In a monthly meeting while discussing the church history and attempting to identify trends, the new pastor asked, “Is this a trend? I’ll be out to supper with my wife, and a church member will come up to me and say, ‘Pastor, I want to introduce you to Bill and Jane. They used to be members of our church.’ Then I’ll be visiting someone in the hospital and the patient will say, ‘Pastor this is Judy. She used to be a member of our church.’ Everywhere I go church members are introducing me to people who used to be members of our church. Is this a trend?”

He posed the question to me, but I turned it back to all the members of the team sitting around the table. “What do you think? Could this be a trend in the church?” Within a few minutes they had identified a trend that had been ongoing for twenty years. Each time the church had to say good-bye to a staff member, they lost several families.

Looking at the history of an organization can bring to light evidence of trends that may have followed the organization. Trends will be evidenced in things we count such as attendance, giving, membership, and baptisms. Trends can also be discovered in the way a church is inclined to vote on church matters, or how they treat church leaders. Trends can emerge in how a church deals with political or social issues. It is interesting to surface trends and bring to a discussion of the church members or leaders as they may never realize the trend unless it is oftentimes brought before them from an outside observer.

It is important when looking at the trends of an organization to attempt to unveil any subdued or hidden causes or reasons. For instance, if a church is turning over pastors every three years, what might be the underlying reasons? It is possible the church is using seminary students, and the students are using this church as a steppingstone. It could be the church likes this approach because they do not have to pay a full-time salary to a long-term pastor. In other churches, it is possible there are leadership issues among the members of the church. There could also be a number of other reasons. When similar actions are taken on numerous occasions, a trend is being cultivated. Some trends can be good; others may not be lending to the good health of a church.

The important measure is to unearth the reasons for trends in the organization. Many church members and leaders are actively involved in the trends of the organization and may not realize the reason for the trend. Oftentimes the detriment of the trend is not realized by the church – until irreplaceable damage is made. This brings another viable reason to surface for including an outside perspective of looking at your historical eras and data.

What trends are prevalent in your church? Can you identify the good and detrimental trends?

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.

An effective/fruitful church organizational structure is the one that supports fulfilling the Great Commission and doesn’t hinder forward moving efforts. Many churches have an established structure, but not one that fulfills this purpose. Organizational structure should be set to serve your vision and culture. Therefore, it needs to be organic and dynamic, ready to change when God does a new thing.

Unfortunately, many churches have established a structure that worked well in previous season of the church, but it now no longer supports the needs of the church and community. Indeed, yesterday’s structure could even hinder God’s agenda because of its inflexibility. Without intention to, we can become ‘structure first’ in our practice and quench the Spirit’s work that He is wanting to do through us.

Organizational structure in the church needs to be like a wineskin, flexible according to the wine inside it. Wineskins can stretch according to the need, but the wineskin serves the purpose of the wine, and not the other way round. 

A fruitful church organizational structure includes:

1. providing a mission-centric framework.
2. Focus on the use of resources toward the vision.
3. creates space for culture to grow.
4. changes in line with strategic development.

If the structure is unhealthy or ineffective, resources will not be maximized, and the church will be program-driven, process, or politically led instead of being Holy Spirit mission-led.

Five keys regarding church structure to be considered:

1. A healthy church has a structure that helps the church steward a fruitful culture. A healthy church culture helps the church develop the beliefs and behaviors needed for biblical fruitfulness.
2. Healthy church culture is derived from values. Values are the seeds of culture and reveal what we believe to be right, Godlike, and best. They give us a framework for making decisions that propels the church forward in fulfilling The Great Commission. True values will always be manifested through our actions. Many churches claim evangelism as a core value, yet only one or two people share their faith. Evangelism is not a core value in many churches.
3. Values are carried out through the church’s biblical oriented vision demonstrating God’s heart, shaped by His words. and shared God-given passions in the hearts of the leadership team.
4. The mission of the (worldwide) church is to fulfill The Great Commission. Every particular church has a unique mission of how to fill their part of The mission. Mission answers the key question, “What does our church exist to do?”
5. Church strategy, the prioritizing of actions and activities that fulfil the mission, advance the vision, generate the culture and further develop organizational structure needs.

