Church growth. We pray for it, believe for it, strategize for it, dream about it…and then it comes and suddenly you are faced with the daunting task of sustaining it. Sometimes it feels like it is all consuming and more than my leadership can handle. Honestly, there are days I’ve dreamed of going back to a church with about 40 very generous people and then closing our doors to anyone else. Well, not really….

HEALTHY CHURCHES REQUIRE HEALTHY STRUCTURES

            As our churches grow, it is imperative we build healthy structures that are sustainable and scalable. A good structure will help to alleviate the pressure that comes with more people and more challenges.

            Many of you are familiar with ARC (Association of Related Churches), a church planting network that was born in the Southern States and is now literally impacting the globe. I came across a session from their main conference in Alabama that I think will be very helpful for all of you. It is called…

“SCALABLE AND SUSTAINABLE ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP STRUCTURES.”

            Now the title may not do a lot to inspire you, but I assure you the content will! I find the greatest challenge with growth is not centred around the experiences we create…that seems to come together well. Most of our churches have great worship, great preaching, inspiration, anointing, changed lives and creativity to spare. Instead, the challenge most leaders face is building a structure that will sustain the growth coming as a result of the great weekend experiences we are working hard to build.

            I encourage you to take some time this week to listen to this session (link below) and then write out some thoughts for your own leadership situation. To further encourage you, I’ve listed out the key points as well.

5 KEY POINTS (+ 1 BONUS POINT) FROM THE SESSION

1.         DESIGN BASED ON WHO YOU ARE

• The model you use is based upon the person God has created you to be!

2.         DESIGN AROUND THE POSITION, NOT THE PERSON

• If you design around the person it will be very difficult to replace that person if there is a change. Design around the position which gives you greater flexibility moving forward.

3.         DESIGN FOR THE FUTURE, ADAPT FOR THE PRESENT.

• Fit what you have into where you want to be versus just designing for where you already are.

4.         DESIGN WITH THE DESIRE TO GO DEEP

• Avoid flat organizational structures by adding people under someone else and build leaders of teams.

• Fight for simplicity and focus on what you are building!

• Development is the casualty of building wider instead of deeper.

4.1       DEFINE THE LANE OF LEADERSHIP AT EACH LEVEL

• Define your layers of leadership and make them transferable across the board.

• Define the WHY, let them determine the HOW.

5.         FILL FROM THE TOP DOWN

• Start from the top of your org chart and let leaders fill in the spots below them.

• In a season of building and restructuring you may need to allow quality of experience to dip in order to focus on the development of leaders.

            If you have any thoughts about structure and growth, I’d love to hear them! Comment below or drop us a line at mystory@localchurchleader.org and let us know what God is doing through you! As promised here is the link to the audio from ARC…

Sustainable and Scalable Organizational Leadership Structures