The Walk-Through

When was the last time that you did a walk-through of the church building?

It’s amazing how used to things that we become. It’s true at home. There may be a chair in your bedroom that is now permanently dedicated to the never-ending clothes pile that sits on it. Or perhaps it’s the space in the garage dedicated to the mower that hasn’t worked (or moved) in the last decade. You know what I’m talking about…

Churches can be the same way. We get used to stuff sitting around – sometimes even for reasons that aren’t just laziness. Let me use myself as a (bad) example. I was a senior-level leader in a large church, responsible to help it grow and thrive. My role was weekend services and events – everything in the auditorium/sanctuary. Kids Ministry, for instance, wasn’t my area of oversight, and Student Min was actually in a different building.

However, I was part of the lead staff. I regularly gave input in discussions about facilities, budget, etc… I’m sad to admit that I often functioned on what I remembered (or even imagined) to be true. I wasn’t trying to “silo” my ministry areas, but I wasn’t going very far out of my way to dig into what was happening elsewhere, and what they needed for effective ministry. You see, if money went to them, we wouldn’t get it. I wasn’t rubbing my hands together going “Mwaah-haa-haa” super-villan style, but subconsciously I was likely imagining my needs to be greater than others in the church – simply because I knew those needs well.

Solution? Do a building walkthrough with ALL of the area leaders at least quarterly (especially about two months out from Easter and Christmas). EVERY room (and outside). Take notes. If you’re that area’s leader, don’t feed people opinions, let them make their own observations. Then come together and collectively decide what the priorities are based on the needs of the WHOLE church. More to come…