“Thinking that your church will attract everyone is a delusion. God is not so limited in His creative powers that you can develop a ‘one size fits all’ strategy.” I wrote that idea down, but forgot where it came from [it may have been me – if not, I’ll happily attribute it to the original author]. Regardless, I have found it to be very true.
You can’t make everyone happy. As I’ve worked for and with churches over the years, I’ve found that many churches are trying to do far too much. They have an extremely wide variety of programs, events, etc…, most if not all of which are good things, perhaps very good things deeply needed in their community. The problem is that they are spread so thin that they’re not doing ANYTHING particularly well…
Part of that comes from church staff simply trying to do their jobs. They feel that they should be creating programs and events to help whatever area they oversee to have ever-increasing impact. That mindset is often fueled by senior leadership eager to see growth in every area – again, all for good reasons. However, when you view the situation rationally, you see that “ever-increasing” is not only unhealthy, it’s impossible…
Set reasonable goals. When you start something new, it may be time to stop doing something else. That being said, don’t let your church building become a graveyard – something that looks pretty from a distance, but has nothing living within it. It’s not necessarily about working less, it’s about FOCUSING that work to be able to get things done that actually help people know Jesus, rather than just sustaining programs – some of which may have outlived their effectiveness. Fulfill the Great Commandment and the Great Commission – beyond that, look to how God has uniquely designed you, the team, the congregation and your situation, and build off the strengths and passions that God has placed within you.
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