When these five characteristics line up, you have organizational alignment. If the church is weak in organisational health, then one or more of these is ineffective or in opposition to what your stated purpose is.

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.

When planning a vacation, what is the first ingredient of planning for you? Perhaps your first thoughts are of where or when. May I suggest there is one other element that must be considered first? Before the when, where, how questions are answered we must first consider “who.” Who will be traveling with you? Without the “who,” all other planning may be for naught.

I am a firm believer in using the same approach for ministry? Knowing who is traveling with you on your ministry journey is of primary importance. Having the right people in positions of leadership is crucial to getting started right and continuing on a quality course of ministry.

The right person for a particular position might not be the one with the highest qualifications or education and experience for the position. Organizations, churches, and businesses are littered with people in positions with no passion or drive for accomplishing required tasks. Someone with passion will overcome inexperience with his/her drive to accomplish required tasks.

Having the right people in leadership positions begins with proper recruitment. Here are two tips to consider when recruiting for any position: 1) Do not recruit in the hall. 2) Look for the who, people with capacity for the role needed

Steps to follow when your organization has a position to be filled.

1. Pray for your eyes to be open to seeing as God sees so that you will realize when the Holy Spirit nudges you toward a person. Not because you know the person has accepted before, but because this person has the capacity to undertake the responsibility of the position and spiritual warfare that may follow.
2. Contact the person asking for a meeting, not in the hallway, preferably in his/her home or at a restaurant for coffee.
3. Pray before the meeting. Pray for the proper wording to use during the meeting. Pray for an open heart for both you and the other person.
4. During the meeting be cordial and remember his time is valuable. Begin with casual conversation. After a few minutes, move into the reason for the meeting. Choose your wording carefully. Statements like, “God told me…” will kill the interview immediately and the likelihood of receiving a positive response.

Instead phrase your wording similar to, “I (We) have been praying about the right person to assist with our ____ ministry. After several weeks, we believe you have the right qualities to serve in this capacity. Would you agree to pray with me about accepting this as an act of service (to God) for our church?” Notice I did not use the terms position, job, or responsibility in this initial approach. Those terms carry a negative allusion to a burdensome task.

From this point you can begin to answer any questions the candidate might have and explain the responsibilities. Set a time for follow-up and his answer, about a week.

This format works and honors God more than the way many are recruited in the church.

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.

Fruitful teaching/training in the church is never directionless. It always points us toward holy behaviors. Fruitfulness is always evidenced in changed behavior. How is your personal and corporate Bible study changing your conceptual behavior about the following areas of life in today’s culture? 1) Life status? 2) un-Christlike behaviors? 3) idolatry keeping you from God-time? 4) Relationships and societal norms?

Proper, fruitful, biblical training should always produce changed behavior in all believers, even the most senior of saints. Unfortunately, in many churches we do not see changed, growing Christlike behaviors in God’s people. The word teach is defined as, “to impart knowledge or skill; to cause to learn by example or experience”.

Didasko, the Greek word used in the New Testament 84 times is translated in English as teach or teaching, is described as “the act of causing someone to learn”. The meaning goes much further than passing along knowledge. Facts and information do not create a learning experience. Behavioral change is the fruit of biblical training/teaching.

The definition of both teach and didasko use the word “cause” – to cause learning. How do we cause people to learn? The word cause is defined as, “Something the produces an effect, result, or consequence”.

According to this definition what teachers and preachers bring to the classroom and pulpit should produce a result. It should have a changing effect on people’s lives. If as teachers and as learners our Bible studies are not causing a personal behavioral life change, something has gone awry. To be a maturing disciple requires change, a change in the way we perceive and act in all areas of our lives. It requires a continuation in how we aid and serve others.

