Every ministry has its ups and downs. The facts are that there’s not one church that will last forever (for the hyper-spiritual—I’m not talking about THE church. I’m talking about A church). Think about it. All of Peter’s, Paul’s and the great trailblazers of the faith have seen their churches rise and then fall. At some point, your church will plateau and/or begin to decline and if you haven’t already, you’ll need a plan to turnaround the church.
Or, perhaps you’ve stepped into a new church or are thinking about it and your new boss is asking for a big turnaround. In other words, they can’t maintain. They must see significant change.
The first scenario deals with the church as a whole, but there are some things you can do as a children’s/family leader in your organization to help turn things around.
The first question you must ask yourself is:
“Do I have what it takes to turnaround this children’s/family ministry?”
Not everyone is given the ability to turn things around. God has gifted us all with unique gifts. Some people can sustain and build; others can take, break and rebuild. It’s an honest question that must be answered. How do you know if you’re a turnaround leader? You could be a turnaround leader if…
• The thought of taking something messy, risky, broken and not ideal excites you.
• You’re not a perfectionist (thought you expect excellence).
• You have a “grace” gift.
• You’re not afraid to roll up your sleeves and get to work.
• You have the ability to cast a compelling vision that people are really excited about. And, not are they just excited, but they actually back you and serve along side of you.
• You are patient.
• You are very confident of the call God has placed on your life.
• You’re a self-starter and don’t need praise and accolades to keep going (thought it is appreciated).
• You can see past the current circumstances and see the “end in mind”.
• Your spouse is prepared for you to come home to vent (after the kids are in bed and sleeping).
So much more to say and I’ll be talking about it at FOCUS 2012 in Greenville, SC on March 1-3, 2012.
If you are thinking about joining a church that needs things turned around, what are some of your questions?
If you have turned things around, what would you add to the list above?
-PJ
