Lean Churches

As church planters, we have things we want to accomplish. These are our goals, even if we don’t identify them as such. And when we have goals, we need to know when we’ve reached them.

This is where evaluation is essential. Evaluation is simply determining how well we’ve progressed toward our goal.

One of the key elements of almost every church is the Sunday service. This is where most new churches place a lot of emphasis, resources, and planning. In a real sense the Sunday service can “make or break” any church, but especially the new church that strives to lead people to love God and love others.

There are several key elements that are important in the Sunday service. One of the primary elements is leadership. And leadership evaluation is critical for the Sunday service.

We spend a lot of time thinking about the elements we have (or want) in our services: music, message, visuals, and so forth. But without the right people in the right places with the right equipment doing the right things, we won’t accomplish what we desire.

Evaluating leadership for Sunday services starts with people

Who is doing what?

In this area you need to evaluate to make sure people are not overloaded. They may be doing a great job even though they are overloaded, but it won’t last forever–something will give sooner or later. And if they are overloaded in their church roles, other areas of their life (such as family or job) are likely suffering from neglect. As a leader you need to be regularly recruiting new leaders to share the load. It’s part of your role in keeping “watch over” the flock (Heb. 13:17) It’s also part of your role in “equipping the saints for the work of ministry” (Eph. 4:12).

Evaluating leadership for Sunday services also includes functions

What do you expect people to do?

Having written responsibilities is important–it helps to ensure that everyone is on the same page. And rather than being restricting (like handcuffs), a written description keeps the leader from wondering if he or she is doing the right thing.

A written description also gives the person’s “supervisor” something specific to work from when evaluating that person’s leadership. (Even if the person is a volunteer, someone oversees that leader’s work.)

• Is the person doing the right things? If not, where are corrections needed and how can I help them know what is right? How can I help them get the training they need to do the right things?

• Is the person doing the right things at the right time? If not, how can I help them understand the importance of timing and how that affects others beyond themselves? What do I need to do to help them grow in this area?

• Does the person have the things he/she needs to do the work? If not, what is needed? Or, if things are needed that we can’t provide (such as quality video equipment), perhaps it’s an indication that it’s not the right time to utilize that element for your Sunday services.

The answer to these questions can help you determine if you have the right leadership in place. This evaluation can help you know what you need to do, including training the current leader or finding a new leader, to make sure the right leadership is in place.

You can neglect leadership evaluation because you don’t want to confront people or because you’re afraid of losing warm bodies who are serving in critical areas. But you’ll make it harder on yourself in the long run. And without leadership evaluation, the very church you’ve struggled to nurture will suffer (and perhaps die) because you chose not to do so.