HEALTHY CHURCH: Do We Really Need Systems?
When you talk about designing and developing systems in a local church, it can sometimes be like opening the proverbial can of worms. Do you really need systems if you are following Jesus and obeying His Word? Jesus said that if you are going to build a house, you should consider what foundation you will build it on. He also said if you are going to build a tower, first consider the cost. If you do not think you need God, that would make you very foolish, but if you think systems could not help you and your ministry, that is unwise. The tension between trusting in systems too much and ignoring the need for systems completely is real.
Healthy systems lead to healthy churches, and healthy churches have healthy systems. In Atomic Habits, James Clear stated, “We don’t rise to the level of our goals, we fall to the level of our systems.” God is a God of systems, having created the solar system (Gen. 1:1-8) and having created man (Psalm 139:14-15). Your body has a circulatory, nervous, respiratory and reproductive system, just to name a few. If one system fails, you can find yourself in quite a predicament. When your systems are functioning well, you call yourself healthy. Each system has an essential task to complete in a specific manner that leads toward health.
Why are systems so important? So the rest of the body (individual and corporate) can continue to function properly. Systems rely and depend on one another, and the systems your church puts in place are the essential processes that will help your church remain healthy and give it the ability to multiply. The healthier the system, the healthier the church, and the healthier the leaders, the healthier the systems. In No Silver Bullets, Daniel Im stated that systems are “A group of related parts that move or work together!” What systems do you have in place for outreach, assimilation, spiritual growth, member care, finance, worship, etc.?
A system is a well-thought-out process, written down and spread around. Depending on how you decide to develop or number them, your church can have eight or nine major systems that accomplish (or diminish) the work of God. Systems answer questions like:
• What results do you want to achieve?
• What are the steps needed to achieve those results?
• Who will ensure that those results are being achieved?
• How will you measure success?
Values drive practices, and your practices determine your results. What is the purpose of having that system, and what checklist do you need to develop for it to be successful?
There is a warning label here that needs to be properly applied. It is easy to always be straining and striving to devise new methods, new programs, new strategies and new systems to advance the gospel and build up your church. Remember, you are God’s method, and while you are looking for better methods, God is looking for better men and women. Always begin with the spiritual dynamic of godly individuals who are people of prayer and are thirsty for Him (Psalm 63). The Holy Spirit does not flow through methods. He flows through His people who are surrendered to Him, ready to obey Him and will do what He asks them to do.
What can good systems do for you? Your outreach system teaches your people how to connect with and reach people who are far from God. Your assimilation system welcomes those you are reaching when they arrive at your Bible study, worship or event by showing them how to connect and get involved (i.e., next steps). This system enables you to sustain all the relational capital you have worked hard to build. Your discipleship system helps disciples see the next logical, sequential steps in following Jesus and how to continue to grow. Your financial system teaches biblical stewardship and manages funds for kingdom work with integrity.
Your worship system seeks to connect worshippers to God by purposely helping them focus on Him and invite His manifold presence in. Your church needs to take a hard look at developing systems that enable you to care more effectively for the people God has already given you, while remaining focused on reaching those who are still far from Him. In What’s Best Next?, Matt Periman stated, “The result of management without leadership is that you will never get there!” Systems do not accomplish, on their own, what you are striving to accomplish — people do. You need the right people in the right places of responsibility.
Well-thought-out and developed systems provide three important ingredients to your church:
• Quality — Because systems help your volunteers do it the best way possible.
• Consistency — Because systems help all your volunteers do it the same way in a unified team effort.
• Reproducibility — Because systems make it easy to teach new people what to do and puts in place good training for your teams.
That is why Gary Rohrmayer defines systems as “reproducible and interconnected processes by which the organization actualizes its values and achieves its mission.” Systems save you stress, time, energy, money and a lot of headaches.
Your church has systems, whether you realize it or not. Are your systems producing what you want them to produce? Here are a couple of questions that will help you to evaluate the effectiveness of your systems:
• Is it reproducible?
• How does the system contribute to the reproductive nature of the church?
• Is it interconnected?
• How does the system connect the rest of the systems needed?
• Does it aid, assist and help the other systems?
• Is it complementing or contradicting your values and the goals God is leading you to achieve?
• Are the systems mutually benefiting the other systems through healthy cooperation?
What’s next? First, I encourage you to develop and implement a prayer system that is the foundation and sustaining necessity for all your other systems. Evaluate your systems and see how you can improve them to accomplish what you believe God desires for them to accomplish. Consider systems training and reach out to us for our materials on Prayer System and also Healthy Systems – Healthy Churches!
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Larry Barker
Director of Church Planting and Church Health Larry Barker submits a weekly column titled, Healthy Church Solutions, designed to strengthen and encourage the local church.
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