I had the opportunity to attend the Sticky Church Conference that Suncrest hosted yesterday. This was a great one-day conference that was jam packed with ideas, strategies, and insights on church growth and leadership. I love going to conferences and soaking up as much wisdom and information as I can.
However, I always feel like I am drinking from a fire hydrant when I go to a conference like this. There is just SO much good information to take in; it is hard to process it all. That’s why I love the speakers that are very practical.
Because of this, I really appreciated Larry Osborne’s main session. He had some very basic principles that were universally important for leaders to consider. I took a lot of notes from his session, but these practical bits of insight were my favorite. In many ways these principles are “no brainers.” And yet these things can be some of the most difficult things to actually do! Here are my reflections on “Four Priorities” that Osborne laid out during his session.
1. Develop a healthy leadership team.
There are no short-cuts when it comes to training leaders. I think many churches and church leaders are impatient about getting instant results. But training healthy leaders and getting rid of un-healthy practices, traditions, and methods can sometimes take years. Healthy churches also realize that it is important to develop, equip, and train people that you already have. We must pour into our existing leadership. This doesn’t always have instant results, but it will have lasting results.
2. Shepherd the flock I already have.
As leaders, we often become so number focused that we often forget to truly take care for the people that we already have! It is often tempting to measure success strictly on numbers. But how can we have a good retention on new people if our core is struggling? No one likes to be used, and sometimes it feels that way if we are only focused on outsiders.
3. Become believer targeted but seeker sensitive.
I have heard many different thoughts on how “seeker sensitive” you should be. One line of thinking is that a “seeker sensitive church” may end up being too shallow. On the flip-side, if you become too deep you might drive newcomers away. I think (like with most things) there should be a balance. But I love the concept that he talked about that was, “we should EXPECT visitors every week—and not just at “special events!” This mindset will change how you communicate to people. For example, we may have to eliminate a lot of the “Church Jargon” that we all seem to “partake” in.
4. Foster long-term, Christ-centered relationships.
Obviously discipleship is important, but I believe that discipleship is always more effective in a relational context. At the beginning of Osborne’s session he said this, “The stickiest thing you have in your church is close and tight relationships.” People are more likely to stay at the church if they connect relationally with someone. This is why small groups are so important; they help connect people past Sunday morning.
As a guy who will hopefully be in full-time ministry soon–I love these principles! These Four Priorities should be values that every minister should have, and they should also dictate a lot of our goals. For example, rather than having a goal like, “Let’s have ___ amount of people at our special event this week.” Wouldn’t it be better to focus on, “How can this week’s event build relationships?” I think when you plan events with those types of goals and expectations you will often still get quality numbers. It’s just a different (and healthier) way to think. It’s the difference between being leaky and being sticky.
tim
