First posted at Christian Coaching Tools: https://christiancoachingtools.com/articles/are-you-ready-to-coach-large-churches/?mc_cid=251d951a16&mc_eid=7b0f72d7de
Large churches grow through a “front-door” approach. The key to its growth is what happens in the worship services.
A large church has a congregation of approximately 400 to 800 people. Leading a church of this size comes with benefits and challenges that, as a coach, you need to be aware of. It’s important to recognize that a church of this size means that there will be many moving parts and a lot of people the leader relies on to keep the church as an organization operating at full capacity.
Juggling the needs and ideas of this many people is very difficult. The more pieces involved, the more complicated the machine becomes; churches work the same way. However, a large congregation and staff also provides a large support system for the church. Here are some pros and cons of working with a large church:
Strengths of Coaching the Lead Pastor of a large church
Multiplicity of ministries
Numerous ways to get involved
Momentum for growth
Two obstacles marketing your coaching to a large church pastor
Credibility and confidence – a large church pastor is going to ask themselves: “Does coach _____ have the chops?” If you are lacking in either confidence or credibility and the leader senses that, you will not be hired. Be the best version of yourself and figure out how to grow in these two critical areas because the larger the church the more these will be scrutinized.
Challenges when Coaching the Lead Pastor of a Large Church
Challenge #1: Multiplying options:
Up to the “800 barrier,” churches can still get away with having a mediocre or poor small-group system.
Coaching to become a church of small groups
If 80% or more of the adults in worship are not in small groups then leadership needs to be more aggressive in developing leaders for small groups. Check-out the book “The Coming Church Revolution” by Carl George. In it, he provides a blueprint to make the shift from a church with small groups to a church of small groups.
The driving forces to make the shift is two-fold:
Provide excellent pastoral care
Develop leaders
Small groups provide the unique environment to accomplish both. As the small group DNA gains traction the result is a dramatic shift in the expectations of paid staff. Staff will be hired to develop and empower leaders versus, provide direct ministry to church members.
Key questions to ask about small groups:
What is your vision for small groups?
What percentage of your adults are in small groups?
How are you using small groups to spot, train and mobilize future leaders?
Challenge #2: Multiplying staff:
Up to the “800 barrier” churches can still get away with a small staff of generalists, but after the 800 barrier there must be much more specialization.
Coaching to develop a leadership pipeline
Everything rises and falls on leaders who are reproducing themselves in other leaders. This is the way leaders are developed. It can be accomplished through a number of modalities e.g. classroom, books, podcasts. However, the relational support of another leader investing in the development of another leader is a critical factor in the developmental process.
Developing leaders through coaching is a critical piece in the leadership pipeline. Help the lead pastor assess their leadership pipeline and identify the strengths, gaps, and deficiencies using a tool like the Leadership Multiplication Pathway Storyboard.
Key questions to ask about their leadership development process:
What is the vision for your leadership development process?
What’s working?
What’s not working?
What needs to be addressed?
What can you do that will have the greatest impact?
Challenge #3: Shifting decision-making power
Up to the “800 barrier,” decision-making power was becoming more centralized—migrating from the periphery (the whole membership or the whole lay board) to the center (the staff and eventually the senior staff).
Coaching to decentralize leadership
Help the lead pastor and senior leadership team move leadership authority and responsibility down the organizational chart. This is done by clarifying what the key issues are that only staff can make the final decision on and who in the organization can make other decisions.
Vision-related issues can only be made by the senior leadership team but less strategic areas like ministry plans, down to the meeting schedule of a ministry, can be delegated to others in the organization. Clear lines of communication, determining when a decision needs to go to the senior leadership team, and budget considerations that impact the entire organization are some of the issues that need to be discussed. The clearer these communication channels, the cleaner the execution.
Key questions to ask about their leadership development process:
What decisions can only be made by the lead pastor?
What decisions can only be made by the senior leadership team?
What issues are ambiguous and need more clarification?
Who is in charge of what?
What needs to be addressed and by when?
Challenge #4: More formal and deliberate assimilation
Assimilation, discipline, and incorporation of newcomers must become even more well organized, highly detailed, and supervised.
Coach to systematize the assimilation of new members
This is easier to say than done. This seems to be a moving target for a lot of churches because of the craziness of life. What was done over multiple sessions in the past has now been condensed into a few hours, perhaps in a one-time event.
