Since I have been in Canadian it has been an interesting time of looking how to move this church forward. When I first arrived here I was told that some people in this church are set in their ways and won’t change. I thought well this will be an uphill battle, and it has been. Here is what I have learned so far.

1. People are willing to change if they see a reason they need to change.

As my Pastor says the only ones who enjoy change in the church are the babies, and there is much truth to this. I had to adjust my way of thinking from being from all city churches to adjusting to ministering in a rural country church. How did I adjust my thinking? I read books from people who have been through the same situations and have been successful. One of the best book recommendations I received was from a fellow pastor who told me to read Shannon O’Dell’s Transforming Church in Rural America. In this book, Shannon walks through his journey in going into a rural church and bringing change to the church. The first thing that he had to do was show the church that there was a need to change.

With 85% of Southern Baptist churches in decline, something has to be done to bring these churches back to life. The phrase “that’s the way we’ve always done it” is a nail in the coffin of that church. Many of these churches have an average age of 60+ and refuse to reach out to the younger generations because it would change things at the church that they don’t want change. These congregations will never admit it until you call them out on it. These congregations have to be shown that if they do not change here is as long as the church has left before we have to shut the doors. Pastors and the leadership have to be clear on what will happen. Many times this will emotionally hurt your congregation, but as we all know sometimes the truth hurts.

2. Leadership and systems are vital if a church is going to move forward.

You could have the best Pastor in the world, but if he is fighting an uphill battle by himself, he will get worn out and the church will not change. The Pastor must assemble a team of lay leaders to come along side him and his vision for the church. These leaders should be from all the age groups of the church that way the entire congregations sees that people are rallying around the vision that the Pastor has received from God what God has for His church in that place.

The next step is training these leaders whether they are brand new leaders or leaders that have lead for years in that church. Most churches do not have a leadership training process, and they so desperately need one. The Willow Creek Association is a great training tool for pastors to learn how to equip their leaders. For a church to move forward its leadership must be willing and trained.

Once your have started training your leaders the next question is what kind of systems do you have in place. Besides a constitution and bylaws which most churches have, does you church have policies and procedures of how the church ministries of the church operates. I asked our lay leadership in Canadian this past Sunday to do this, for them to write out how they think that their ministry works. One of my mentors always instilled in me that writing clarifies thinking, and it does. Another important reason at least here in Canadian because it is an oil town and many of our members are part of this industry, is so that if a leader has to move because of work and has to hand off the ministry they lead, they can hand a document of here is how this ministry works.

Finally on systems, are your systems appropriate for the current size of your congregation, or are they still not working because they haven’t change in years when there was a smaller congregation. One of the best lessons that I have learned from my time in ministry is that you have to build your programs and systems for the next level of church size. Most leadership consultants break these sizes into >100, 100-250, 250-500, 500-750, 750-1000, and 1000+.

Great Resources for leadership and Systems:

Church Administration by Robert W. Welch

Leadership Pain by Samuel R. Chand

Courageous Leadership by Bill Hybels

Lasting Impact by Carey Nieuwhof

Look Before You Lead: How to Discern and Shape Your Church Culture by Aubrey Malphurs

3. Young families are key.

Young families are the workforce of many churches and the people that are older that still serve in churches started out as those young families. I am not advocating to do everything at your church focused on families, but you have to ask yourself do we reach young families. The easiest way to determine this is look at your congregation from the platform on a given Sunday morning and just look out into the congregation. A sign of a healthy church is a church that has young families. I used to be annoyed by hearing a baby crying in the middle of a Sunday service, but now I welcome it.

As a church moves forward it must reach all generations. As we reach out to younger families, we must make sure that we do not neglect our older people in our congregations.

I hope this helps.

Blessings,

Matt Phenix