At KBC, we’re passionate about giving ministry leaders the tools they need to not only carry out the important mission given to them by God, but to do it in an efficient, simplified way. Being good stewards of time and resources is an endeavor we’re called to do, and one of the best ways to ensure this happens is to put the right policies and procedures in place.
There are two facts that are easiest to tackle when you have your policies nailed down. These facts are, in my experience working with churches like yours, the difference between a slow fizzle out and a thriving, active, growing community.
Most church communities aren’t growing; they’re shrinking.
We’re facing an epidemic in America. Churches are slowly but surely fading away, one by one, as congregation members disappear. Whatever the individual reason in each case, the result is the same: our churches are dying.
While it hurts to say (and, I’m sure, to read), complacency is one of the biggest killers I see in the churches I work with. Ministries get to a place where they’re comfortable. Where they feel they’re “good enough.” Where, perhaps, a vocal part of the congregation may be happy staying and even more vocally protest leaving.
There seems to be a large focus on the four walls of the church, from playing the right songs to offering the right studies, instead of a focus on the congregation itself and its ultimate mission. This leads to an eventual loss of purpose, members and, in addition, financial stability. It’s important to remember that churches are still, in essence, businesses. They need money to pay their employees, fund ministry, and live out the Great Commission.
Growth is necessary for churches to survive.
Complacency kills churches by attacking from all sides. Your congregation, while comfortable, should be thriving. Let’s dive into what God says about this.
In John 15:16, Jesus shares this life-giving command: “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” Go and bear fruit. Do you know what can’t happen when you’re complacent? The bearing of fruit. Bearing fruit requires careful attention, time, and intentionality. My goal is to help you and your church burst through the chains of complacency into the land of abundance and fruit bearing where God has called you to be.
Incredible things are able to happen when we hand the pen drawing the blueprint of our churches over to God. You have a responsibility, as a leader of your community, to set your church up with the infrastructure it needs to be able to act on the plans God has for it.
While it doesn’t always seem fun or exciting, policies are what give your church the backbone to support the body of Christ. Establishing solid practices on which you can build is they key to explosive growth, incredible outreach, and life-changing ministry. Don’t worry, though. Change doesn’t happen overnight. We’ll take it one step at a time.
A Real-Life Example
A church I worked with in Camden, NJ was more-or-less closed for 30 years. The pastor had decided to relaunch the church under a new name in an attempt to rebuild the community. He had five members on board when he did this, as they’d been dying one by one over the years.
When they decided to take the time to build their church from the ground up with thoughtful, scripture-based policies in place, the growth didn’t happen immediately, but God began to work.
The board was revamped, and the leadership staff received training and mentorship. A local shelter close to the church’s building that had previously been ignored was embraced, bringing life back into both the shelter and the church. The people of the shelter became members of the church, boosting its numbers from 5 to 75. After some fluctuations due to member death, moving away, etc, this church sits at about 60 members out of a 120-person building capacity and engages the community with more than 300 people connected with throughout the year for annual community outreach. Steady growth and community impact have become the norm.
This is the difference policies were able to make in 12 months. It’s well worth the time and effort needed to make this change for yourself and your organization. Choosing to be good stewards of the precious congregation you’re entrusted with is the difference between failure and true abundant life for the body of Christ.