The Components of A Vibrant Ministry Culture BY CHRIS RIVERS

The Components of A Vibrant Ministry Culture BY CHRIS RIVERS

I want to share with you a story that I think will connect to the culture development challenge that you may be facing in your ministry. Last summer, I bought a new used van. I didn t have this van more than a week before I wound up on the side of the highway, broken down, 400 miles away from home. Apparently, one of the components of this van wasn t working properly and I found out about it the hard way. Thankfully, what appeared as an expensive experience turned out to be just a funny story I can tell because after I called the previous owner, he reimbursed me for the trouble and within a couple days I was the proud owner of a new used van that we re driving around today! Much like that experience is the one ministry leaders have as they wade through the culture development challenge, except they don t have the luxury of being able to get their money back and start over. No leader wants their ministry to break down, but every day ministry leaders find themselves stranded on the side of road unable to take people on the journey of a lifetime! Transformation is a process, and as life happens there are tons of ups and downs. It's a journey of discovery - there are moments on mountaintops and moments in deep valleys of despair. Rick Warren

There are 4 components at the core of your ministry, that when working together properly, have the ability to change your culture and create clarity for your team. CULTURE CULTIVATION is vital in providing a starting point to knowing your culture, and it begins with defining your vision. You cannot create a culture without a clear vision. Understanding why you do what you do and consistently repeating this to your team will bring focused purpose to your ministry. Vision begins with a clear identity that reveals what your church can do best Will Mancini

As the vision creates momentum BUILDING FOUNDATIONS through unified systems and processes, will help you support your team as people leave, change roles within the organization, and as new team members come on board. Every ministry has processes that work in the background, and when they are working flawlessly, you don t even know they are there. Think back to my earlier illustration- I wasn t aware of the processes going on in my van, until there was a problem. When you build great foundations in your ministry, it eliminates any distractions that would take people s eyes off the vision. Process is greater than progress Perry Noble

Every leader knows, that people are vital when accomplishing the mission, but working with people can be challenging, and as you work with others sometimes their weaknesses speak louder than their strengths. When you begin to view your team members in light of their unique design you are able to create HANDCRAFTED TEAMS, where people are valued above tasks and strengths are leveraged for the purpose of the vision. According to Gallup, 70% of U.S. workers are not engaged at work http://www.gallup.com/services/178514/state-american-workplace.aspx

EFFECTIVLEY EQUIPPING is also a necessary component in culture development. Vision alone can t get the job done. It takes putting the right tools in the hands of your team to make this vision a reality. You can t do this alone, and as you effectively equip your team, they will be able to lead others to carry out the vision in ways you never could. "You don't raise up new leaders by telling them what to do - you empower them to do. There's a big difference." Ron Edmondson

When these 4 components are working together, they are expressed in everything you do which leads to IRRESISTABLE ENVIRONMENTS. Your ministry environments have the potential to communicate your vision louder than your Sunday message. They are the first thing that a guest will encounter, and it will be the impression of your environments that determine whether they come back again. When the components of my van were broken- I wasn t going anywhere. I was stuck on the side of the road. In your ministry- if these 4 core components aren t working together well, your environments will show it and your ministry might experience that stuck feeling. Every ministry environment communicates something Andy Stanley

A vibrant ministry culture is attractive. As you work to strengthen each of these components to create an Irresistible Environment, it will only be natural that people will want to get on board with you. It is in ANTICIPATING TRANSITIONS, that you prepare for people to join your ministry in a way that moves ministry forward efficiently. This is the process of getting people on board with your vision, keeping them there, and bringing their friends and family along for the ride. "You teach what you know, but you reproduce who you are." Wayne Cordeiro

As I have gone over these components take some time to think through these questions: 1. What can you learn from my bus story about how to deal with the challenge that comes with transferring vision to your team? 2. Which component speaks loudest to your ministry pain point? 3. How do you define culture? I would love to hear your story and your thoughts from this ebook. Consider emailing me at hello@culturebus.cc.