What works today may not work a year from now. Closely related, monitoring the rapidly changing environment in which a church ministers requires an agile assimilation process. With the advent of on-demand content (for such things as explaining church and denominational distinctives), church leaders are rethinking the benefits and real areas of focus for in-person gatherings throughout the assimilation process.
Key questions to ask about their assimilation process:
What is the vision for your assimilation process?
What’s working?
What’s not working?
What needs to be addressed?
What can you do that will have the greatest impact?
Challenge #5: Changing the Lead Pastor’s Role.
The pastor becomes even less accessible to do individual shepherding and concentrates even more on preaching, large group teaching, vision casting, and strategizing.
Coach to help the Lead Pastor change roles
Positively, the lead pastor focuses more and more on those things that only the leader can do. Not one else in the organization is better positioned to do certain, mission-critical activities, like communicating vision.
Negatively, members need to adapt to the new restrictions placed on the lead pastor and permissions needed to have access to the office. And not everyone responds in healthy ways.
Helping your client process sensitive issues related to their role and responsibilities like staffing, conflict resolution, and energy management is a seat that you can sit-in as a neutral, third party coach. Large churches are unique and in the US are in the upper percentile of churches. Often, you are the only person that the lead pastor can talk to about these issues without fear of consequences.
Key questions to ask about their assimilation process:
Do you want to take your team on the disciple-making journey together? The Discipleship Collective helps you mobilize other disciple makers. Take the Disciple Maker Quiz to discover the habits in which you are excelling and the growth points on which you need to focus. Then invite other members of your team to join you. It’s FREE and you can use it as often as you like!
On the surface, finances might be healthy, facilities appear sufficient and staff are content. Underneath the veneer however there may be a high level of dissatisfaction – and reason for concern! What strategies do you use when coaching pastors of mid-sized churches?
Mid-sized churches give off an all-american vibe. Like the photo of a husband and wife standing in front of their family home with their 2 smiling children and a dog, all seems perfect—but there’s always more than meets the eye.
The Challenge for Medium-Sized Churches
The small church can accommodate amateurish quality because the key attraction is its intimacy and family-like warmth. But the medium-sized church’s ministries must be different. Classes really must be great learning experiences. Music must meet aesthetic needs. Preaching must inform and inspire. – Tim Keller
A medium-sized church could have anywhere between 200-450 people. Both the pastor and congregation of mid-sized churches like the benefits of a larger church with the sense of not being too big. However, this is an awkward size that comes with it’s unique set of challenges.
Coaching Pastors of Mid-Sized Churches
Resistance to change
Things might “feel” as though they are moving along nicely. But in reality, churches do not remain static; they are either growing or in decline.
Coaching to overcome resistance to change
The necessity to change may be low due to the appearance of health e.g. a staff-led church, well-attended worship services, children’s and youth ministries, etc. But the challenge is for the pastor and leadership to anticipate when the church is still in a healthy place, what they need to do to grow.
The real issue is the question of vision: Where are we headed? Where there is no vision people are frustrated and over time become rigid and resistant to new ideas. When you introduce vision, pay attention to the nuances of how to best communicate. Before you work on the “How?” it is mission-critical to clarify “Why?” and “What?”
Key questions to ask about their vision:
What is your vision?
What are you doing well as a church?
What can you prune to maximize what you are doing well?
Church Growth bias
Bigger is not always better. Being a product of our growth-by-addition, American church culture is sometimes contrary to the multiplication mindset that is exponentially more fruitful in the long-run.
Coaching to overcome church growth bias
One frustration that you will face while coaching medium-sized church pastors is the inability to grow through this barrier. Your client might aspire to be a larger church, growing into the 1,000s. There are valid reasons for this: diversified ministries, larger presence in the community and more impactful events to attract new church members. Another option is to plant a church.
Church planting has the advantage of helping leaders see that they are actually well-suited for daughtering a new church that could double or triple their impact with the added benefit of attracting and mobilizing apostolic leaders. Leaders of this caliber are attracted to churches with a vision for church multiplication. They are more likely to leave churches that don’t share that vision because they are drawn to a mission that will potentially reach people far from God that the existing churches are unable to reach.
Key questions to ask about church planting:
What ministries are developing leaders from the harvest?
How can you multiply the impact and not just grow by addition?
