Growing your church means that more community members are connecting with you and welcoming your messages. You see more friendly faces and forge beautiful connections with those looking to find peace through worship. Although inviting more people to call your church their own is exciting, you will face some challenges along the way.
Every church and leader faces struggles, and they don’t go away as your church grows. Overcoming these difficulties and adjusting to your new responsibilities will help foster a loving and welcoming environment that every member can enjoy. Here are some of the most common challenges of a growing church.
Not Being Available to Everyone
One of the most significant difficulties you will face as a growing church is no longer having the availability to connect with everyone. Although your church’s early days may have allowed your leader to meet with every church member, there will come a point when the demands become too overwhelming for one person.
As you invite more members into your community and need to meet new expectations or welcome new opportunities, you’ll need to limit your leader’s contact. You may need to hire more staff to complete administrative tasks and consider creating different spaces for your members to address various topics.
For example, you could have one staff member who connects with churchgoers to discuss new programs, highlight organizational ideas and express grievances. You could have another staff member who meets with other organizations to arrange parties, get-togethers and similar social events.
Rather than relying on your leader to take charge of every connection or issue, you will need to expand your internal community. This expansion will help your organization stay on top of tasks, impress your growing church family and empower your leader to spend more time completing meaningful tasks and making connections when possible.
Becoming Busier
Becoming busier comes with not being available to everyone. Even after limiting some tasks or bringing more people to your team, you’ll still experience an influx of responsibilities and become much busier in every aspect. With more church members, you’ll face more thoughts, opinions and ideas than ever before, keeping your to-do list long.
It can be helpful to invite more community members to volunteer whenever possible. With so many new faces and helping hands, you can certainly ease your workload but should expect additional administrative tasks to handle.
You can also expect to have more barriers when trying to work around schedules and obligations. Leaders often have hectic and challenging jobs, and this will extend to your additional staff members as your church grows. Implementing a church management system can make it much easier to assign tasks and ensure you handle the most demanding objectives.
Saying “No”
It can seem challenging to say “no” to your church members. You likely want to help every person you meet and get to know them on a personal level. However, a growing church means growing concerns and responsibilities, and every person may have a different idea about how to improve the church or the most important task to focus on. You’ll find many beliefs conflict with others and that completing every little thing is impossible. You will have to learn to say “no.”
With so many people offering ideas and suggestions, you may find it difficult to please everyone, and most of the time, you won’t be able to do so. You’ll have to learn when to say “no” and how to deliver solutions in the most efficient and pleasing manner.
People-pleasing can cause long-term issues down the road. It may blur your overall message, impact your ability to offer meaningful services or create burnout for you and your team. The more items you agree to, the longer your to-do list will grow, leading to an overworked and tired team with a daunting list of tasks they can’t complete.
You want to stay true to your religion and direction, which likely means saying “no” far more often. Trust your instincts and believe in your guidance when you need to make a decision. Ask your team for their input, and tackle every issue with the goal of improving your place of worship rather than pleasing every member.
Lacking Enough Space or Seating
Beyond the internal or mental challenges you may face, you will likely experience some physical barriers. As you welcome more members, you must determine how to fit everyone inside the building. If you’ve been operating in a small facility with limited seating, you’ll soon need to make an upgrade. Although some churchgoers may be willing to stand during your services, offering a place to sit will be much more comfortable and welcoming.
In some cases, finding a new property or expanding on your current building may be an excellent idea. Other times, restoring your pews is all you need to do to create a pleasant space.
Over the years, your pews will experience wear, making your seating options much less comfortable. Pew refinishing can restore your pews to their former glory and show your members that you care about them and their comfort. You can also save money for your church by restoring your pews rather than investing in new ones.
As a bonus, refinishing your pews is an excellent time to experiment with new colors or styles. You can brighten your space and create a beautiful place of worship that welcomes more guests to sit down and enjoy their time at your church.
Determine whether your pews need refinishing by looking for these signs:
- Capping: Years of gripping and standing can cause wear on the capping and show many imprints and faded marks.
- Upholstery: Torn, stained and damaged upholstery on the cushions and other areas can result from years of use, especially if you have many children in attendance.
- Kneelers: Scuff marks and other signs of damage on your pew kneelers can quickly take away from your beautiful pews after many times of use.
Be Proactive Against Church Challenges With The Keck Group
Growing your church is an exciting and beautiful time, but it’s not without its challenges. As you welcome more members, you’ll face increasing responsibilities, and being proactive rather than reactive will be a great asset. When preparing to grow your place of worship, a helping hand can go a long way.
The Keck Group has decades of experience serving small and large clients to help them reach their goals. We specialize in refinishing and restoring pews to their former glory to create beautiful, comfortable and welcoming spaces for your guests.
Our work has impacted many worship spaces. We’ve completed projects for churches throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions, and we’re always prepared to help. When you need pew restoration, rely on The Keck Group to deliver outstanding results.
Request a quote from us, and experience the Keck difference for your growing church.