We’ve looked at teach, didasko, and cause, let’s look briefly at the word learn. Learn is described as, “To gain knowledge, comprehension, or mastery of; to acquire through experience”. More than knowledge learning is to gain mastery of. In a martial arts DoJo there is one person who is more accomplished in the art than anyone else. He is referred to as “Master”. How is your Bible study contributing to your mastery of Christ-like living?

Skill also appears more than once in our definitions. Skill is an applied ability. The only way to gauge the level of your skill is by applying that skill. It is the application of learned skills and knowledge that not only brings about behavioral or life change. Application is life-change. The very first time you sat in the driver’s seat of a car, you began applying the knowledge and skill you had learned.

Someone had to teach you how to drive. Your first time out may not have been the most graceful, yet from that point forward you practiced those learned skills, increasing your ability and improving those learned skills, thus changing your behavioral patterns.

Whether you teach in a church setting, a public school, or in your own family, Teach for Behavioral life change!

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.

“Most churches don’t have a leadership problem—They have a leadership development problem.” David Stokes. While instead of the word problem, I normally use the word issue, I do agree with his statement. A statement I have used in equipping settings for years is, “Every leader should be mentoring another leader.” If you are a teacher you should have at least one apprentice teacher who shares in the teaching responsibilities. If you are a class secretary, you should be training someone in those duties. It matters not how big or small your task, you should be mentoring/equipping another person in those duties.

While mentoring is a great component of leadership development, it is not a complete process. Even the way we recruit leaders in most churches is unhealthy. I have written and produced videos on this in years past. In most churches we recruit to fill an empty slot. The first person we can find to say yes is our answer. That person’s qualifications and giftings is seldom considered.

At one church I served the nominating committee went to Gail several years in a row asking her to teach in our children’s ministry. Each year she declined. Gail was a second-grade teacher in a local school. Therefore, to the nominating committee, she was perfectly fit for the task at church.

Gail on the other hand was desiring relationship with a different age group on Sunday. She was with 7-year-olds all week and longed for adult interaction for Bible study. In time Gail and two other women came to me desiring to start a Bible study for women. They already had the commitment for a teacher, Gail. They had the ministry plans laid out beautifully and the women’s Bible study became a very fruitful ministry to the women of that church.

A church’s leadership process begins even before the recruiting process. It begins with prayer. In chapter six of Reaching the Summit I laid out a better recruitment plan for churches, and people have noted, “You have prayer in every aspect of that process.” Indeed, shouldn’t that be true for every single leadership position in our churches. My friend, Allan Taylor says, “In the church, we recruit many of our own problems.” Without a prayer based system, our entire leadership development process is doomed.

What can you do this week to prayerfully enhance and enrich the leadership recruitment and development processes of your church?

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.

A biblical worldview should be an essential for a believer in Christ. Yet, it is not always true for every person who claims the term Christian. If you have been in church – in most Christian denominations, you have heard your many Bible stories. Through preaching, Bible studies, Sunday school, dramas, music and other means, Bible stories are laid out for us in various fashions.

We gain lots of knowledge of various Bible stories, yet knowledge alone does not a disciple of Christ make. I would assert that most Christians/church goers have heard their share of Bible stories yet have no comprehensive approach of applying the truths of this knowledge in their daily lives. Little David killed the big bad giant, Goliath. But what does that have to do with my work on Tuesday?

Many churches have turned to the theory of need for information, give them as much information and knowledge of what is in the Bible, verse by verse, with little application of God’s truth in life throughout the week. some without any application. I am not knocking any method of teaching/preaching, but if all we are giving is information, are we creating only trivia buffs? In the Great Commission, Jesus said “teach them all that I have commanded you” shouldn’t that include Jesus’ instructions on how to? Over 60% of Jesus’ teachings were application.

