Breaking Growth Barriers - Part 3

7. Get a coach.

• A good coach will help you be the best you can be.
• Find a coach that leads a church at least twice your size. You need to talk to someone who's a few steps ahead of you.
• Every Timothy needs a Paul. Every Paul needs a Timothy.
• While there are many good coaching networks out there - you would be surprised at how many pastors are willing to give you their time and invest in you for nothing in return.
• The ministry can be very discouraging. You need a coach and a friend who will strengthen your hand in God when the going gets touch.
• Some coaching relationships I've had have been very informal. It would consist of a call once a month on the phone and email communication.
• Other coaching relationships have been very structured and formal.
• Some leaders I consider my coaches but I've never met them. I read their books, blogs, watch them preach online, follow them on Twitter, purchase conference DVDs, etc.
• You can learn a lot from afar.

8. Start and/or strengthen your small groups system.

• Small groups are critical to breaking growth barriers.
• You need to become an expert in small groups or hire an expert.
• Pastors need to lead or participate in a small group.
• They are a great place to provide pastoral care in a growing church, more intense Bible study and spiritual growth.
• Small groups are a great vehicle to cast vision and raise up new leaders, as well.

9. Think twice your size.

• You need to get through your next growth barrier in your head and heart until you will have the skills in your hand.
• I recall learning this when our church was 350. I specifically remember saying to my coach when he told me this: "I can never lead a church of 700 or 1500." He said, "You're right, if you keep thinking like that."
• Begin to ask: "What kind of leader would I need to be to lead a church twice my current size?"
• "What kind of staff would we need?" "What kind of budget would we need to resource that?" "How many volunteers would it take?" "How many services would we need?" "How big of a facility would we need?"
• If you can dream it, you can do it!

10. Go after lost people.

• It's all about people who need Jesus.
• Yes, we need programs, processes but it's all about lost people.
• In Matthew 28:19 Jesus says, "Go and make disciples." He didn't say build big buildings. He commanded us to build big people.
• In Luke 14 Jesus tells us to "go out into the hedges and highways and compel people to come in ... so that my house might be full." Jesus loves a room filled with lost people so that they can hear the good news, repent and be saved.
• It's no victory if we are simply reaching other Christians from other churches. There will always be an element of that in our churches, but it should never be the focus.
• We are called to rescue those that do not know God nor the power of his salvation.
• If that is our motivation, God will see to it that we are leading a growing church.

Breaking Growth Barriers - Part 2

4. Focus on making it Better before making it Bigger.

• If you make it better, it will naturally demand that it gets bigger
• Do everything with excellence
• Excellence demonstrates that what is happening in your church/organization is important.
• So make the weekend service as good as you can make it.
• Have the best possible worship service you can have. Pray and fast and plan and prepare.
• Put together the best possible message you can and preach it with all your guts as if eternity hangs in the balance because it does.
• Make your kids program an unforgettable experience for the little ones so they can learn about Jesus in an environment that is fun, kid-friendly and interactive.
• Create a warm and friendly experience for your weekend attendees and first time guests with trained car parking crews, ushers, greeters, guest services hosts, etc.
• What happens in the local church should be the talk of the town because there is nothing more important to talk about than Jesus! There is nothing more important going on than what Jesus is doing by changing lives!

5. Delegate more and/or hire new staff.

• Most pastors do way too much
• We need to delegate as many tasks as possible
• Find out what you can only do in your church and delegate everything else (For me, the 3 main things I do are: Lead communicator/vision castor, Lead the staff, Resource Development)
• Delegate doesn't mean dump.
• Delegate responsibility with accountability and authority
• Follow the medical adage: Watch One, Do One, Teach One
• To break growth barriers you will also need to hire staff

6. Make room to grow.

• Adequate space will often times limit growth
• Make more room for growth in every area: parking spaces, kids space, lobby space, transition between services (if you are in multiple services), auditorium space
• Do you have enough room in your auditorium to grow?
• Remember the Rule of 70% which says, "once your auditorium is 70% full, it is full"
• Make more room by adding additional seats in your auditorium (if possible), adding additional services, finding a larger space to meet in, etc.
• Americans don't like to be crowded / they like their space / they will take up 3 seats in a row if you let them.

Breaking Growth Barriers - Part 1

Here are 10 Ideas for Breaking Growth Barriers in your church:

1. Make a decision to grow personally.

• growing churches are led by growing leaders
• in order for my church to grow, I must first grow
• i've discovered that i'm the biggest growth barrier to my church
• when i stop growing, my church stops growing
• so i must constantly ask: what am i doing to grow?
• what's my personal growth plan for 2011? for my walk with the lord? my family? my finances? my leadership? my ministry?

