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December 23, 2016 5 Comments

How to Kill an Ineffective Program or Ministry – Rainer on Leadership #288

Podcast Episode #288

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Churches often find themselves with ministries that no longer fit their needs or the needs of those in the community. But pastors often struggle to eliminate them. Today, we discuss how to kill ineffective ministries to allow your church to be more efficient with time and money in ministry.

Some highlights from today’s episode include:

  • Most of our churches are too busy, and many have programs or ministries which are no longer effective.
  • Many times we allow ministries to persist because we have a false perception of their effectiveness.
  • Most ineffective ministries will die naturally if leadership doesn’t support them.
  • Do the ministries of your church align with your church’s vision and mission?
  • Churches need to get honest about effectiveness when it comes to budgeting funds for a ministry.
  • When a ministry is eliminated, the leaders of that ministry often feel devalued.
  • Most church ministries are started out of chaos without a strategic plan for effectiveness.
  • The challenge in ministry is to have a clear vision and stick with it.

The seven steps to killing a ministry or church program which we discuss are:

  1. Count the cost
  2. Let it die naturally
  3. Demonstrate how it is not aligned
  4. Have an honest discussion with a key leader of the ministry
  5. Minimize funding
  6. Find other places for the ministry leaders to serve
  7. Have clearly established criteria on the front end

Episode Sponsors

Vanderbloemen Search GroupVanderbloemen Search Group is the premier pastor search firm dedicated to helping churches and ministries build great teams. They’ve helped hundreds of churches just like yours find their church staff and are uniquely geared to help you discern who God is calling to lead your church.

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mbts_banner1_rainerMidwestern Seminary, one of the fastest growing seminaries in North America, exists to train leaders For The Church. The local church is God’s “Plan A” for the proclamation of the gospel, and there is no Plan B. And this is Midwestern’s vision and heartbeat—equipping pastors and other ministry leaders who are called to expand God’s mission in the world through the local church. At Midwestern Seminary: they train leaders ‘For The Church.’

Visit them online at MBTS.edu and start your ministry training today.


Feedback

If you have a question you would like answered on the show, fill out the form on the podcast page here at ThomRainer.com. If we use your question, you’ll receive a free copy of Who Moved My Pulpit?

Resources Mentioned in Today’s Podcast

  • Breakout Churches
  • Simple Church

Related

Comments

  1. Chris Enstad says

    December 23, 2016 at 9:36 am

    I’m not sure that “die naturally” is always a healthy leadership move. My experience is that most people with any sense of “what’s actually going on” are usually waiting for someone to tell the truth and put something to bed rather than continuing to allow it to survive on life support. It breeds resentment with other ministry leaders who need those resources to keep growing ministries strong and also distracts from time and talent with other strong leaders in the congregation. I write this as one who is new to this congregation and am experiencing first-hand what quantity over quality feels and looks like.

    Reply
    • Fred Alford says

      December 23, 2016 at 5:48 pm

      Chris, from the perspective of my favorite Religious Ed professor in seminary, a program dying naturally means it is at the end of its life cycle and does not need to be resuscitated or preserved. A wise leader will know how to handle the closer of such a program or ministry. The greatest issue is the emotional attachment some church members may have to the program or ministry that is no longer viable. The advice we were given as a new pastor to a new field was to let the dying programs and ministries die or be accused of killing it when it does eventually fail if we try to revive it.

      Reply
    • Ken says

      December 26, 2016 at 5:37 am

      One of my seminary professors compared certain programs to a stump in the middle of a field. You want to remove it, but its roots are too deep. So what you do? Just plow around it! Over time the “stump” will rot to the point where it can be uprooted easily.

      Reply
  2. Jake says

    December 23, 2016 at 10:33 am

    After a number of articles potentially labelling the visionaries and truth-tellers among the elders and church members as being bullies and cartels, it’s good to finally have a post that encourages replacing the pastor!

    Reply
    • Ken says

      December 26, 2016 at 5:38 am

      That’s what you took from this article? Seriously?

      Reply

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