The knowledge of truth is essential, but so is application. A true biblical worldview must contain both. Many churchgoers can tell you stories of the Bible. Faithful believers can convey how the truth of biblical stories connect to their beliefs. But “how many can convey how they know the beliefs they hold are true?”[i]

Without being able to answer that last question, a biblical worldview cannot exist. That question is answered as we apply the knowledge of truth in our lives and experience God working through those applications. We must have biblical knowledge, be able to convey God’s truth of that knowledge, while also communicating how we know our beliefs are universal truth. This is developed over time through knowledge and application into an instinctual awareness of confidence in who we are and who God is. Only then will we prevail with a true biblical worldview. And that worldview must continually be groomed and grown with further gaining of knowledge and continual application in every aspect of life.

We are tasked in the Great Commission to assist one another in the continual attainment of knowledge and prevailing practice (application) in our daily living. Certainly, Pastors, teachers, and leaders have a significant role to play here, but Christ gave the Great Commission to each and every believer. You and I have a role to play in growing in knowledge and practice while also assisting others in the same.

This dually aligned equipping with knowledge and application is God’s only concept for developing a biblical worldview, which He desires from each of His children. What is your next step for gaining biblical knowledge and applying it in your life space this week?

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.

[i] McDowell/Wallace, So the Next Generation Will Know,pg 89

I recently read a statement saying that “So many young Christians are ill prepared to face the…challenges that confront them today…” My immediate thought was, not only today, we’ve been turning out ill prepared Christians for decades. Many Christians came through good, well-meaning youth groups without a secure, firm foundation. We learned the Bible stories and the difference between right and wrong, but what was missing was the strength of conviction to walk away from wrong – that which was tempting to each one.

Learning Bible stories and the difference between right and wrong does not a worldview make. Everyone has a worldview. Your worldview is the lens through which you see the world. Each person’s worldview interprets his/her beliefs, values of life, influencing his/her perception of his/her place in life. A person’s worldview also establishes his/her moral standards.

If we do not consciously equip not only young Christians, but ALL Christians with a biblical worldview, they will inevitably absorb the philosophies and practices of today’s culture as their worldview. Today we have a much greater amount of information at our fingertips and instant influencers through many social media platforms, internet, than any time in history. Every person’s worldview is being infiltrated every hour of each day with new ideas, questions, and challenges.

“People need a worldview through which they can make sense of this information bombardment.” Christianity offers a biblical worldview. A person’s worldview has been considered a mental map of a  his/her reality. A worldview does not emanate from the mind but from the heart, the very soul of all belief. Therefore each person’s worldview is our fundamental commitment to our known reality and daily practice.

Not only what we are teaching in church, but are our methods of teaching creating biblical worldviews? For at least the last five decades, the amount of young people walking away from the church would suggest that at least one of the two has been failing. Let me suggest the following practices for every age group in our churches.

• Teach for a clear personal understanding of God’s purpose for every individual and all human life.
• Return to clear instruction and sound, functional grip on the afterlife.
• Bring listeners to a vibrant perception of the greatness of the True, Living God.
• Train people of all ages in the difference between fleeting happiness and everlasting Joy.
• Help Christians create their Life Road Map based on scripture.

These five bullet points alone are not going to in and of themselves create a biblical worldview, but they are a step in the right direction, a step that we in church too often fail to accomplish.

What will you do this week to strengthen your biblical worldview and encourage others to do the same?

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.

In chapters 37-50 of the first book of the Bible, Genesis, we read the life story of Joseph. Joseph is a great example of someone who “rises above his apparent circumstances. First, sold into slavery by his brothers, Joseph stayed focused on the Lord – and he prospered to be in charge of the household of a prominent official, comparable to a governor of one of our states.

Then Joseph is wrongly accused of attempted rape. Accused by the wife Joseph’s employer. Accused by a woman who was trying to seduce Joseph. Joseph’s employer has Josephhas Joseph imprisoned.

