Church Management, Kids Ministry Structures, and the Problem with Efficiency
Two podcast conversations on church management, kids ministry org structures, and why efficiency is a more loaded word than it sounds
You would think that with my German heritage, I would be more enthusiastic about efficient systems.
Instead, I have a complicated relationship with the notion of “efficiency” as a value, especially in the church. I can certainly see the benefits. No one wants to be purposely obtuse and block efforts at effective ministry. But there’s always the nagging thought that our passion for efficiency says more about our post-industrial world and corporate managerial priorities than the ethics of Jesus’ upside-down Kingdom.
Leaving ninety-nine sheep to go and search for the lost one seems ludicrously inefficient. Who wouldn’t be happy with a 99% success rate?! What a waste of ministry time, energy and resources. Unless, of course, that one sheep matters to the Good Shepherd.
On the other hand, perhaps being efficient with our processes helps us to be slower and more intentional with people.1
I encourage you to let this tension play out in your mind as you listen along to this week’s podcasts, which are all about how we manage our systems and structures in church life and in Children’s Ministry specifically.
Organised Messiness - Shock Absorber Podcast
Joel McMaster, Stuart Crawshaw and I begin with a discussion about King Charles’s recent visit to the USA and how effectively he was able to wield soft power in front of Congress and in his toast to Donald Trump.
From there, we move on to the topic of church management and how to go about making changes in a complex and inherently relational system. That sends my brain bouncing off onto the topic of efficiency and corporate language, drawing on Andy Crouch’s concepts of relating to culture and McLuhan’s warning that the medium-is-the-message, or in this case, how the metaphor-is-the-message.
This is just the first part of the conversation. Stay tuned and subscribe for a future episode where we get more into the weeds of how Soul Revival Church goes about our own church management.
Listen to the full conversation in the links below or on your favourite podcasting app.
Fixing Your Ministry Structures
Over in the Children’s Ministry world, Ryan, Hunter and I also begin a two part episode. This week we’re tackling ministry structures like org-charts, role descriptions and how to recruit others into your Kids Ministry in order to make efficient (there’s that word again!) use of your ministry time.
Along the way, we discuss the theological principles behind multiplying your leadership team. It’s not really (or at least, not only) about delegating your ministry tasks. Rather, following the Apostle Paul’s directive in Ephesians 4, bringing others into your ministry team is allowing them to participate in the work of ministry that they have been called to do.
Check out the full conversation below or on your favourite podcasting app.
If you’ve got a question or topic about Children’s Ministry that you’d like us to cover on the Cross Formed Kidmin podcasts, send me a DM or leave a comment below.