How would planting a new church impact your ministry?
Lack of Urgency
Pain and discomfort can be catalysts for change; however, leaders can fall into a lethargic culture by creating a false sense of security when things are running smoothly.
Coaching to overcome lack of urgency
“No pain – no gain” is more than a euphemism. It is a principle of change. Pain impacts the sense of urgency for leaders and the greater the pain a leader experiences the more open they may be to change.
Pain, discomfort, frustration are all strong motivators to change. It is sometimes better to wait until the sense of urgency is great enough to engage the leader as a client; otherwise they may not be as willing to adapt to their situation, acquire new skills or struggle. This is a delicate balance that you need to discern as a coach.
Key questions to discern the pain point:
What is draining your energy?
How can you increase your enjoyment in this area?
How will you hold yourself accountable to grow in this area?
Church of small groups
This is a case of what has gotten you here may not take the congregation there (meaning the next growth barrier).
Coaching to build small groups
With a robust small group ministry (80% or more of adults in small groups) you can coach leaders to address both leadership development and pastoral care. Maximize small groups to provide pastoral care. And utilize small groups to spot, train and mobilize future leaders.
The vast majority of pastoral care issues can be handled in small group environments through the loving relationships found within. Roughly, 20% require the expertise of clergy. counselors, or specialists that go beyond the skill-set, experience or expertise of your typical small group. So it makes good sense to invest in leaders to pastor, care for and facilitate small groups of all kinds. And use this important environment for leadership development..
Key questions to ask about small groups:
What is your vision for small groups?
What percentage of your adults are in small groups?
How are you using small groups to spot, train and mobilize future leaders?
Good quality preaching, music and equipping ministries
The quality is good enough for a medium-sized church but the challenge is real. Large churches will tend to be excellent in all three categories.
Coaching to develop excellence in growing ministries
A mid-sized church can remain medium by maintaining good preaching, music and equipping ministries; but to achieve the next category, the large church, excellence is more and more important. “Excellence” is an overused, loaded word. It can camouflage a plethora of issues. It can also be used to set a certain standard. That is how it is being used here.
Feedback is critical to attain and sustain excellence. Honest, consistent feedback is one of the strategic practices a team can apply to grow in the three areas. Caring and compassionate feedback with a high level of empathy can go a long way to move from good to great or medium to large.
Key questions to ask about raising the bar of excellence:
What’s working?
What is not working?
What needs to change?
Helping the pastor move forward
Another challenge is helping pastors adapt their own leadership to accommodate their vision for ministry. It’s important to revisit, confirm, and build excitement around that vision and then help them strategize the best way to move forward.
Key questions to ask a medium size church pastor:
What is your vision for growth?
How can you maximize each person’s gifts on your team?
Are there individuals on your team that are being called elsewhere?
Who else do you need on your team?
What are the most important things that you can do now for the greatest impact?
What’s one new initiative that you could introduce that will catalyze growth?
Do you want to take your team on the disciple-making journey together? The Discipleship Collective helps you mobilize other disciple makers. Take the Disciple Maker Quiz to discover the habits in which you are excelling and the growth points on which you need to focus. Then invite other members of your team to join you. It’s FREE and you can use it as often as you like!
There are wonderful things about working with small congregations, but just as with any church, there are potential pit-falls to be aware of from the perspective of a coach.
Do you coach the leader of a small church? There are so many aspects to consider as a coach, when beginning to work with a pastor of a church; denomination, location, culture, the responses of the staff and congregation … but size of the church is maybe one of the most definitive factors.
Where Small Churches Excel
Like house churches, small churches grow through newcomers’ attraction to the relationships in the congregation. However, in the small church it can also be a personal relationship to the pastor that is the primary attraction for a new person. The pastor can begin two or three new ministries, classes, or groups, as long as he has secured the backing or participation of one key informal leader. Together they can begin a new activity that will bring many new people into the church. – Tim Keller
A small church could have anywhere between 70 to 200 people.The majority of churches in the United States are in the 40-200 range. Three reasons this is so:
“Span of Care”
The solo pastor can comfortably lead and manage 40-200 people. Pastor’s who aren’t comfortable or knowledgable directing a staff tend to hit a growth barrier that keeps their church to a size they can shepherd on their own.
