Advance Pastoral Training

THE GROWING SEASON

Identifying the Indicators Where Competing Values Stymie Growth

We have identified ten predictive indicators in healthy churches. In Section 5.1.1. your team had the opportunity to assess your church. Now you will have to identify those where the tension is the greatest so you can begin to resolve it.

GOAL: To identify the predicative indicators that will stymie your growth.

KEY RESULTS: 

1. You will have the necessary and hard conversations to create a healthier DNA.

2. Your leaders will grow closer to God and perhaps see him in a new light.

3. Your leadership will grow closer to each other and strengthen their ability to lead the congregation.

4. Your church will have a new energy and focus while glorifying God.

First, let’s look at common story found in stagnant or declining churches.

Oak Street Community Church is having trouble getting to the next level.

  • The priority is meeting the needs of the congregation.
  • They have trouble retaining newcomers.
  • They have tried a lot of one-off outreach events.
  • They struggle with evangelism.

There is a hidden and paradoxical competing value that is limiting their spiritual and numerical growth.

Conventional wisdom says that you have to focus on the congregation to grow. That not true. The strategically focus should be on the community. This is where The Great Commandment meets The Great Commission.

The competing value is obvious.

It is one of the primary reasons churches get stuck.

A Healthy Church

A healthy church’s strategic priority is the community they were sent to reach. Always. It is front and center to all they do. It’s woven into The Great Commission. As we go throughout life, we make disciples. It never changes.

The key word is strategic. Healthy churches do not ignore the congregation. Rather, they create robust discipleship systems and ministries to support those they have found and brought home. BUT, the strategic focus is always on the community they were sent to reach.

One of the ten predictive indicators of a healthy church is FOCUS. Churches either are strategically focused on:

  • The Community
  • The Congregation
  • The Core of the Congregation

By engaging in our self-discovery workshop, you will be able to identify the competing values within these predicative indicators.

Once you identify those values, it’s time to disciple your leaders to get them on the same page. This will get you moving in the right direction.

Action Item:
  1. Identify the competing values in your church.
  1. Prioritize them.
  1. Ask yourself how you would disciple your leaders to move them to the healthiest value. (Say from the core of the congregation to the community.)
Think through:
  • What are the stumbling blocks to get them there?
  • What are the options to get them there?
  • Who else do you need to get involved to get them there?
  • What needs to rest in prayer?
  • What are the next two steps?