Some decisions have more significant long-term outcomes than others.
Recently, I thought about the many decisions I’ve led since becoming the Lead Pastor of Harvest Christian Center.
Decisions are a part of every church leader’s daily routine. But some are more important than others. And I’ll admit that even they don’t have to be made. I mean, if you don’t want to grow a healthy church that focuses on evangelism, discipleship, and worship, you can settle for indifference.
That’s not me. I don’t like the status quo. I want to see progress made that cooperates with God to build His Kingdom here. Give us souls lest we die!
I’m sharing five right decisions for our local church. Harvest Christian Center lives to love people, grow Christians, and multiply leaders. These help us fulfill our mission.
- Leadership Structure
This is the first thing I felt compelled to improve. Thankfully, I inherited a group that was willing to follow my vision. Also, I’m grateful that my conference Bishop worked with me to see this new plan enacted.
This includes a Servants Council that I meet with four or five times a year, and more often if situations demand it. Beyond that, I have a Servants Team that I call upon individually for needed advice. Together, these groups form what I call The Servants Committee. Each has a term limit, which is staggered. If you’re interested, I can email a PDF that explains these details.
Finally, I had to decide who makes up the Senior Staff. These are the ministry directors that I work closest with every week. They know my heart and keep the ministry moving.
Regardless of your denominational affiliation, you need a leadership structure that works for the Lead (Senior) Pastor. - Church Management Software
What we had was outdated. A modern form of online giving was needed. We went with Tithe.ly and it has been a boost to our tithes and offerings. Streams of giving that did not exist have appeared and online giving is increasing.
Secondly, we implemented Breeze. It makes managing people’s details easier than ever. Plus, it’s so capable that our use of the software can grow as we grow in size.
I’m a stickler for data integrity, and I can’t say enough positive things about these two. Both provide excellent customer service.
Regardless of what size your congregation is, these would make your life easier. - Kids Church
Ours needed a booster shot for greater stability and space.
One of the first things I did was decide who was in charge of this ministry. One of our staff members accepted the newly revised job description. We were then able to provide more stability for the children.
The next thing to tackle was the foul-smelling space they were using. But in this particular building, the basement flooded with every great rain event. We decided it was time to relocate this vital ministry. Thank God! We had available space to renovate in another building. Our 3D Kids Ministry is in a new area that’s attractive to kids and parents alike. We’re set up with modern tools for ministry.
Every church, regardless of size or denomination, must love and lead children to Jesus. - Online Presence
We had two functioning social media channels.
We launched a new website. As well, we added a social media channel. I’ll be the first to admit that our website and social ministry need improvement. But we keep going and growing.
Our modern communities expect the local church to offer them an online service. Global pandemics aside, online services have been a good idea for a long time. However, they can never fully replace the on-campus experience. But the pandemic did force us to produce better online services. An online presence requires investments in websites, cameras, extra lighting, and so much more.
Regardless of your community, it costs real money to do real ministry in the online world. - Multiple Services
Let’s face the facts. People like options. Your grandparents were okay with limited options. But modern Americans don’t want to be told they can only come worship at one specific time or in one way. In addition to online services that can be accessed at any time of the day or night by the internet, we started a second Sunday worship service.
That was already a part of our growth plan. But with the need for mitigation measures, it became a necessity. As soon as we returned from being off-campus and online only for nine weeks, the second service went live. It started slow, and it still only has about half as many worshippers are the first service. But guess where our new growth is coming from? The second service has first-time guests nearly every Sunday.
That second service was not because we were filling up the building. If you’re waiting on that to start a second service, you’ll wait too long.
Regardless if it’s online or on-campus, you need to give people options.
Hey now, I like to give people more than what they thought they were getting. That’s not always possible, but when you can, you should.
BONUS: Here’s a bonus decision that’s helping us. We take guest follow-up more seriously than ever. Our follow-up process is growing more robust every month. It’s an intentional effort to give many touches over many weeks to first-time guests. Our goal is to turn every guest into a connected friend of Christ’s Body.
Despite the setbacks of this year, I have this insatiable habit of believing the best is yet to come. I lift my eyes toward Heaven because that’s where my help comes from. God is faithful, and He can move mountains. I have to give Him praise because He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever!
Harvest Christian Center lives to love people, grow Christians, and multiply leaders. What do you and your church live for?
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