To break through the 70-120-200 growth barriers there are some changes in the way the leader operates that must be executed with intention and determination. Breaking through one growth barrer to the next requires a significant shift for the senior leader. Namely, instead of being the prime focus for all pastoral care, solo pastors learn to adapt and shift their behaviors to become a leader of leaders.
Coaching the Small Church Pastor
“Span of Care”
There exists varying views on the gift and role of a pastor. One end of the continuum is the “healer of the soul”… a doctor to care for the soul of people. On the other end of the continuum is the “leader of leaders” charged to win-build-send workers into the harvest. This profile might be a CEO or movement leader. Helping your client discern the type of leader they are, is one of the gifts you provide. Following are some questions to clarify their vision for the congregation they serve.
Key questions to ask a small church pastor about their vision:
What is your vision for growth and reproduction?
What are you doing well as a church?
What can you prune to maximize what you are doing well?
What do you need to change?
How do you need to adapt?
What are the most important things that you can do now that will have the greatest impact?
What will you actually do?
Facilities
Help your client to capture a realistic picture of the resources the Lord has entrusted in their care. Facilities embody a myriad of messages to the community the church sends, consciously and subconsciously. Location is an obvious one. Imagine a church in the inner city vs. the suburbs vs. a space in a strip mall. What does this tell you about the church’s vision? Size, style, condition, etc. convey messages that people receive about the vision of the leader and congregation.
Key questions to ask a small church pastor about their facility:
How well does your facility connect with the people you want to reach?
What message does your building communicate?
How can you accentuate the positive message?
What can you change about the negative message your building communicates?
How does the location of your facility help or hinder growth?
Growth Barriers
Epheshians 4:11-12 highlight the five giftings in the church: Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Shepherds, and Teachers (APEST). Apostles, prophets and evangelists tend to be strong on establishing churches vs. shepherds and teachers shine in their pastoral care and teaching roles, more more established works All five are necessary for health.
As leaders mobilize others in their APEST gifting it is important for the leader to adopt a coach approach so that they are able to multiply themselves to do the work of ministry. Releasing control by empowering others through coaching is key. As the leader does this, other leaders will adopt the same methodology as the pastor and will need to be trained in the essentials of coaching. This will ultimately create a culture of empowerment, expanding their circle of influence.
Key questions to ask a small church pastor about expanding their circle of influence
What gifts are currently represented in your core leadership team?
Which gifs are lacking or missing?
Who is the Lord identifying that has these gifts?
Who could you invite into your circle?
How can you mobilize others in their gifting?
Breaking through the Small Church Barrier
To break through each barrier the leader must have a determined, intentional, pioneering outlook otherwise, the leadership will lose focus.
Birth pains will accompany each barrier as the congregation leans into a new way of being. There are negative connotations and challenges innate to the growth process. Here are some questions members might begin to ask:
Does the pastor care?
Is it all about growth?
What about the good old days?
For some this is a natural and necessary transition. For others, it is not as natural and is more complicated. And still, others will have a more difficult time making the shift – and that is why you are so necessary to the small church pastor you coach.
Check-out these coaching guides and storyboards to coach leaders through the following growth barriers:
Do you want to take your team on the disciple-making journey together? The Discipleship Collective helps you mobilize other disciple makers. Take the Disciple Maker Quiz to discover the habits in which you are excelling and the growth points on which you need to focus. Then invite other members of your team to join you. It’s FREE and you can use it as often as you like!
House Churches are becoming more common. Are you ready to coach their leadership toward effective ministry?
The pandemic turned somewhat fledgling house church networks into burgeoning movements. Frustrated with growing disunity in the church but longing for fellowship, flocks of people banded together in small groups to worship and grow. Leaders of House Churches are looking for coaches to come alongside them as they scale their church for growth. If you are a coach to house church pastors or are serving a congregation in that capacity; you will find this blog helpful.
Where House Churches Excel
Simplicity rules!
A house church is under 40 people in size. This is a manageable size for a leader to create community. Healthy house churches measure fruitfulness in three areas: love for God, love your neighbor and make disciples.
Multiplication is a compelling, strategic option.
Functionally, when a house church approaches capacity the option to reproduce is clear. Cramped space is not THE reason to multiply house churches; but is a realistic option. A higher calling is to follow Jesus and reach more people with the gospel.
Low overhead costs for doing ministry.
