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.
