Identifying the 'point person'.
We often speak about 'The Five Fold Ministry" in churches but struggle to know how to put it into action. Usually it ends up being kind of 'organic' whereby each of our gifting comes through in our personal interactions with each other. Our responsibilities in the church team, however, are driven by the institutional needs.
We often find people leading things that are neither their gift or passion. As a result both the ministry and individual suffer. This happens because there are 'tasks' that need to be done in the church so they get divvied out to everyone regardless of gifting. We love the idea of 'Five Fold Gifts' but are faced with the reality of 'many needs'.
The number one reason churches do not grow through conversions is because the gift of the evangelist is not released to lead.
To be honest, most churches are lead by pastor/teachers. This gifting is fantastic for feeding the flock and protecting them. But this gifting really struggles with engaging the lost, bringing them to faith, and working with them till they are established. They may like Timothy do the work of an evangelist from time to time but find themselves drawn to the leadership and pastoral side of ministry.
The first key to being a B1:10 church then is to ensure the point person for the B1:10 vision and implementation has the right GIFT SET.
Surely The 'point' should be the senior pastor?
Ideally...yes!
If it is the lead pastor, and they are passionate about the details of how to reach the lost, then the church will naturally reach the lost. Yet most senior pastors get weighed down with the admin, governance, and the pastoral work of a church which means that the B1:10 vision gets shuffled and often buried.
When I recalibrated CRCF a few years ago I lead the charge and was very focused on it. I was driven to recalibrate the church and in many ways this became my singular focus. Not every pastor is able to do this or is passionate enough commit this kind of attention.
So ask yourself if you are able to make this one of your personal key priorities for the next 12 months. If you can, and you are passionate about it, then as senior pastor you are the best choice.
But if you know you will not be able to give yourself to the logistics and time required to carry this out then let's find another person, with the right gift set, to be the 'point'.
A key team member from within your church.
Finding the right person who can carry this vision, promote it, and hold the church accountable will be crucial to its success. This person is most likely already serving with you in some capacity as a volunteer or staff member.
Here are some key things to watch for...
Do you respect them enough that when they suggest a certain way of doing things you will listen?
Are they the kind of person who you would even consider to send out and do a campus plant or church plant? - they have that kind of 'entrepreneurial personality'.
Are they able to stay focused on the vision?
Are they a mobilizer?
Amazingly, the best point people for this vision are not those who we would normally call an 'evangelist'. Personal evangelists are normally bold, somewhat socially awkward, and intense people. They can be overbearing for many. As soon as we think of reaching the lost we think of 'personal evangelists'.
Instead, however, we should be thinking words like 'team leader' or 'entrepreneurial motivator' or 'systems and goal orientated'.
You are looking for someone who is a team leader, a motivator, and a systems focused individual. They need to be very comfortable with reaching quantitive targets and they need to be good at communication. Their ability to be creative and come up with new ideas will make the difference. They need to be able to have a keen eye for evaluating what is going on and make tweaks and changes with the goal of being more effective. They can't be passive and accept mediocre results.
You could always hire.
This is a radical solution - but a good one.
It would mean changing priorities from hiring an associate or some other position. Yet few new additions will have greater impact on momentum and growth than someone who can successfully lead you into being a discipleship making church.
One thing to consider doing is hiring a ministry staff member who can take some of the roles off a current staff member who you want to head up the B1:10 vision. Sometimes it's a question of shuffling and reassigning so the right person is freed up.
Conversely, you could always hire an administrative or ministry assistant for your key staff member to increase their capacity to handle overseeing B1:10. Good leaders, with the proper support, can do a lot more than many mediocre leaders. And besides, it's cheaper to hire an assistant for a few hours than hiring a fully fledged minister before you are ready.
Use a coach or consultant
Coaches or consultants can have the same effect as adding a staff member.They can bring focus, creativity, and passion to the vision. I would highly recommend having someone external to your church who can speak into this area particularly if you are a smaller church. It is one of the easiest ways to multiply your effectiveness with controlled costs.
Conclusion
Getting the start right is huge and the right start is getting the right person in charge. If you believe in the vision then you need to invest in it and this requires freeing up your own personal time OR getting someone on board who can give the time and energy you expect.
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