2. Get a vision for growth from God.

• i go on two personal prayer retreats a year so i can get alone with god, hear his voice and get a vision for what he wants to do in and through me in the days ahead
• many years ago while on a getaway, god spoke to my heart through his word that he wanted my church to grow
• i'm not saying god wants all churches to be mega churches, but god wants all churches to grow. read 2 peter 3:9, luke 14:23, mt. 28, acts 2, col. 3
• pastors need to hear from god and write the vision down
• set some growth goals / develop a strategy of how you will accomplish those goals
• a coach challenged me years ago to sit down and make a list of 100 reasons why my church should grow. this challenged me and help me develop a vision for growth.

3. Be willing to embrace the pain of growth.

• all growth requires change
• all change brings pain
• when you get a vision from god for growth and begin to implement it, the critics will show up
• develop thick skin as a leader. like really thick skin. rhinoceros thick. and don't be offended when people criticize your plan or mischaracterize your ministry.
• leadership requires thick skin and and tender heart.
• as your church grows, it will require your role to change as a pastor. this is very difficult. you won't be able to do it all by yourself anymore. you won't do all the weddings, funerals, hospital visit, counseling sessions, ad nauseum.
• acts 6 teaches church leaders that it's not our responsibility to meet all the needs of the church family. it's our responsibility to ensure that all the needs are met. big difference.
• your pain threshold will determine your growth threshold.
• if your church grows into the hundreds, even thousands, you won't even know all the people that attend your church. this was very painful for me personally and it still is today.
• but then i decided everyone can know me, or everyone can know jesus. i'd rather them know jesus.

10 Stupid Things That Keeps Churches From Growing

I'm reading Geoff Surratt's book, Ten Stupid Things That Keep Churches From Growing and I'm feeling like a complete idiot because I've done just about all of them.

Here are some of the highlights:

*Trying to do everything on your own

*Not taking care of my family

*Weekend worship services that are not done with excellence

*Promoting talent over integrity

*Staying in a bad meeting location for too long

*Copying other successful churches and their programs or styles

While I thank God for the growth we've experienced at PCC, I'm reminded every day that it's only because God's grace that we are where we are. On the flip side, I think one of the stupidest things a leader can do when his/her church grows is believe that they actually had something to do with it. This isn't false humility here. This is dealing with the reality of pride that comes with success. I pray for a continued God-dependence and God-inspired risks that keep me on my knees in prayer for the future of our church.

Why Large Churches Don't Grow

Thought this was an interesting read from Dan Reiland. You should check out his website here. He offers road-tested leadership advice from deep inside the ministry trenches. I receive Dan's monthly Pastor's Coach email. Thanks Dan for challenging me to stay on mission!!!

"Why Larger Churches Don't Grow "
by Dan Reiland

The names are changed, details protected, stories true. Hey, we can have a little privacy in the church! Redemption Church, in Windsor, Oregon grew at a steady pace for thirteen years to an attendance of about 1400 including kids. The worship auditorium seats 400 so they struggled a little with building capacity and parking. They continued to add services, growing from 2 one hour services to 3 on Sunday and then added 1 on Saturday night. They are prepared to go to a 2nd on Saturday night or a 4th on Sunday or both. So space is not an issue until well past 2,000 in attendance. Redemption has a strong local compassion ministry in the community and has a steady stream of visitors but hasn't grown in a year. A couple church board members think it's related to the economy, but the senior pastor assures them that while that might affect the income, it wouldn't prevent them from growing. There is no apparent reason for Redeemer to have stopped growing.

2nd Baptist in Norman, Virginia has averaged just a little over 3,000 for almost three years. They shot up quickly as a very successful church plant. 1st Baptist launched them with staff, money, and a huge building they renovated in a strip- mall. The building was formally a grocery store with lots of traffic in the area. The other businesses are still successful and pull in large numbers of people during the week. The parking is great and the renovation, now seven years old, has been well taken care of. There has been a little staff turnover, but nothing unusual. The worship services are amazing and the children's ministry is strong. Their small groups are above average. The church has a little coffee shop with a friendly vibe to it. The senior pastor is focused on evangelism. There seems to be no reason for the church to have stopped growing.

So what's the answer? How can these larger churches figure out the code to grow again? It's complicated, but not an unsolvable mystery. Prayer and fasting is required. Diligence is demanded. But these churches can grow again. If your church is anything like Redeemer or 2nd Baptist, your church can grow again as well. It's not easy, but absolutely doable.

