Why Systems Matter
WHY SYSTEMS MATTER
I'm halfway through Charge Conference season! My schedule of visiting all 56 churches by attending three Charge Conferences on Sundays, two on Tuesday, and two on Thursday has me finding new routes to our churches in the district. To assist me in my travels, I depend heavily on Waze, the community-based traffic and navigation app on my phone.
I love Waze! I use the app every morning on my stop to Starbucks on the way to the office. To avoid traffic on Hwy 138, Waze directs me to the Parker Road Bridge over I-20. I also use Waze to navigate around I-20 eastbound, especially the Panola and Wesley Chapel exits (I’m convinced that word Panola translates to “slow down, fast!”). I’ve found several alternative routes to navigate the congestion through following the directions of the app.
Church systems are like that. All healthy churches help people to navigate from first-time guest status to becoming a connected disciple that makes an impact in the church and community. Healthy churches have the same five systems, but they may not look exactly alike. Below is an outline of the five systems that I will be talking more about soon. The five systems of Invite, Connect, Inspire, Serve, and Impact are similar to the Waze app as they help to navigate the process of how people become disciples of Jesus to make a healthy church and impact the community. Each of the systems has components that help a person to move from a first-time guest to a disciple who makes an impact in the community.
As your church begins to assess its systems, you will need to fine-tune your Kingdom Concept—an unique mixture of your church's strengths and the needs of the community. Developing a Kingdom Concept helps you to paint a future picture of where God is leading your church. The five systems of the church will help bring the future picture of how whom, what, when and where the church is doing ministry.
Sometimes a system, like a navigation app, needs an update. Maybe the systems you depend on at your church are not complete, lack a component or two, or have been neglected to the point of collapse. The District Office wants to help you rebuild. Which system does your church need to update? Which is system is missing? Whether launching a new ministry of discipleship or generosity or leading an established church into a turnaround and renewal, all systems build on the vision God has given you to the community around you.
Your systems may not look exactly like those of other churches. But if your systems are getting people from one side to the other side—that is what matters. And just as Waze requires drivers sharing real-time traffic and road info, to save people time and gas money on their daily commute, healthy systems will require people in the church working together to Save You Stress Time, Energy, and Money. If they are not functioning, then over the next year, we will guide you in building the systems that will work for your church setting.
If you want to know more about helping your church develop the 5 systems, please let me know, and I’ll be happy to share with you in dreaming, discerning, and developing your systems. Click Here to print the 5 systems of a healthy church.
On the Journey,
Quincy
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