As a church planter I have had the opportunity to attend a variety of church planting conferences as a delegate and I have been a guest speaker at a half dozen seminars dealing with church planting. At all these conferences, the event coordinators make it very clear to future church planters that they need to have the right leadership team in place if they want their church plant to be successful. I believe the same is true for the church that is wanting to be rejuvenated. Leadership is the key to a successful turn around BUT it has to be the right leadership.
Just like the life cycle of the church can be plotted on a distribution graph, so to can the five types of people within any congregation. The graph to the right shows these groups and the percentage of people who generally make up each of these groups. Here is what each category means...
Innovators (2.5%): These are people that see a gap in mission and ministry and they think of ways to fill that gap. They can create solutions to problems others don't even see; they are interested in new ideas and are willing to experiment. Church planters are almost always in the "innovator" category, but in an established congregation the lead pastor may not be an innovator. If that is true of your congregation, then you have to look for the innovators and get them on your leadership team. Innovators are often seen as "the wackos" by the denomination because they think outside of the organization's box. (I'm proud to be an innovator wacko!)
Early Adaptors (13.5%): Early adaptors do not normally come up with new ideas but they are willing to try new things. These people like to see what the latest and greatest program is out there and then try to implement it into their church. If you can convince them that the new way of doing things is possible and beneficial, they will support the idea.
Early Majority (34%): These people have to see that the new way of doing things will work before they will participate. This group makes up a large portion of any congregation so it is important to get some "wins" under your belt before they will join and when they do join it will build momentum for the new idea to take hold.
Late Majority (34%): For this group to participate in any new venture they must clearly see that the new way is better than the old way. These people tend to like the status quo and leaving things the way they are.
Laggards (16%): These people will not be convinced that the new way is better. They remember the good old days, even if the old days were not that good! They never have fresh ideas on how to make things better.
I noticed that when the church growth cycle and the leadership distribution graph are overlapped that it gives a good representation of the type of leadership that is needed if a church wants to be revitalized. The innovators and early adaptors are important people in the dawning and development stages of any church. Since revitalization requires a church move from "decline" to "developing", these are important people to have on a leadership team leading a congregation in revitalization. The early majority are important during the late stages of development and the dependability stage because they like to see that things are done "right" within the church. The late adaptors are very good at making sure the church stays true to its beliefs and traditions while it seeks to reengage in mission to the community. Laggards are, well, laggards and will not really contribute to the process.
The important thing to remember is that God has put you where you are for a reason and he wants to use you, with the Holy Spirit's guidance and power, to help your church fulfill its mission.
If you are reading this and you would like more information of revitalization or if you would like my help leading a congregation through the process, please send a comment below.
Blessings.
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