The following are five possibilities for you to consider. The list can be longer, but these should be among the first things you have candid conversations about. Jump in, talk honestly, and see what you discover.

• Have you forgotten where you came from?

There was a day when every large church was small. The leaders chased every creature that breathed who showed any interest in attending. They also chased people who showed no interest in attending. Every individual mattered! The leaders were relentless in their pursuit of new people. Repeated phone calls and contacts were made with zeal. There was little money, lean and often inexperienced staff, and faith-filled vision was the best thing you had to offer. Zealots with vision and a promise!

Now, there are people everywhere you look. The church is strong. You have resources. You don't have time to mess with everyone's questions and concerns. You can't. If they leave, its not that you don't care, but there are twenty other people who want your time who are waiting in line. Success mixed with pressure can change your perspective in the wrong direction. You can forget where you came from.

You can't do ministry the same way in a larger church as you do in a smaller church, but your heart and passion must remain the same. Humility, zeal, and a spirit of hospitality are vital to continued growth. There is something about gratitude for people and dependence upon God that is critical for churches to grow. If that begins to slip, take some time to reflect on your humble beginnings. That may free up something deep within you that unlocks a key to your church growing again.

• Has innovation taken a back seat to excellence?

Doing things with a world-class bias for excellence is good, but not if you burn all your energy in doing things right, rather than doing the right things. Excellence is important but not if it stifles innovation. Innovation in some ways is counter-intuitive to excellence. Innovation is messy. It requires change. Innovation doesn't always work right the first time. But innovation is essential. Innovation keeps churches alive, healthy and growing.

I have a deep affection for small group ministry. In fact, I invested a tremendous amount of energy into small group leadership as part of my Doctor of Ministry program at Fuller Seminary. At that time, and for many years after, I possessed an unalterable belief that small groups could only be successful if done within a certain reproductive model involving apprentices and a certain time frame. Innovation has allowed me to discover, consider and implement something new. At 12Stone Church we now do small groups in a semester system. We had the previous system down to a near flawless science, but as good as it was, it wasn't keeping up with the needs of the church. Innovation got us to something new and improved. How you do small groups is not the point. Innovation is the point. The thing is that the process was messy, and we still don't have the semester system down to a science. But it's the right new thing for now, we have more people in small groups than ever. I suspect that when it's "perfected" it will be time for innovation! Get the point?

So what in your church is excellent but needs innovation? Is it your worship service, children's ministry, or world mission strategy? How about your efforts toward compassion and justice? Maybe its leadership development or your staffing systems. Always press toward innovation.

• Has the primary leadership become distracted?

Believe it or not leaders in large churches can get bored. Not because there isn't enough to do, but because they've been doing the same thing over and over again for years. This "boredom" leads to the potential to be distracted by other endeavors that appear more exciting and challenging. These "other endeavors" by themselves can be good, but perhaps need to be set aside until the church is growing again.

Distractions can also come in the form of pressure. Finance is a common source of tremendous pressure. If the financial problems of a church become so overwhelming that the key leaders can't help but be consumed by them, it is easy to see how they might lose sight of the vision. That's the primary definition of distraction. The leaders have taken their eyes of the main thing! The scary thing is that the leaders are working so hard in the midst of it all that they often can't see that they have become distracted. Asking the question is a good start and having outside help come in with fresh eyes is beneficial.

Distractions can come from a number of others things such as personal issues, discord in the church, lack of focus, unclear strategy or spiritual attack. How about your church, are you distracted or on target?

• Does the machine override the mission?

At 12Stone Church www.12Stone.com where I'm part of the leadership team, "mission over machine" is one of our mantras. At somewhere between 9,000 and 10,000 in attendance the machine has shown up and it's hungry. (It really kicked in at about 4,000). It demands all our attention and it's never satisfied. The machine always wants more but never gives more. We understand the need to be organized, to have policies, and the complexities of communication at this level. This is no longer a mom and pop deal. Life in a larger church is different. That's part of the price tag of reaching people. But you can never give in to the monster called "machine".

Mission must always come first. Hire for mission, organize for mission, invest financially for mission. Make the machine suffer on occasion. Make sure the machine serves you, not you serve it. For example, always hire for growth (first) over maintenance. The pressure to hire staff to help you with the "stuff" of the church will always be with you, and you will have to make some of those hires. But stay tough. Hire staff that help you reach the mission over staff that help you maintain what you have. You do, however, have to learn to live with the tension. Larger churches without good machinery fall into chaos. The machine is not going away, just keep it tamed. Show it whose boss. Mission first!

• Has a God-dependence been replaced by self-sufficiency?

