Table of Contents

Ten Important Steps To Building An Authentic Church

Good intentions, great marketing, and an abundance of resources cannot compensate for bad strategy. If God has invested His vision for the future in our hearts and minds, we can be assured that He wants that vision to be fulfilled. However, because He has chosen to use human instruments as the means to seeing the vision come to fruition, we must operate wisely in our pursuit of His outcomes.

Here are 10 perspectives that should help give shape to our ultimate proposal for the second coming of the Church.

Step 1. We must have a firm and accurate understanding of our business. Many churches have lost people and missed opportunities because they have misunderstood the business they are in. We are in the business of life transformation.

Step 2. We must know the competition for our target audience. Our competition is not other churches. Our competition is the universe of organizations, opportunities, and activities offered by the world that nudge a Christian lifestyle or Christian commitment out of the picture.

Step 3. We must anticipate, not merely react. A core principle of effective leadership is that you must try to stay one step ahead of reality. Those who evaluate conditions in order to dictate or shape the future course of events are truly the influence agents of their era.

Step 4. Before adopting a course of action, we must consider all possible alternatives. Because every action has a consequence, wisdom demands that we reflect on the likely outcomes of all potential strategies, selecting those that promise the greatest return on our investment of resources, in light of our values and vision.

Step 5. Effective change requires a detailed plan. Reliance upon the Holy Spirit for guidance is one of the fundamental principles by which we live; but the refusal to plan ahead, sensitively, is not so much reliance upon the Holy Spirit as it is testing God.

Step 6. Forward movement is achieved by building upon existing strengths. The church must identify its strengths and build upon that foundation as we restore the church to health.

Step 7. The church can be effective as the church only if it operates within scriptural boundaries. We must identify the boundaries of acceptable practices for the church.

Step 8. Creating a better future—the goal of vision—requires rational innovation. Innovation for its own sake is merely an exercise in creative disruption. Our task is to grasp and articulate God’s vision for our future and to facilitate the change necessary to create that future.

Step 9. Success demands that we think holistically. Organizations and individuals that make alterations without regard to the big picture run the risk of introducing change that is either counterproductive or inconsequential.

Step 10. Lean not on your own understanding. It is important to remember that God does not need us to accomplish any of His ends, yet He has chosen to work through us. We must be constantly sensitive to His guidance, which He gives to us through the Bible, experience, history, and direct revelation.

Adapted from chapter 7 in The Second Coming of the Church, Barna Research Group, Ltd., Ventura, California. Used by permission.