Facing Church Growing Pains

In less than two years a church can become stagnant, stuck in its ways and afraid of change. I know—I've seen it happen. One of my attractions to new church work was the fact that you weren't fighting the “we've never done it that way” issues. The page was blank and ready to be written. But I've discovered that the pages are quickly written and can be difficult to change even as little as a year later.

When a church begins, everyone has to serve. A new church doesn't have the luxury of having 20% of people serve while the other 80% sit back and enjoy the programs provided. Church plants are able to establish from the start an expectation of ministry participation—because their survival depends on it.

This can be good or bad, depending on how it's approached. Starting out with a model of team ministry may be difficult when you have few people and they're already spread thin—setting up and tearing down every Sunday, running the children's ministry, greeting guests, leading small groups, and much more. Often, one person is put in charge of an area whether they're gifted to serve in that capacity or not. The only requirement for service is availability.

The potential problem arises as the church begins to grow and suddenly there are more people to help. Leadership and ministry become shared rather than a one-man show. It's great to see people take ownership of a ministry, but that can lead to unwillingness to share that ministry with others if that expectation isn't stated from the beginning.

So if you're just planting your church, my advice is this: VISION, VISION, VISION. Never stop communicating the idea that team-oriented ministry is the most effective and most biblical pattern. Every ministry leader should be trained to find an apprentice. Each leader should have someone else who's learning how to lead his or her ministry. Don't just talk about it—show that you're serious about being an equipping church by using that as a standard of evaluation. Put in place a process that allows you to sit down with your ministry leaders every few months to evaluate how things are going in their ministry. Building up and releasing other leaders should be one of the top priorities when evaluating a person's leadership. Help them develop a plan to build and release leaders within their ministry. Write it out and evaluate their progress as time goes on.

Also, giftedness is important. Young churches aren't able to provide all the programs that a larger, more established church can. Don't start ministries until you have leaders who are gifted and passionate about that area of ministry. Find ways to help people discover their giftedness from the start, and guide them into areas where they will be most effective.

My church will be two years old on Easter 2006, and already we're seeing that it's human nature to fear change. We didn't start with the value of shared leadership. Availability was the only requirement. Someone once joked, “You step in the door for the first time, and suddenly you're leading a ministry.” That was embarrassingly close to the truth when we began.

The ramifications of that are starting to hit us now as our church is growing and there are more people to share ministry responsibility. Some people are relieved and thrilled to lighten their load. Others are fearful to let others share in the work they've been doing. They've taken ownership for the ministry and they're hesitant to let go of the control they've had.

Most churches aren't going to be able to start over and get it right from the beginning. Whenever you're going to attempt to bring about change in your church, start with prayer. Never underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit to prepare people's hearts for change.

After prayer, follow a few important steps to lead your church through this transition.

Communicate, communicate, communicate. The first step in transitioning a church to being an equipping church is communicating vision. Staff members should begin meeting and sharing the vision for an equipping church with those who are under their leadership. An equipping mind-set has to come from every person in a position of leadership, from your Sunday school teachers to your small group leaders. Find every opportunity to share the benefits of being an equipping church. Communicating vision doesn't always have to happen on a formal level. Go out for coffee, pass on helpful articles from respected authors, point out the giftedness in others and the benefits they would bring to the ministry if given an opportunity, share Scripture, and point out how even Jesus shared his ministry. Always communicate with enthusiasm and confidence. Excitement can be very contagious.

Don't make assumptions about why a person is opposed to an equipping church model. As you communicate the vision of an equipping church, you'll probably encounter some opposition. Don't just assume they're simply difficult people who like to control things. It's easy to see others as the villains when they communicate disagreement. But remember that God loves them—and calls you to love them—and that their reactions usually come from a deeper reason than a desire to stir up trouble. Make every effort (with compassion) to get to the heart of their reaction.

Evaluate the current effectiveness of ministry leaders and their specific giftedness. Leaders may be unable to effectively train other leaders because they're in positions that are outside their gifts and passions. Before asking them to take on another responsibility, make sure they're all placed in positions where they can be successful.

Train your leaders how to equip and release others. Ministry leaders who are hesitant to accept an equipping church model may feel unprepared to train others. They may be fearful that they aren't fully qualified. Give them the tools they need to confidently train other leaders (and remember to lead by example as you confidently train them.)

Build relationships with your leaders. When you purposefully build relationships with the people you put in leadership you will earn the right to lead them. If they trust you, it will be easier for them to follow you. If you consistently prove that you will support them and help them through change, they will be less fearful in the face of it. Building relationships takes time. If it hasn't happened before the change comes, it will be harder and take longer to lead them through change. Understand that and be prepared for it.

Getting the support of your current leaders is the real focus. If you win them over, they will be your greatest agents for change in your church. Unfortunately, from time to time you will find a leader who is simply unwilling to change. There are times when it's okay to ask a person to step down from a leadership position. But don't give up on them as people. Pray for them, keep seeking a relationship with them, and continue to communicate and share the positive effects of the change as it happens.

People come first. Leading a church—even a young church—through a transition can be a difficult and even painful process. Love them, even when they cause conflict. Seek understanding, and remember that Jesus would leave the 99 to find the one. Love that one.

April Nissen has been serving in full-time ministry for seven years in various areas, including worship, creative arts, and children. She's currently serving as the children's pastor at Northwest Christian Church , a church plant in Vancouver, Washington.

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