Engaging a consultation process is not to be taken lightly. No matter how good or gentle a consultant is, the fact that a relative stranger is coming to evaluate the church and to make recommendations is stress-inducing. Then there’s the reality that if you shell out good money for a professional diagnosis, prognosis, and prescription you will have to either embark on a course that means change (and congregational stress) or else flush the money you’ve invested.
Every consulting firm … and every individual consultant in these firms … approach consultations differently. However, they will probably ask for:
Church Documents: These may include your mission statement, core values, bylaws, job descriptions, written history of the church, recent newsletters, bulletins, etc.
Historical Data: This may include average attendance for worship services, Sunday school classes, small groups, budgets, expenditures, receipts/income, fund records, etc.
Leadership Surveys: Your church leaders may be asked to complete a number of surveys, provide job descriptions, and so on.
Congregational Surveys: Your congregation may be asked to complete a number of surveys, provide congregational demographic information, etc.
Community Demographics
Once the consultation begins, you can expect the following:
Interviews with the Lead Pastor and staff.
Interviews with church leaders.
Interviews with some congregational members.
Touring the church facilities and the community.
Presentations. Sometimes these presentations are for selected leaders, sometimes for all the leaders, and sometimes for the whole congregation.
In the end, you should receive a written report with the consultation findings. This report should include the recommendations and should also offer some sort of plan for their implementation.
What’s Involved in a Consultation?
Engaging a consultation process is not to be taken lightly. No matter how good or gentle a consultant is, the fact that a relative stranger is coming to evaluate the church and to make recommendations is stress-inducing. Then there’s the reality that if you shell out good money for a professional diagnosis, prognosis, and prescription you will have to either embark on a course that means change (and congregational stress) or else flush the money you’ve invested.
Every consulting firm … and every individual consultant in these firms … approach consultations differently. However, they will probably ask for:
Once the consultation begins, you can expect the following:
In the end, you should receive a written report with the consultation findings. This report should include the recommendations and should also offer some sort of plan for their implementation.
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