10 Growth Restricting Habits

10 Growth Restricting Habits

by Franklin Dumond, Director of Congregational Ministries

While churches fail to grow for a number of reasons there are several habits that restrict growth. Now that we are re-imaging our gatherings and now that we have resumed in-person worship with social distance we have a new opportunity to identify some old habits we might put aside and to develop some new ones in their place.

Habits that restrict growth can be broken or relearned without official action by the congregation. Obstacles that restrict growth generally are enshrined in the bylaws and require a specific action to change. Habits are learned behaviors taken collectively they become the church’s culture. Culture is not required performance mandated in the bylaws.

Culture can be changed without a vote but new ways of thinking and acting take time to develop.

Habits that often restrict growth include:

  1. Seating patterns. When the congregation huddles in the back one-third of the auditorium it not only emphasizes emptiness it also takes all the best seats that would often be preferred by visitors. One of the advantages of social distance in our worship settings is that we have spread more evenly through the room.
  2. Announcements. Need to be reduced or eliminated unless they apply to everyone. Reminders that are targeted for a smaller group should be shared directly with that group.
    Verbal announcements should be limited to features that impact everyone. In a smaller church, most information that cannot be written or projected can be transmitted by word of mouth.
  3. Proofing. The tendency these days to use projection systems and word processors that save files for future use introduces the need to be especially vigilant regarding errors. Errors in lyrics where words are misspelled or misused or when stanzas do not match what is being sung cannot be corrected just by saving the file for next time.
  4. Guest Friendly Atmosphere. Everything must be filtered through what a first-time guest would expect/experience. If it is confusing or boring to the first time guest then it should not be said or done.
  5. Décor. Most church décor should be simplified and targeted more toward men with fewer flowers, ornaments, and pastels.
  6. Too many hats by too few people. Often willing volunteers are few and far between. Capable volunteers may then take on too many responsibilities leaving them tired and frustrated while not making a place for new folks to serve. One of the advantages of gradually resuming ministries is the possibility of sharing the lead among a larger group of volunteers.
  7. Solo rather than team ministry. Capable volunteers forge ahead knowing it is easier to do it yourself. This results in solo ministry rather than team development and thus long term service by the same volunteers.
  8. Status Quo. Doing what we’ve always done out of habit (because we’ve always done it) rather than doing what we’ve always done because it works is a habit that restricts growth. With several months of not doing it at all, it should be easier to try something new.
  9. Dust, clutter, decay. We get accustomed to dust, clutter, and decay but fresh eyes see it and often avoid return visits.
  10. Loss of Celebration in Worship. Where there is no celebration in worship a sense of duty and obligation makes growth unlikely. Do people smile during worship? Do AHA moments happen at least once in a while? Are answered prayers reported and celebrated?

What do you think? Have you noticed now that we have returned that some habits in congregations restrict growth? What can you do to change these habits? Will your activity become a pace-setting so that the culture of your church begins to change?

Not Getting the Picture: 3 Ways Churches Confuse

Not Getting the Picture: 3 Ways Churches Confuse

by Franklin Dumond, Director of Congregational Ministries

When our older grandson was about 18 months old he spent one of his afternoons with us.  We did all the usual stuff: playing outside chasing birds, playing inside with toys, and reading books.  Then while I was preparing a healthy supper (Grandma had already baked cookies for him) he chose to color.

Grandma strapped him into his chair, pulled him up next to the kitchen table, and with crayons and markers in hand he began the creative process of coloring.

The vegetables were on and the meat was sizzling so I decided to listen to Garrison Keeler’s Prairie Home Companion. (Yes this was a long time ago!)  Often on Saturday evenings, I used to listen to parts of that classic radio entertainment.

In our kitchen, we have a replica radio that mimics those styles of cabinetry from the radio heyday of the 1930s and 40s.  I switched it on just as a song concluded and one of the comedy routines began.  The busy grandson looked up from his coloring.  He turned in the direction of the sound.  He looked puzzled but turned back to his crayons.  The sound changed again when the comedy routine concluded.  He turned again toward the sound.  He looked puzzled.  Then Grandma figured it out.  “There’s no picture!” she announced, “No wonder he is confused.”  In our house sound from a box had always been accompanied by a picture.