Most house church leaders are co-vocational. This eliminates one very large budget item – salary for full-time pastoral staff. And a second budget item – facility costs.
Highly relational
Tim Keller said it well in his article, Leadership and Church Size Dynamics: “House churches grow in the most organic possible way—through attraction to their warmth, relationships, and people. New people are simply invited and continue to come because they are befriended. There is no “program” of outreach.”
There are subtle and not so subtle nuances that will make a difference when coaching a house church leader. Consider the following 5 challenges every house church faces and how you might come alongside them in each.
5 Challenges Every House Church Faces
Inward focus
One of the currents that leaders of house churches need to be aware of and combat is the consumer mentality of Jesus followers who transfer from an established church to a house church. Just like small groups found in larger churches, house churches can become overly focused on the fellowship of believers, forgetting essential obedience to the Great Commandment. Without the building, the staff, or the worship team, house church gatherings leave nowhere to hide as they focus on the spiritual growth of members AND work together to accomplish church goals. You, as the leader’s coach, can help them adapt and change to engage with each. The primary focus though is to reach pre-Christians with the Gospel who are seeking something that is relationally based and part of their daily lives.
Coaching Tip:
Provide a safe place for the house church leader to process their vision. Allow them the space to envision a movement that goes beyond a single house church. Help them unpack the values of their house church and let them hear themselves defend those and ask questions to challenge their assumptions.
Time limitations
Most house church leaders are self-funding. They either raise their own salary or they work a full-time job that frees-up time for them to serve in the house church. Reality is the time they have available to serve the house church they lead is limited and done in the margins of their lives. This is their reality. Your job is to help them maximize what time they have at their disposal.
Coaching Tip:
Does the leader have an effective project management system that works? A simple
Scrum Board can help them visualize what the top priorities are to move things forward. Break a large surface such as a white board into three columns and label them from left to right: “To Do”, “Doing” and “Done”. Use post-it notes to identify the tasks that need to get done and move them to the next column as they progress. This helps the house church leader stay ahead of the more important projects.
Accountability
Common among church planters is the desire to be different. This can be a positive motivator but the church needs the help of an outside voice such as a network or denominational leader. If the house church leader is not connected to a network, accountability might be a foreign concept or at least more challenging. It is important to help them establish those relationships, otherwise they may find themselves in an unhealthy situation that is to their detriment. For instance, what should a leader of a house church do when a strong leader challenges their philosophy of ministry? It can be helpful to access outside resources that can help them navigate conflict.
Coaching Tip:
Listen to the motivations a house church leader was that led to plant or pastor a house church. Everyone wins when the leader desires the Interdependent relationships a network provides. The house church leader wins when they discover like-minded people to stay connected. The network wins because they have another voice to speak into their culture. The house church wins when they feel part of something bigger than themselves.
Mission drift
Because of the amount of time required for a person far from God to enter into a house church and follow Jesus, evangelistic fruit will take time – perhaps more than the leader anticipated. During this lag time it is easy to get impatient, lose focus and get off track. All leaders need a nudge and again to be reminded “why” they are doing house church.
Coaching Tip:
You can serve a great purpose simply by showing-up for a coaching appointment. You are a reminder of the mission of house church leaders: love for God, love your neighbor and make disciples. Beyond showing-up, ask leaders to reflect on the things that can move their house church forward to achieve its mission. Listen carefully, ask powerful questions and be fully present to help them discern the things the Holy Spirit wants to bring to their attention.
Specialization
Care for children, youth and singles among other groupings is the holy grail of house church. Some do it better than others but the challenge is always present. Because every house church will have its own philosophy, for instance, children remain in the larger group vs. going to an age-appropriate activity in a separate space.
Coaching Tip:
The role you play as the coach is to help the leader apply the best strategy to address the issues. Remain curious. Ask questions. Allow the client to arrive at the approach that will work best for them.
Key Questions to Ask a House Church Leader:
What is your vision to grow and reproduce house churches?
What are you doing well as a house church in the three core behaviors of a disciple: love for God, love your neighbor and make disciples?
What can you prune to maximize what you are doing well?
Do you want to take your team on the disciple-making journey together? The Discipleship Collective helps you mobilize other disciple makers. Take the Disciple Maker Quiz to discover the habits in which you are excelling and the growth points on which you need to focus. Then invite other members of your team to join you. It’s FREE and you can use it as often as you like!
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