Effective Structures

Natural Church Development assesses a church in eight different quality characteristics. With this post, we will take a quick look at one of these characteristics – Effective Structures.

Natural Church Development defines Effective Structures as: The church is the living Body of Christ. Like all healthy organisms, it requires numerous systems that work together to fulfill its intended purpose. Each must be evaluated regularly to determine if it is still the best way to accomplish the intended purpose.

For leaders whose churches have this as one of their lower points, NCD offers the following starting points as a means of improving this area…

• Using checklists for repetitive ministry tasks increases quality and reproducibility.
• Apprenticing emerging leaders at every level is essential.
• Leaders and workers need clear job descriptions.
• Identify enhancing and hindering structures.

Checklists are a great tool for enabling you to delegate repetitive ministry tasks. The list enables the person who is completing the task to finish it feeling all the desired areas were completed. And it leaves you knowing that all the bases were covered.

Apprenticing emerging leaders is essential to both the effectiveness of and longevity of your ministry. You can only effectively oversee so many projects within your church. Allowing others to take the lead of some of those areas will free you up to spend more time doing the things that you do best. Plus, it will allow for your ministry to grow beyond your skill set.

If you want to prevent confusion about job tasks, a clear job description is essential. With a job description in hand, a worker/volunteer is freed from any distractions that may prevent her from carrying out her responsibilities. This also gives you the greatest assurance that she is aware of what needs to be done. However, reviewing and updating the description will be very beneficial as your church grows.

How your church is organized (structured) is crucial to its overall level of success. Do you have ministries competing for resources? Do you have an environment where it is tough for new people to get involved? Taking a hard look at the way your church ministers will provide you with a blueprint on what needs to be adjusted.

As a coach, I can come alongside of you and assist you in your church’s growth in this area.