as they see the fruits of their labor in the students and as they hear plans for our future.
The more people I meet who have touched the ministry of Maranatha, I am reminded of God's rich blessings that He has provided through people.
The more people I meet who have touched the ministry of Maranatha, I am reminded of God's rich blessings that He has provided through people.
Friday, March 11, 2011
High Quality Maranatha Family
I have mentioned in previous posts that our Planning Committee has looked forward and said we need to have plans in place and work underway to ensure that we have a smooth transition in leadership at that point in time when Dr Daugherty retires. Please note that he has not announced that he is going to retire, but when he does, it would be prudent for us to be already in the process and know what qualities we are looking for, have an updated job description - the needs of yesterday are different than the needs of the future - thoughtful interview process, etc.
With that in mind the Planning Committee has been doing many things to help us be ready: praying, identifying the key qualities needed, and talking to our Family to make sure we cover all our bases. I have been privileged to sit in 5 focus groups over the last couple of weeks as we talked to teachers, administrators, parents - both high school and elementary - about what we should be looking for in a candidate. What a blessing to hear the heart of each one as they talked about the ministry of Maranatha, their hopes for the future and the blessings they have already received. Many of these people have invested their lives, time and money in this ministry and what a wonderful thing to link arms with them again in this important process.
Please continue to pray for us as we move along this journey that we will be tender to God's leading, and pray even now for our future leader as God prepares them for that time of service. I am so grateful for Dr Daugherty's passion and leadership of Maranatha through all the challenges of the past and present and look forward to working with him as long as he chooses to serve here.
With that in mind the Planning Committee has been doing many things to help us be ready: praying, identifying the key qualities needed, and talking to our Family to make sure we cover all our bases. I have been privileged to sit in 5 focus groups over the last couple of weeks as we talked to teachers, administrators, parents - both high school and elementary - about what we should be looking for in a candidate. What a blessing to hear the heart of each one as they talked about the ministry of Maranatha, their hopes for the future and the blessings they have already received. Many of these people have invested their lives, time and money in this ministry and what a wonderful thing to link arms with them again in this important process.
Please continue to pray for us as we move along this journey that we will be tender to God's leading, and pray even now for our future leader as God prepares them for that time of service. I am so grateful for Dr Daugherty's passion and leadership of Maranatha through all the challenges of the past and present and look forward to working with him as long as he chooses to serve here.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Clarify a Point on Finances
As I talk with different people about the school's finances, I get different reactions ranging from we are in dire straits to when are we going to build the next addition at North. Here are some facts about our finances and my take so that perhaps we can have more common ground.
We are in significantly better shape today than we were a few years ago when we were on the verge of closing the school. Here are some indicators:
- We borrow less from ourselves to make summer payroll. We use to be short all 4 payrolls in the summer and now we go into the summer with a good portion in cash reserves.
- We can give salary increases. First time in 3 years.
- We can make investment in our facilities and programs
- We are meeting our monthly budget targets by managing expenses and hitting revenue targets
However all is not rosy:
- We still don't have enough revenue to not borrow from ourselves in the summer
- We don't have a strong balance sheet when banks consider us for loans; critical for refinancing the loan on the North campus; we are working on this steadily
- We don't have an endowment which makes us a month to month, year to year organization where we have a heavy reliance on tuition to make ends meet
- We do not have a capital investment fund that can jump start a facilities investment if the Lord does bring us growth.
- We do have to say no to a lot of good to great ideas and needs because we have cut the expense side significantly over the past few years.
So, we can praise the Lord that He has brought us off the financial death bed, but as Dr Daugherty often says, we are still in a wheel chair not able to walk well yet. Through continued faithfulness in expense management and fervent prayer to a gracious Father, and diligent, wise work on our part, we believe that we are headed in the right direction.
Hope this helps.
We are in significantly better shape today than we were a few years ago when we were on the verge of closing the school. Here are some indicators:
- We borrow less from ourselves to make summer payroll. We use to be short all 4 payrolls in the summer and now we go into the summer with a good portion in cash reserves.
- We can give salary increases. First time in 3 years.
- We can make investment in our facilities and programs
- We are meeting our monthly budget targets by managing expenses and hitting revenue targets
However all is not rosy:
- We still don't have enough revenue to not borrow from ourselves in the summer
- We don't have a strong balance sheet when banks consider us for loans; critical for refinancing the loan on the North campus; we are working on this steadily
- We don't have an endowment which makes us a month to month, year to year organization where we have a heavy reliance on tuition to make ends meet
- We do not have a capital investment fund that can jump start a facilities investment if the Lord does bring us growth.
- We do have to say no to a lot of good to great ideas and needs because we have cut the expense side significantly over the past few years.
So, we can praise the Lord that He has brought us off the financial death bed, but as Dr Daugherty often says, we are still in a wheel chair not able to walk well yet. Through continued faithfulness in expense management and fervent prayer to a gracious Father, and diligent, wise work on our part, we believe that we are headed in the right direction.
Hope this helps.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
The Best Marketing
Last year I wrote a post about the best possible marketing tool for our school...you! It is has always been a staple of marketing to rely on word of mouth to get the right customers convinced of the value of your product. How that word of mouth happens has changed. There was a time that it happened by leaning over the neighbor's fence and talking about how much you liked the new car you just bought. However, now that happens in a blink of an eye through social media, through rating products online, sending out emails, taking surveys, etc.
My question to you is how are you marketing our school? Are you a good ambassador through your life and words? What tools are you using to do that? How can the school help you be a stronger marketer?
More pointedly, when the school in the form of administration or board members, approaches your churches about vocally and visually supporting Christian elementary or high schools education, they resist. They resist because they don't want to offend the those who send their kids to public schools or choose to homeschool. We don't want to offend them either. However, we are passionately and without equivocation standing firm in the belief that the formative years of our youth should be enveloped with an environment that instructs in the way of the Lord. If they choose to do that at home, great. But we believe that we need your help in encouraging our pastors to see the great need they are avoiding when they are not standing shoulder to shoulder with Christian schools to train up our next generation to be immersed in a Christian environment.
Will you join us in that encouragement? If Maranatha is going to grow in its mission of helping Christian familes raise young men and women with a Christian worldview, Christian character and achieve academic excellence, we need our local churches to see how not encouraging parents to keep their kids in a Christian environment in their formative years is putting them at more risk.
I welcome your thoughts, wisdom and participation on this matter.
Based on Proverbs 22:6, II Timothy 3:14-15, Deut 6:7, Heb 12:9-11
My question to you is how are you marketing our school? Are you a good ambassador through your life and words? What tools are you using to do that? How can the school help you be a stronger marketer?
More pointedly, when the school in the form of administration or board members, approaches your churches about vocally and visually supporting Christian elementary or high schools education, they resist. They resist because they don't want to offend the those who send their kids to public schools or choose to homeschool. We don't want to offend them either. However, we are passionately and without equivocation standing firm in the belief that the formative years of our youth should be enveloped with an environment that instructs in the way of the Lord. If they choose to do that at home, great. But we believe that we need your help in encouraging our pastors to see the great need they are avoiding when they are not standing shoulder to shoulder with Christian schools to train up our next generation to be immersed in a Christian environment.
Will you join us in that encouragement? If Maranatha is going to grow in its mission of helping Christian familes raise young men and women with a Christian worldview, Christian character and achieve academic excellence, we need our local churches to see how not encouraging parents to keep their kids in a Christian environment in their formative years is putting them at more risk.
I welcome your thoughts, wisdom and participation on this matter.
Based on Proverbs 22:6, II Timothy 3:14-15, Deut 6:7, Heb 12:9-11
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