We are wrapping up the series on Church Systems. I pray that it has been helpful to you and your church, at least causing you to pause and reflect on how your church is currently organised. This final post will cover the last two systems – the Leadership System and the Strategic System.
Leadership System
This is how we develop leaders at all levels of our church. Admittedly, this system is a bit above my pay grade, especially at the higher end of the leadership ladder, as this is something our Pastor manages, but notice how it says at ALL levels of the church. We should be creating an atmosphere where leadership qualities are being developed throughout the church.
We can start by viewing each volunteer as someone who has the capacity to eventually lead, no matter on how small or large that platform of leadership is. This attitude gives us the ability to continually develop new leaders for an ever growing church. Our churches will only grow so far as our leadership team will allow. Do you have a plan in place to develop leaders at every level?
Are you investing in your leadership? This could be done through specific training, recreation, and purchasing resources to cover the gaps of your lack of knowledge. Just recently our Pastor organised a series of live Zoom teaching sessions with Rev Rodney Shaw, the Senior Pastor of New Life in Austin, TX, on leadership. This was an easy way to help develop leaders (at every level as it was opened up to youth and junior leaders) and we looked forward to the sessions each week. Another way we have invested in leaders is through our yearly Turning Point Conference and a group for developing leaders that our Pastor facilitates called Timothy Sessions.
Again, I am only sharing specific examples that I am aware of but the majority of what takes place in this system runs through my pastor. I’ll finish off this system by positing some questions for your consideration that Nelson Searcy mentions in his booklet on healthy church systems:
- When was the last I invested in developing new leaders?
- How am I helping my current leaders grow personally and spiritually?
- Am I modelling the kind of leadership I want to see from my leaders?
Strategic System
This final system is the foundation for all the other systems. It is how we evaluate our systems for constant improvement. We have never arrived as a church and we always have ways that we can get better, if we are looking for them. Sometimes that is the biggest problem, we aren’t looking for ways to improve. We cannot allow comfort to hold us back from accomplish all that God wants to in our church and through our church.
So, how are you evaluating your church systems? What is considered a win and what is cause for concern or change? There are few things that you can do to insure that your systems are healthy and focused on the right objective. You can have weekly staff meetings, for those who have a paid staff, and monthly leadership meetings. The leadership meetings should involve an agenda that allows for honest feedback, and suggestions, from leaders. Some churches have half-yearly supervisions with individual leaders so the Pastor can see how each department/team is performing in regards to the overall strategy of the church. Finally, a yearly Leadership Planning Day is a great way to unify your leaders behind the vision before beginning another new year.
We started off this series talking about Jospeh and Pharaoh’s dreams, and I hope the last 5 weeks have been helpful in showing why it is so important to have systems in place, especially if God has given us a dream from our city and ministry. God will do His part but it is up to us to do our part – to the best of our ability.
I know that I have been challenged as I have gone through each system, seeing areas that we can improve. My prayer is that this series sparked in you a curiosity to explore how your church can continue to grow and develop in order to fulfil the dream that God has given you.
I will leave you with this final question – How prepared is my church for what God wants to do in my city?
Photo by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash
