Transforming Church

Resources and Guidance to Transform Your Church

Your Church Can Make A Difference!

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We’ve yet to meet the church that does not long to be outwardly focused, having a true and lasting impact on its community. Most every church at least pays lip service to the danger of an inward focus, with energy given only to internal concerns of maintenance, facilities, and cherished programs and ministries. Churches are made up of good people who long to see God’s love and light brought to the places where they live, work, go to school, and play.

So why are so many churches focused inward, failing to grow, falling short in impacting their communities? One reason is that they don’t have an accurate scorecard for measuring outward focus. Here are five questions – a “check-up” if you will – to see how your church is doing in terms of an outward focus:

  1. Would the neighbors around your church say ‘We’re glad this church is here’ even if they don’t attend?
  2. If your church relocated, would anyone care?
  3. Are your members actively reaching out to their friends, neighbors, and coworkers?
  4. Do your members show genuine concern for those who don’t know Christ?
  5. Do your outreach efforts generate a personal investment that goes beyond a financial contribution?

If your answers aren’t a strong “Yes!” you may have work to do in becoming an outwardly focused church. The good news is that you can become a true, valued asset in your community – it’s simply a matter of leading in such a way that you leverage the desire of your members to make a difference.

We’ve helped hundreds of churches move from an inward to an outward focus. One way we can serve you is by helping your church decide on a clear, compelling, outward focused vision that will breathe life into everything you do. Here’s more information and a fast-paced video:

The Visioning Process for Churches from TAG Consulting on Vimeo.

Why People Are Attending Your Church (Or Not)

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intuition guy running

A person’s decision to attend your church is usually made in a moment.

If someone is looking for a church, she will drive by your facility and in about three seconds know whether or not it might be a fit. If she actually shows up, she will determine in about another three seconds whether or not to return – before meeting a greeter, hearing a song, or listening to a word of a sermon.

This “three second principle” is rooted in our understanding of the brain’s limbic system, which determines instantly what sensory inputs will be accepted or rejected. The limbic system is the center of emotion.

While the left and right brains represent our conscious thought processes, the limbic system determines which messages will get to our subconscious and actually determine our initial actions.

People often make decisions about which church to attend based on these initial imprints. We take in the visual clues and instantly determine the fit between our internal code and the church’s code. This happens on the level of intuition.

People will determine whether or not to attend your church based on their intuitive response to your church’s code. Even before they “think” about which church to attend, the decision has already been made.

Fact is, we make most of the major decisions in our life mostly by intuition. Whom to vote for, what car to buy, whom to marry…we THINK we are carrying on long, logic-driven and reality-based internal debates.

But, in fact, we are recognizing – at a level deep inside of our personalities – when something or someone resonates with our personal code.

People aren’t deciding whether or not to attend your church primarily based on theology, denominational distinctives, worship style, or ministry menu. Even when they think they are.

They are deciding whether or not their code matches yours.

Your code is who you are deep down when you are most true to yourself.

Your church’s code is the essence of what it was meant to be.

You can’t change your code – you can only recognize it and define it and work to honor it.

When you try to change people – insiders and outsiders alike – know something is wrong and, at the end of the day, will be repulsed more than attracted.

That’s why knowing and championing your church’s code is about the most important thing you can do as a leader.

So, do you know your code?

Want to know more?

Our Transforming Church Insight is an online congregational survey which will reveal your church’s code with crystal clarity. Find out more about it and connect with us right here.

Leading Change At Church

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So, you’ve just taken a new pastorate. Part of your mandate during the selection process was that the church needed to change to reach its community.

Or you’ve been in your pastorate for a while. You love the place and the people, but it’s clear to you that the church is going to have to change in order to move forward in its mission to reach its community. It’s apparent that you are going to have to make some hard calls and lead some risky change initiatives.

You’ve heard the horror stories of pastors who tried to lead change too fast and ran afoul of strong, long-term volunteer leaders. And you’ve heard the regrets of friends in the ministry who wish they had demonstrated the courage to change.

At Transforming Church, we are in the business of helping those in positions of spiritual leadership lead change. It’s what we do and what we are passionate about.

