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What You Need to Know About Consultations …

By: Bill Tenny-Brittian

Want to know something almost no church consultant will tell you? A whopping 80% of all church consultations have no lasting affect on the church. That’s true whether a church calls a big “name” consultant, a “Church Health” consultant, a sticky church consultant, or any other style or brand of consultant.

The reason consultations fail isn’t because the recommendations are bad … it’s because the congregation is unwilling to make the changes necessary for long-term transformation.

Why They Fail:

  • Because some may not like or agree with the advice
  • Because some prefer things the way they are
  • Because change will make some uncomfortable
  • Because the church leaders are afraid of ruffling feathers
  • Because risk is a four letter word
  • Because the church consultant wasn’t from “our” denomination
  • Because the church consultant was from “our” denomination
  • Because the church consultant isn’t from “around here”

Why Some Succeed

    • They understand their current reality
    • They understand the need for change
    • They understand the cost of change – and the cost of not changing
    • They are willing to pay the cost of change
    • They have built a trust-relationship with their consultant

So, will a consultation really help?

That all depends on the congregation’s leadership. A consultation isn’t a quick fix and if the leadership is looking for a magic pill that will make everything alright, they’ll quickly find they’re the victim of the 80 percent statistic. We’ll look at what you can (and should) expect from a consultation in an upcoming post.

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