No leader means to do this, but it happens. It is never a pastor or board member or small group leader's intent to take God's place, but it happens.

It's a strange process but easy to see how it happens. You trust God when there is little, because there is no option. The resources are few and you say: "Help me God because I can't do it without you." And God provides. Then there is more, perhaps even much more. Pressure exists when there is little to work with, but there is far more pressure when the resources are greater. This is true because there is so much more at stake. So you, or I, or anyone in leadership is tempted to take back the reigns of leadership because we can't risk that God will continue to be in control and take care of what is at stake. In your mind you know that is dumb. But in your everyday leadership you are tempted to step in and attempt to make things happen yourself. On paper it's crazy, but it's possible for leaders to get a little crazy.

For me, when I have too much work to do I'm tempted to pray less and work more. It's the same thing. Crazy! So the spirit of God prompts me to stay faithful in my prayer time and remain dependent upon the Father. This pattern always works, self-sufficiency never works.

I encourage you to take these five questions and take a close look at your church. Talk with your team and I trust that you will discover something that helps your church grow again. If your church is growing, these questions can serve as preventative medicine and help keep your momentum going.

Ed Stetzer on Lies We Believe

Lies We Believe: Pt. 6 from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

Work ON it

There is a big difference between working "in" your church/organization and working "on" it. When I work "in" it, my time is consumed with the daily routine, operational oversight, sermon prep, staff meetings, planning, etc.

However, working "on" my church is akin to taking a ride in the plane and looking at the church from 30,000 feet in the air. It involves asking tons of tough questions like, "are all my systems in place and firing on all cylinders?"; "do I have all the right staff in the right place for the current ministry and who do I need to hire to go to the next level?", "are we accomplishing the vision of the church and how do we know - what tools are in place to measure organizational effectiveness?" and on and on and on.

I've been working "on" the church harder the last couple days than ever. Working "on" your church is kind of like a double-edged sword for me. On one hand, this kind of stuff excites me and fills my mind with anticipation for all that God is going to do in the future. On the other hand, it scares me to death when I consider how in world are we ever going to get all this done.

How about you? What are you working "on" not just "in". Your marriage ... career ... parenting ... heath ... home?

You can take a 30,000 foot perspective on your life by just sitting at your kitchen table and starting thinking and dreaming and working "on" it, not just "in" it.

Church Stats

Just participated in a survey for Leadership.Net on large churches in America.

Here are some interesting stats they shared:

Among some 300,000 churches in North America only:

- Approx. 2900 churches have attendances of 1,000-1,999

- Approx. 580 churches have attendances of 2,000-2,999

- Approx. 670 churches have attendances of 3,000 and higher

Masquerading Insecurity

Apparently there are some people that aren't very happy with what God is doing at PCC. Unfortunately, I have received quite a bit of criticism from other church leaders in the area regarding the grand opening of our facility. I guess they don't like the exposure our church received, nor do they like the building or our philosophy of ministry, i.e., leveraging technology, etc. for the expansion of God's Kingdom.

I guess criticism is just par for the course when you are leading a growing church. My goal is to simply outlast my critics.

Well, one of my favorite bloggers, Steven Furtick, posted the following word last week. Steven, who pastors the second fastest growing church in America, says...

In Mark 9:28, the disciples tried to cast out a demon. They were unsuccessful, and thoroughly humiliated.

In Mark 9:38, the disciples came to Jesus tattle-tale-ing about a man who was apparently successfully driving out demons.
He was doing good things. But he wasn’t doing it their way.
This guy wasn’t one of them.
Jesus was quick to correct: Whoever is not against us is for us.

Were the disciples really concerned about correct orthodoxy?
Or were they just jealous because this guy was producing results they were unable to achieve?

Usually, when someone is successfully doing what we’ve unsuccessfully attempted to do, we medicate our failure by complaining to God and others about how they’re not doing it right.
And we sincerely believe our motives are pure. Usually they aren’t.

“Yeah, that church is growing, but what are they doing about discipleship?”
Often a pastor who makes this subversive snide remark about another church isn’t motivated by a pure desire for discipleship. There’s a good chance he’s envious of the numerical gains that seem to elude him year after year.

When a mom critiques another mom, it’s often a reflection of her own frustration with her parenting abilities.

When you find yourself spending more time critiquing the methods and motivations of someone who’s doing a good work for God, check yourself.
You might be masquerading your own insecurity.

(Special thanks to Henry Blackaby for the thought behind this post. His little devotional, Experiencing God Day-by-Day , is still my #2 all-time favorite, right behind My Utmost for His Highest).