I agree with Dr. Gary L. McIntosh, that every church and every church leader needs to refocus from time to time! Every church needs to ask, “What sets us apart from other churches? What can our church offer to the community that is uniquely us?”
The truth is, that may be easier said than done. How can a church refocus? How can a church determine which ministries are unique to them? McIntosh says that it is helpful to categorize all the ministries of your church into one of four areas.
4 Ministry Categories
STARS: Stars refers to the most fruitful ministries–that is, the ministries that are responsible for bringing in the most new people or reaching the most people for Christ.
PUZZLES: This category includes the ministries that appear to be good but are not producing the results you think they should.
PLOW HORSES: The most popular ministries that do not result in many new people coming to Christ or to your church but which you must keep go in this category.
DOGS: The ministries that are draining your church of resources and produce almost no results go here. The church must deal with these ministries by retooling them, reinventing them, or by replacing them with stars.
McIntosh says that some churches find that they have zero stars. If that is the case, the church should focus on starting one new ministry each year for the next 5 years because new ministries tend to reach new people. Programs and ministries become less effective with age. New ministries are the most fruitful.
For more information about Church Revitalization, see the following posts:
Please contact the Church Consulting & Revitalization Team at the Kentucky Baptist Convention if we can help your church in any way.
Steve Rice 