Your church is a living organism. It breathes. It grows. It has ups and downs. And in order to keep up with our rapidly changing culture it becomes necessary to make changes within the church to improve its health.

Change within a congregation isn’t easy. The word change is often met with some resistance. But to continue the momentum needed within the church, it is inevitable. To be effective we must be willing to think differently about all aspects of ministry.

Fostering good change.
Change can stand for many things within your church – new growth, new ministry, even improvements in atmosphere. In order for change to occur effectively, it needs to be healthy.
The McKnight Group offers experienced coaches and consultants to assist your congregation with several programs and services addressing change, including; Church Health Assessment, Spiritually Based Strategic Planning, and Conflict Intervention. Each has been designed to help your church develop and maintain a healthy, vibrant, mission-focused ministry.

Church Health Assessment
Extensive research has established a link between church health and church growth. From this research, eight quality characteristics have been identified for healthy, growing congregations. Using this research in conjunction with the Natural Church Development Process (NCD), a McKnight Group consultant will guide you and your leaders through all phases of the journey. Evaluating the overall health of the church, identifying the best opportunities for improvement, and developing an action plan for implementation are all part of this process.

Spiritually Based Strategic Planning
A McKnight Group consultant works with the pastor and vision team to create and implement a strategic plan for the church’s development. Guidance from The McKnight Group includes establishing a vision team, assessing and describing current reality, developing and articulating the vision and vision path, designing a communications strategy, and initial implementation of the plan. This process includes a two-day visit to the church as well as monthly coaching sessions and email interaction for nine months.

Conflict Intervention
As Christians, we are guided in our response to conflict by what God teaches us in the Bible.  If we look at conflict as a way to provide opportunities to glorify God, to serve others, and to grow to be more like Christ, we can lead our congregation to respond with Biblical faithfulness. The McKnight Group’s goal is to assist the church in determining the cause of its conflict and guide leaders to respond with an attitude of reconciliation.  The scale and scope of our relationship in this area is individualized according to the specific needs of the church being served.  Our consultants are trained in this process by Peacemaker Ministries® (www.peacemaker.net).