Joseph rises to be placed in charge of everyone in this prison. Scripture says the prison officials did not worry with anything about this prison because Joseph was in charge. Later, Joseph is released to become the King’s (of this foreign land) right hand man, second in command of the nation of Egypt.

Lets look at three things to learn from Joseph to Rise Above Our Apparent Circumstances.

1, Remain True to Biblical Principles – Joseph’s faith did not quiver. He remained true to his faith in God and his biblical understanding. Joseph never dwelt on the negative of his situation. Instead, he searched for God in the midst. Wherever Joseph was, no matter what the situation he found himself in, Joseph gave his very best.

2, Use What God has Given You – It is easier to take the “woe is me” route as opposed to pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and rising above the apparent circumstances, isn’t it? Joseph could’ve taken the attitude of, “I’m in prison. This unbearable miry muck. There is nothing I can do for God here.”

Joseph did not wait for the day God would use him after he got out of prison.  He chose to use what God had given him in the situation he was in. He made a difference and God saw to it that he was elevated above the other prisoners.

3, Remain Confident in God – I believe Joseph was content knowing God was going to take care of him, in or out of prison. He dreamed of being second in command in this oppressive foreign land. Yet, one day he would wear the king’s signet ring. Joseph was a man of strong conviction. A conviction of carrying on through even adverse circumstances.

You’ve not been sold into slavery or placed in prison for your beliefs. The mire and muck of whatever situation you are going through, you can live as Joseph lived (each one of us can) and rise above those apparent circumstances.

Joseph was only one man. A teenager sold into slavery, later wrongfully imprisoned. Yet God used him to save and preserve not only one nation, but many. You cannot possibly know the great and mighty things God wants to do through your life.

Do you have the mind and attitude of Joseph? To do your very best for God in every situation?

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.

In recent posts we’ve shared about multi-generational relationships. While these relationships are important to reaching people of different generations, relationship building should never be viewed as a means to coerce others into our ways of thinking or adopt our practices. People of all generations are in need of relationships. God created us this way.

As discussed in another post building relationships requires us first to understand their particular cultural orientation. This does not mean we must like and adapt to their generational practice – i.e. music, dress style, their lingo or other habits. Yet, fostering a new relationship includes understanding where the other person is coming from. Example: Generation Z (Gen Zers), those teens and just now entering their adult years, research shows 75% do not want to let others down. The same number, 75%, want to make a difference in the lives of other people. Get to know and understand those God places in your path.

To be heard, we must first listen to understand regardless of the generation. To enter into a relationship each person must believe of the other person, “You matter to me. I care about who you are and your goals in life. I am willing to invest in you to allow you to become all God created you to be.” Fostering relationships with others begins with us. It is a common practice to wait for others of another generation to come to us. Yet, this is not a God-honoring, well-meaning practice. We, you and I, must be willing to reach out with a listening ear to show we care.

1. Perhaps the greatest teaching technique used by Jesus was stories. Stories paint a mental picture that creates a learning experience. Do not be afraid to use stories – yours and stories of others to foster new relationships with other generations (and listen to their stories). Expose your vulnerability through some stories.
2. Demonstrate Empathy. Empathy is the willingness to get into the mental and emotional feelings of another person. To earn the trust and respect required in fostering a new relationship empathy gives the other person permission to share his/her vulnerabilities with a sense of security. Romans 12:15 says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” This is demonstrating empathy.
3. Be an effective listener. Do not only listen to respond. Listen to understand. It is in our nature to key in on the first couple sentences and form a response. That is not effective listening and will destroy chances of fostering a healthy relationship.
4. Prayer is always a major source of fostering relationships. Not only praying for the other person but asking how you can pray for them. Include them in your prayer time, pray with him/her.

Certainly, these are not the only concepts for developing relationships. Pray and use your experience of what made other relationships work in your life. What are you looking for in genuine relationships? This is what others want too. Begin today praying for your role in fostering new intergenerational relationships.

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.