Barriers to growth

Without knowing what our main purpose is, we will not know which direction to take or what activities to focus on. Many churches focus on doing lots of different activities, but not all these activities are done well. It is better to focus on fewer activities done well and then move on. For example, identify one or two people who can lead a prayer meeting or Bible study and then tackle another area.

Our capacity to operate will dictate how much we can do. Does everything come back to one person, or are there structures and processes that allow things to run smoothly? Where are things falling down gaps or not happening to their proper conclusion? In these cases, what systems can we put in place?

How does our PCC or elders operate? In the Church of England, we say we are episcopally led and synodically governed. That means that our ordained leaders lead and our PCC or trustees govern.

Our buildings are a huge blessing to us, but they can also cause barriers. For example, does your building feel too big or too small? The ‘60-80%’ capacity rule is a good guideline. If a space is less than 60% full, it will feel very empty. If it is more than 80% full, people will feel it is crowded and be put off coming back. We may have to be creative about how we gather people together when there are fewer people, or making more space when it feels too full. There is a video on this subject in the Mission module.

What happens after someone comes for the first time? Everyone should receive a great welcome and an invitation to the next thing. This could be a coffee, another event or at least to see them next week! This is one of the easiest ways to grow a church and we will look at this further in the Mission module.

The way we do things around here. We can have amazing plans and aspirations, but if our culture does not match, it will be very difficult. We need to be intentional about shaping our culture and making sure that everyone gets behind our purpose and vision. See the next topic for more information on this

Research shows that leadership capacity dictates our church’s ability to grow.

1. Our own spiritual discipleship. Our church will not grow beyond the spiritual growth of the leaders. Sometimes we get busy or stuck in a routine and we forget about our prayer life or other spiritual disciplines. We need to invest in our spiritual lives for our own sake and the sake of those around us. We discuss this further in the Formation module.
2. Delegation. Rather than doing everything ourselves, or even asking people to fulfil some tasks, we need to learn to delegate responsibility and allow others to share in the work. Sometimes this will leave you vulnerable and mistakes will happen, but this shared responsibility will gather more buy-in and will, in the long-term, help you to lead your church.

The above barriers can all stop our churches from growing, but by being aware of them and taking steps to address them can also lead us into growth. We will be looking at ways to address these throughout the course.