Because I spend a great deal of my time working with churches, this concern over a missing video component to the sound he was hearing caused me to wonder if a church ever puzzled first-time guests by what happens before, during, or after worship services.

Here’s some of what I think becomes confusing.

  1. While casual is the new norm for worship it is possible to become careless and even haphazard to the point of distraction.  If casual becomes careless and haphazard it is likely that the newcomers and the old-timers may conclude that the content is about as important as the level of attention it seems to be getting.
  2. When technology is underused or misused it becomes confusing and puzzling to participants.  I get especially concerned when spelling errors show up in song lyrics displayed on screen and when the technician uses a mirror image rather than a presenter’s view with the result that the audience sees every move of the mouse and every setup feature that is clicked.
  3. Language that is dominated by code words or a religious vocabulary that goes unexplained is puzzling.  E.S.A.T (enough said about that).

Our church buildings were closed for several weeks this spring due to the pandemic.  Now that we have been back in our buildings with in-person worship for a few weeks now, what do you think confuses newcomers and old-timers in our worship?

O we need to intentionally make some changes now that we are dealing with the “New Normal”?

How would you go about introducing changes in your church’s culture?

Vertical Church - A Story of God's Vision

The Vertical Church Vision – Faithfulness of God and His People

by Steve Akins – Lead Pastor of Vertical Church in Fort Branch, Indiana.

Vision  noun | vi•sion | \’vi-zhən :  the act or power of imagination; mode of seeing or conceiving

If you would have asked me what vision is in a church several years ago I probably would have quoted a leader like Andy Stanley or Rick Warren, but what I’ve come to learn is that vision is simply listening to what God says and doing exactly what He says to do. That is the story of the relocation of Vertical Church to its new campus.

Sixteen years ago I came to, at that time, the Fort Branch General Baptist Church. It was a congregation in decline. They had been without a pastor for close to two years and the once large congregation had dwindled down to around 100. AS we began the work we sensed that God was up to something. The area was changing and more and more people were moving into the area and the church began to grow. As with any change, difficulties arise. Long-time church members feel threated by the new people, the new worship style, the new attitude and so some began to leave but God was faithful and for everyone one person that left God would bring two and the church continued to grow.

In 2008 we continued to grow and we began to sense that we would need to build one day. We began to pray and talk about what that would look like and what that would entail. Should we stay at our current location or should we relocate? Our current location was landlocked and any idea we had to utilize the land and facilities just wouldn’t work. So relocation was our only option but we had one big problem; There was very little land for sale around Fort Branch in the size we needed. In fact, there was only one piece of property available. As we prayed we sensed that God wanted us to purchase 20 acres and we figured that it would cost us $10,000 an acre since land prices were at a premium. In 2011 we approached the landowner with an offer which they countered and we accepted. We were able to purchase 26.68 acres of land for $199,960. It was a definite God moment as we received 7 more acres more then we needed for less than we originally thought. Talking to the landowner at the closing they said the reason that they brought the price down so much is that we were a church and they wanted to see God’s church flourish. God was with us!

In 2013 We began to meet with Architects to flesh out what was needed for our ministry going forward. Our priority was to build a functional building. We were not looking to build something that would appear on the cover of Architectural Digest but to be a functional, multi-use space. I heard a long time ago that form follows function and so we designed the building spaces to fit the ministry that we would be doing. It was so important to us to get a designer and builder who listened to us and was interested in how we wanted to do ministry.

We broke ground in September 2017 and the building was completed August 1, 2018. On our first Sunday God blew our minds. We had 721 people show up which was 200 more than the previous week and through the first month, we continue to average over 200 people more than the previous month. Our Grand Opening celebration was Sunday, August 26 with 815 people in attendance.

In short, this story is not about me but about the faithfulness of God and the faith of His people.

To God be the Glory, great things He has done!

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