As I've been thinking about the "barriers" to growth in the life of congregations our size, I was helped by a book called "Raising the Roof" by Alice Mann.
Mann's focus is on congregations that are doing conventional ministry and that have hit a growth plateau. She found six general barriers to growth facing these congregations.
Barrier #1: The congregation is unclear about its calling to reach beyond our current circle of members. If we don't get this one right, work on the other "barriers" will prove futile.
Barrier #2: The congregation is unclear about whether we are really at a size plateau or not. This, in my book, is called “denial” or being way to comfortable to want to change.
Barrier #3: The physical space for meeting is effectively filled up. The idea here is that when 80% of the desirable seats in the sanctuary are full on a regular basis, then you need to make more room.
Barrier #4: The church is not staffed for growth. To quote Alice Mann, “As attendance approaches 200, growth often cannot be sustained without the equivalent of at least two full-time program staff (clergy or lay), full-time office support, and a half-to-full time custodian.” This, of course, is not all there is to say about the staffing issue, and there are various options that churches have tried in order to develop the quality of their programs.
Barrier #5: The congregation’s concept of an “adequate” budget does not permit growth. There is power in aligning the church’s stewardship of finances with its vision to grow, but until thinking in this area can be shifted, the purpose and function of any kind of budget could actually become an obstacle to growth.
Barrier #6: The church’s ministry infrastructure is inadequate for movement to the next size. Again I quote, “in the transition (past the 200-300 level plateau), a paradox arises. Everyone wants to retain the congregation’s personal touch, but without excellent organizational machinery, that personal touch will be impossible to achieve. Developing infrastructure in the following areas enables the church to provide reliable and personal ministry to new and existing members: new member incorporation, member ministry development (serving through their gifts), adult faith formation, pastoral care, small group ministry, leadership development (including council and staff).
So there you have it, six barriers that the experts have recognized in transitional-sized churches like ours. I think all of these apply to our church in some way. But I was drawn to barrier #1 and #6. I think we’re still unclear as to our missional vocation as a church, our commitment to reach beyond the present crowd to people on the fringes (more on this later). And furthermore, I don’t think we have worked hard enough at building the infrastructure necessary to help new members incorporate/assimilate, get connected in community, and serve according to their gifts.
How about for you…which “barriers” caught your attention?
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As with Ken, I, too, was driven to barriers #1 & #6. In addition, I found barrier #4 to be quite compelling and, ironically, one of the biggest hinderances to growth. Barrier #4 speaks on the difference between "grandma's" add water type ministry (reaching inward) and organizational movement (reaching beyond).
The bulk of church work operates by the massive energy put in by dedicated volunteers. From setting up chairs to making coffee and from watching kids run around frantically to teaching Sunday school, volunteers are the genetic make up of church life.
Without volunteerism, we'd simply be a building filled with people who have no real purpose but to attend a service and go home. So, I do want to take this opportunity to applaud and thank our volunteers for their amazing work.
Clap...Clap...Clap...
But if we're talking about growth and fulfilling the purpose of God within our community to reach as many people for Jesus, then adequate staffing is definitely needed. These staffers are the ones who dedicate their time to planning, implementing, and releasing programs, curriculum, and people to further the work of God. These are the folks who need to spend 40 hours a week making sure the operations of the church is sound. These are the people who strategically get the ball rolling.
I guess, what I'm saying is, you can only go so far in respects to growth with only volunteers. It wouldn't be fair for a church to expect a volunteer to put in 20+ hours a week, on top of their full-time job (although there are those people out there who have amazing hearts like that), to make sure the Children's Department or Bible Study Groups have their curriculum ready to go. It wouldn't be fair to ask a lead pastor if he or she had a full-time job to preach every week, do house/hospital visits, plan yearly events, pray for the sick, and do community outreach without compensating him or her for his or her time. I think we sometimes get blinded when we say things like, "Oh, but it's for the Lord. You should do it for free."
Now, I'm not saying a paycheck should be the motivating factor to do the work of God. God should be. Otherwise, you eventually get your typical 9-5 syndrome. But I'm simply saying appropriate staffing is needed in order to take church growth to the next level.
The question is: is our church ready and willing to go in that direction?
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