God is into systems.
He organized the universe with systems. He established the measurement of time through a system. He formed the human body as a cohesive unit of systems. All the parts of the body — both the church body and the physical body — work together, allowing people to fulfill God’s purposes on this earth. And both of those bodies function best through well-developed systems.
A system is any ongoing process that:
Saves
You
Stress
Time
Energy
Money
…and continues to produce results. Good systems function under the surface to keep things running smoothly so that you can concentrate on more important priorities.
For example, you don’t have to think about the fact that your neurological system is allowing you to read and process this information. That system is doing its job, or you wouldn’t be able to understand the words in front of you. If you began to see a decline in your cognitive ability — if all of a sudden you couldn’t remember or analyze information in the way you always have — you would have to deal with the stress of knowing something was wrong and put a lot of time, energy and money into figuring out where the breakdown was happening.
You may not be aware of a system when it’s running well, but there is no mistaking when something isn’t working like it should.
The same is true in your church. Since the church is a body, it follows that the church also has systems working beneath the surface. I contend that the church is made up of eight systems:
- The Worship Planning System
- The Evangelism System
- The Assimilation System
- The Small Groups System
- The Ministry System
- The Stewardship System
- The Leadership System and
- The Strategic System
Each of these systems is present in your church, whether it is healthy and active or not. If you want to change your results in any area, change the corresponding system in cooperation with the Holy Spirit.
THE EIGHT SYSTEMS OF A HEALTHY CHURCH®
The eight systems of the church are interconnected. None of them can stand alone. And because a church is a living entity, the well-developed systems run whether you are thinking about them or not.
Just as you breathe while you sleep, strong systems operate without constant supervision. Still, to make sure all of your church’s systems are running correctly, you need to keep a finger on the pulse of each one. If you are disinterested or lazy about growing and maintaining your systems, they won’t produce the results you want. They will atrophy from lack of use.
There are simple ways to foster the full potential of your systems — and thereby the full redemptive potential of your church — no matter what stage each one is currently in. Whether your church is like a brand-new baby, just starting the journey of growth, or like a robust adult in the prime of life, its eight systems are in place, waiting to be maximized for life-changing results.
From a health standpoint, there are certain systems you should work on first to reap the fastest results. The key is to do something. Even if you can’t overhaul all eight of your systems right away, you can take small immediate action steps within each one that will move your church closer to the vision God has for it.
Your partner in ministry,
Nelson
P.S. If you found this article helpful, please forward it to others.
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