{"id":31907,"date":"2022-09-10T15:48:41","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:48:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/5-strategies-for-implementing-successful-changes-in-ministry\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:48:41","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:48:41","slug":"5-strategies-for-implementing-successful-changes-in-ministry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/5-strategies-for-implementing-successful-changes-in-ministry\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Strategies for Implementing Successful Changes in Ministry"},"content":{"rendered":"
Javier Allegue Barros photo – Unsplash <\/p>\n

By Fran Trascritti<\/em><\/p>\n

Managing change is never easy. It\u2019s complex because people are complex, and navigating people through change can be extremely tricky.<\/p>\n

In a recent article, I wrote about helping to prepare your heart for when unexpected change arrives. Today, I want to discuss some principles that may be helpful for any leader in managing changes they initiate.<\/p>\n

1. Think it through. <\/strong> <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Take the proposed idea and consider it in the long term. First, will it advance the cause of the gospel? Is it sustainable? Where do you get the leaders and the workers from?<\/p>\n

This doesn\u2019t mean that faith is not an important part of the plan, but it\u2019s important to have a sense of a direction of where you are going. Most of all, however, bring it all before the Lord: \u201cA person\u2019s heart plans his way, but the LORD determines his steps\u201d (Proverbs 16:9).<\/p>\n

2. Gather support and counsel.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

No strategy can ever occur without gathering a group of people to inform, discuss, and champion the efforts. In Leading Change <\/em>John Kotter calls this work establishing \u201ca guiding coalition,\u201d where leaders can encourage and lead others to help set a course for change.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Proverbs 20:18a says, \u201cFinalize plans with counsel.\u201d Gathering support and counsel from leaders in the church will give you a safe place for feedback on ideas for change.<\/p>\n

3. Listen to other ideas. <\/strong> <\/strong><\/h3>\n

The truth is, not everyone is going to be happy about every idea. However, don\u2019t take resistance to an idea to be an \u201cus vs. them\u201d situation. Instead, be a good listener and actually think through what is being said.<\/p>\n

This means to be receptive, not defensive, being sure to paraphrase their feedback after they\u2019ve had a chance to speak. After all, people may not always agree, but it is important that they have felt that they\u2019ve been heard. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
See also  4 Changes I’d Make If I Could Start Ministry Over<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

4. Stick to the plan. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

No idea is going to be perfectly implemented and bumps in the road are bound to happen. But unless the plan is a complete disaster, stay with it. This isn\u2019t to say that tweaks can\u2019t happen along the way, but it can actually cause harm to a church if you change direction too soon or too often.<\/p>\n

You and your leaders have prayed about it, thought it through, and discussed it thoroughly, so give it time to work. By being patient, you\u2019ll avoid confusion and allow for a new normal to take place.<\/p>\n

5. Change the plan. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

So what happens if, after a while, the plan isn\u2019t working? Change it. Yes, that\u2019s right, change it, especially if it\u2019s clear that it simply wasn\u2019t the right plan.<\/p>\n

Whatever the cause might be\u2014a blind spot in your decision making, bad timing, or even that the idea was a bad one, simply swallow your pride and make a change. Go back to your leadership to consider alternatives.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s okay to admit that something didn\u2019t work, but be sure to take the opportunity to learn from it.<\/p>\n

Change and the reaction to change is difficult. Navigating through it involves time, counsel, patience, and a humbleness to be willing to listen to God and godly counsel. However, as you work through it, be encouraged\u2014Christ can be glorified in what you\u2019re doing as you make changes to reach more people with His gospel.<\/p>\n

FRAN TRASCRITTI (@frantras)<\/strong> pastored churches for over 23 years and now serves with the Explore the Bible team at Lifeway.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
Dig Deeper at Lifeway.com<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n

Leading Major Change in Your Ministry<\/h2>\n

Jeff Iorg<\/p>\n

FIND OUT MORE <\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Related posts:<\/h3>\n
What Do Pastors Believe About the End Times? What Do Pastors Believe About the Book of Revelation? 3 Ways to Reach Non-Religious People in Your Community <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Javier Allegue Barros photo – Unsplash By Fran Trascritti Managing change is never easy. It\u2019s complex because people are complex, and navigating people through change can be extremely tricky. In a recent article, I wrote about helping to prepare your heart for when unexpected change arrives. Today, I want to discuss some principles that may … Continue reading “5 Strategies for Implementing Successful Changes in Ministry”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31907\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}