The majority of today's churches often struggle to break free of mediocrity. The need for outside help—specifically, more experienced, trained consultants—has never been greater.
Church Central has trained more than 900 leaders through its five-level program. Most consultants haven't gone on to full-time careers in the field. Many are pastors who want to help their church and others in the community. Some are retirees.
Their altruism is expressed by the gentleman with decades of ministry experience who said, "I just want to help one more church before I go."
Unfortunately, many churches close their minds to enlisting the aid of a consultant. They don't think they have problems or don't know what a consultant can do for them. Both are daunting obstacles. Still, increasing numbers of churches are choosing to employ a consultant for the sake of their ministry's health.
Why churches use consultants
An analysis of more than 700 church consultation requests to Dr. Thom Rainer's group over a five-year period reveals reactive and proactive reasons for church leaders seeking qualified, external consultants.
Typically a senior pastor (or a person calling on his behalf) contacts a consultant with questions about a specific issue—usually a painful one—within the church. Some primary reasons for seeking help:
o
Attendance has plateaued or declined.o Planned giving and/or offerings are declining.
o Persons attending do not return or join the church.
o Conflict exists within the church between pastoral and lay leaders or between groups of laity.
Consultation requests based on a desire to proactively address the church's health and growth fall into three primary areas:
o
The church needs a plan for ensuring its growth, whether short-term and/or long-term.o The church wants to start a major effort in its life and ministry, such as a building expansion, missions effort or capital campaign.
o The church is doing OK but cannot identify its innate strengths and weaknesses.
Church consulting 101
Let's look at the basics of the field and how the process works.
The typical consultation begins with a clear goal of analyzing existing conditions and suggesting improvements for overall health.
In the process, a qualified consultant, who is not a member of the church, provides insights and recommendations to improve the church's functions in light of God's specific purposes for all churches. These are described in Acts 2:42-47 (Rick Warren's "The Purpose-Driven Church" is the classic work on this topic.)
The idea of church growth is often related to numbers—new members, persons baptized into the church, and other statistics. However, church health relates to how well the body of Christ functions in terms of fulfilling God's mission and purpose.
Healthy churches are most effective when the six purposes of Acts 2:42-47 are intentional, active, and balanced:
1. fellowship,
2. worship,
3. ministry,
4. discipleship,
5. evangelism, and
6. prayer.
Based on the goals of the church, consultants perform one or more of the following services when called on by church leaders:
o
listen,o recommend,
o analyze,
o investigate,
o encourage change, and
o when needed, help implement change.
Consultations vary in terms of their focus and intensity. Most look at specific areas of church health, though a comprehensive consultation is desirable. A full-service engagement encompasses the following areas:
1. Finance.
2. Planning/goal setting.
3. Growth barriers.
4. Outreach/evangelistic approaches.
5. Community analysis.
6. Mission/vision.
7. Assimilation effectiveness.
8. Perceptions/attitudes toward the church among attendees.
9. Data and statistical analysis.
10. Small group/Sunday school.
11. Worship issues.
12. Leadership effectiveness.
13. Prayer emphasis.
14. Missions.
15. Personnel issues.
16. Programming/ministries analysis.
17. Facilities analysis.
18. Denominational issues.
19. Ministry staff alignment.
Church consultation services may vary widely, though the most effective church consultants include each of the following steps in their work (in sequential order):
1. Consultation request.
2. Initial interview.
3. Proposal to church leadership.
4. Acceptance.
5. Consultation work.
6. Initial verbal report to leadership.
7. Written report (presented to the senior pastor first.)
8. Final report.
9. Presentation to church leadership.
10. If needed, proposal for future action.
11. Follow-up.
Over a two-year period, the number of consultation requests more than doubled for The Rainer Group. Why? The Rainer team discovered that the church leaders requesting the consultation were focused on speedy, but thorough, solutions to church problems and goals. Consultants could assess and address these issues more quickly than staff members.
More than likely, this trend will continue in the future.
Reprinted and adapted, with permission, from "Career Crossover" (B&H Publishing) by Tom Harper.
