Whether your church is structured like the one I pastor and the pastor has freedom to make changes or if the pastor needs to go through certain steps, change isn’t always enjoyable. Most of the time there are some that will not enjoy change. Truth is, we simply want to make the church experience better for all. When a change is not considerate to those that contribute to the church then those that contribute will be alienated. These 5 steps will help those in leadership bring others on board and make the change a better for all involved.

Step 1: Be willing to scrap the idea if at any time it becomes apparent that the change is not in the best interest of the church.

Step 2: Put the idea out there early. You don’t have to have the details all ironed out. When a person has everything planned out they become married to the plan. It is difficult for them and others to change the plan. We put the plan out there early to give people a say. If the plan is already ironed out then no one else will have a say.

Step 3: Wait to implement the idea and listen. Very few changes in the church need to be made immediately; you can wait for a while. Sleep on it, and then listen closely to the comments of others. You will learn great insight.

Step 4: Have valid reasons for the change. Clarity will help make the change enjoyable to others.

Step 5: Make the implementation of the change with the option of reverting the change. This takes a lot of fore planning and isn’t always possible, but if it is, then make the change with the option of changing back to the way it was. If the change is destructive in any way then leaving it doesn’t make sense.

Listen to the podcast below for a deeper dive into this subject. Feel free to like us, visit us on facebook and share, and email us with your thoughts, questions, or just to say hi.