8 Characteristics of Healthy Systems

Because your organization is unique, there’s no way I can tell you specifically what systems you need in place to accomplish the vision God has for your church. I can, however, share some common characteristics of healthy systems that may point you in the right direction. With that in mind, here are eight characteristics of healthy systems for churches:

1. They empower leaders to accomplish ministry without always having to get permission. Without systems, every decision must go back to the senior pastor, the senior management team, the committee, etc. In his book Making Ideas Happen, Scott Belsky said it this way: “The more people who lie awake in bed thinking about your idea, the better. But people only obsess about ideas when they feel a sense of ownership.” Good systems will give leaders the freedom to make decisions within established boundaries.

2. They are embraced and championed by the top leadership. It does absolutely no good for systems to be established that top leadership doesn’t support and encourage everyone to use. If the top leaders can’t endorse the system, you’re not ready to implement the system.

3. They mobilize many people rather than leaning on a select handful of talented individuals. If your system is “Contact Sue for more information,” you don’t have a system. If your system is “Go hear John teach on the topic,” you don’t have a system. You have some gifted individuals. Good systems point people to next steps (processes, tools, resources, etc.) rather than specific people.

4. They simplify the path. The objective is to create just enough of a framework to make it easier for people. Good systems are intuitive. Typically, the fewer the steps, the better the systems. If you want to improve a system, challenge your team to figure out how to reduce the steps required. And, whatever you do, make sure your “customer” doesn’t have to guess where to go next.

5. They are established around key touch points in your organization. Think about your overall ministry. Do you want people to connect in ministry? Find a group? Communicate an event? Become a member? Join your staff? Those are all key touch points where people typically take a next step. Those are the places where you need strong systems.

6. They improve over time. If you feel like you have to wait until the system is perfect, you will stay stuck. You need to roll out the beta version. Test-drive it. See what works, and tweak the rest based on the feedback you receive.

7. They need to change over time. This is the challenge that many mainline churches are facing. They’re still trying to use systems that worked years ago but are no longer effective today. It’s a dangerous place when we start protecting the systems to the detriment of accomplishing the overall mission.

8. They are measured and monitored for trends. You’ll need to capture both numbers and stories. The objective, though, is to look at outcomes (life change) rather than inputs (church activities).

Good people using bad systems will never produce good results. Normal people using good systems can produce great results.

Tony is the Chief Strategic Officer and founder of TonyMorganLive.com. He’s a consultant, leadership coach and writer who helps churches get unstuck and have a bigger impact. More important, he has a passion for people. He’s all about helping people meet Jesus and take steps in their faith. Tony has also written several articles on staffing, technology, strategic planning and leadership published by organizations like Outreach Magazine, Catalyst and Pastors.com. Tony and his wife, Emily, live near Atlanta, Georgia with their four children — Kayla, Jacob, Abby and Brooke.