Have you ever gone to a river and skipped stones? If so, then you know it’s not the big boulders that create the momentum, it’s taking small stones one at a time that creates the biggest ripples. In week 3, we are breaking down what it looks like to take the approach of skipping stones when it comes to growing our churches. Whenever there is growth, there is always change. Growing churches can manage the growth well. Healthy things grow, but they also need pruning and re-potting.
So what does the process look like? How can we take our team with us? This is the approach we want to take when recreating momentum in our churches, especially post a pandemic. Churches that aren’t able to maintain momentum will find themselves declining, or plateaued. Change is what creates resistance, so when people in your church hear about the change, they find resistance. So how can we lead our congregations through the constant changes? The pastor’s vision is never God’s vision until it’s the people’s vision. God has placed us as leaders to take people on a journey, not to direct traffic. This is what managing change looks like: It’s not throwing big rocks that will create resistance, it’s taking the time to break the rocks up into small pieces and skip them across the water, and that’s done over time. Growing churches remain steadfast through seasons and can create momentum.
Implementing change is not throwing big rocks that will create resistance, it's breaking the rocks up into small pieces and skipping them across the water – this takes time. Click To Tweet
Little energy over long periods creates sustainability, trust, and growth for your church and body. It can be frustrating as a leader if you are in a rush to get where you are going. As a leader, we must be willing to go slow and steady so we can involve people into the journey with us. We must slow down to speed up. It’s about gaining trust. This is the key. Spend time getting to know your people. Building relationships will make it easier to lead your congregation through the continual changes over the years.
You can read a previous article here that dives deeper into casting vision for your church:
Whenever we do this well, we will lower the resistance and help people accelerate which means everything will move faster. Leaders are driven to move fast, and this is the tension we have to manage. We all have it within us to want to do better, grow faster, and do more… which are all great things! But what matters is the pace we run. Every day small changes will create the growth we are dreaming of.
How can you communicate this and implement this to your team?
In what areas do you need to skip stones rather than throwing boulders?
How can you add value to your congregation and staff by involving them in the process of change?
What’s one small change you can do today to get where you want to go?
We hope this encourages you to take a new approach and give a fresh perspective to leading through change.