 

change chalkboard

 

When we sit down with a pastor for the first time, our goal is to understand their situation, their gifting, their context, their deepest passions for ministry. We apply personalized tools and our experience to help them assess both themselves and their church. And then – with relational health and missional integrity first and foremost we help design a process for change that leads to empowered leaders and real ministry effectiveness.

So, how do you start? There are two early tasks that have to be nailed in order to set you up for a successful change initiative.

  1. The first task of leadership is to distinguish between what needs to be preserved and what needs to change. As you work through changes in your church, make sure not to lose sight of what is valuable and needs to be preserved and built upon. Make sure you know your church’s code – your DNA – and build your cultural change upon this foundation.
  2. When you come into an existing church knowing you need to make changes, make sure not to condemn the past. Always frame your vision in an upbeat, positive way. Your job is not to erase the past but rather to help people envision a brighter future. The people you now serve were part of the past – honor their contributions, effort, and investment. Even the most dysfunctional church has things in its past that are worthy. Dwell on these even as you chart a course to the future.

So, step one is to DIAGNOSE (that which needs to change and that which needs to be preserved) and step two is to HONOR (the good parts of the church’s past and the people that have given themselves in service).

We’d love to be your trusted advisors in the change process, through congregational assessment, leadership coaching, or facilitated learning. Find our more and contact us here.

The Pastor’s Unique Role In Church Growth

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p1060462How come my church has reached a numerical number, and we are unable to increase that number? This is a central question we have found with small churches everywhere. Studies have shown that numbers plateau rather predictably – 200, 500, 1000, etc. The most important plateau, and the one that is the biggest barrier, is the 200 plateau (some will put the number at 150).

The average church in the United States has 66 people in Sunday School attendance. They have 87 in worship attendance. That’s across the board out of the 350,000 churches in America. That means if you run more than 87 on Sunday morning you’re already above average in America. Eighty-five percent of all churches in America average less than 200 in worship attendance. If you run more than 200 in worship attendance you are in the top 15% of churches in the United States.

Why is it that churches reach this critical plateau, and so often are unable to exceed it? The answer is simple, with very complex implications. Breaking the 200 plateau requires a very different way of doing church. And a different way of doing church requires a different way of doing leadership — The role of the pastor must change as the role of the congregation changes.

A pastor of a small church, and the congregation that makes up the small church, have a settled sense of what church life should be all about. In these small churches, the pastor personally ministers to virtually everyone in the congregation. And that is precisely the reason that 200 is the magic number. It is the number of people that one pastor can reasonably pastor. [Read more…]

Why a discussion of either “Wee Kirks” or “Tall Steeples” completely misses the point

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clXPHxQCDP_ohAS3Mgo_8gNm5T7dxTt39Y1IO4aj3ALASkWfIW0f5qHTyEha8LjQLWuXs2NB4GO2It_nbAqXeaQC6XdF1GSPhjdpsI3DZzLqDjJDm_0Jx_05dWs=s0-d-e1-ftTwo meals, two conversations, the same topic. (Over and over again.)

One was the pastor of a declining church, the other a growing one.  One was in an urban setting, the other rural.  One of their churches was well -known, even iconic, the other was church that is not really known outside its community. Both pastors are in their late thirties. Both gifted preachers, caring people, have a strong presence and have good track records. They also share a common theological tradition. One of them pastors a church whose membership is in the thousands, the other (the growing church no less!) has a membership of about 150.

And both of them made the same comment to me: “I don’t know what to do next.” [Read more…]

6 Clues Your Church May Need a New Vision

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Post1Let’s face it. Life is intense and time-consuming. It often takes everything you have just to keep up with the routines of managing people and tasks—at work and at home. Sometimes at a church conference, you’ll hear phrases likelong-range planning, vision, strategic planning, and you might think, “That stuff sounds great for people who have a lot of time, but I’m treading water just keeping up with the day-to-day functions of my job.”

The fact is that a collaborative and thoughtful visioning process will help your church in the areas where you’re most burdened: time management, priorities, responsibilities and leadership challenges. Developing a strategic plan, looking at the organizational structures and processes, and addressing some of the actions and practices of the culture at your church will maximize the effectiveness of the church’s mission and take the church from good to great.

So, how do you know when your church should invest the precious time, effort and money it takes to do a visioning process? Here are six clues: [Read more…]

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