People Groups in Congregations Seeking to Discern Their Future

Part of the Spiritual Strategic Journey Series --Copyright 2024 by George W. Bullard Jr. November 6, 2024 Edition

People Groups in Congregations Seeking to Discern Their Future

When your congregation seeks to discern your future, it is essential to understand the people groups within your membership and fellowship.

Seven people groups participate in various ways in the life and ministry of a congregation. Each group has a distinct role in discerning your congregation’s future.

Understanding the role of these groups makes a crucial difference in the ability to move your congregation forward towards God’s full Kingdom potential. These groups are,

• People of Pastoral Leadership

• People of Passion

• People of Position

• People of Participation

• People of Passivity

• People of Perpetual Care

• People of Potential

These groups form concentric circles moving outwards from the center represented by the first category called the People of Pastoral Leadership. The number of people in each circle is a cumulative total of the circles within it. Two exceptions are the People of Perpetual Care and the People of Potential which are specialty groups.

People of Pastoral Leadership

The People of Pastoral Leadership include the senior or lead pastor, other ordained clergy, and primary program staff who form the Pastoral Leadership Community. As the initiating leaders, they comprise the core leadership.

They have the primary responsibility for casting God’s vision throughout the congregation, and to focus on fulfilling it. How these initiating leaders do their casting is an important characteristic of their leadership.

If they cast vision from their own perspective and credit it to God, then your congregation loses. If they seek to discern God’s empowering vision, then your congregation wins. Especially, if they include the  People of Passion and People of Position in the discernment journey.

The People of Pastoral Leadership represent approximately one percent of the average number of active attending adults engaged weekly for worship. (Note: the people in these descriptive words that begin with the letter “a” are called the Quad A’s.)

The average North American congregation has no more than 65 to 80 people in average weekly worship attendance. Often only the pastor is the core leader in smaller membership congregations. Medium and large membership congregations between 80 and 800 in attendance have one to a half-dozen in this group since the number is based only on adults.

In very large membership congregations of 800 to 2000 in average weekly worship attendance this could easily be six to 12 people. In mega membership congregations of more than 2000 in attendance this group can expand to between 12 and 24 or even more in the largest congregations.

Their contributions to the core spiritual journey of the congregation include,

(1)  a priestly role that focuses on the Triune God and each person’s spiritual encounters, growth, and ongoing discernment.

(2)  A prophetic role which calls the congregation to mission and movement.

(3) An initiating leadership role that fuels this movement within the congregation and throughout the congregation’s context as they unceasingly cast vision.

The People of Pastoral Leadership form the core circle of congregational people groups from an initiating leadership perspective. Not from a controlling perspective but from a leadership role. They lead the Spiritual Strategic Journey of the congregation.

The success of their leadership begins with their ability to empower the next two categories of people to join them in forming an Enduring Visionary Leadership Community. Not to convince them they are right, and others should follow their lead. Rather to join with them in discerning the empowering vision of our Triune God.

People of Passion

The People of Passion are a minimum of seven percent of the Quad A’s in your congregation. This circle includes the People of Pastoral Leadership circle, as each succeeding circle is cumulative and includes the circles closer to the center. This means this circle represents the one percent People of Pastoral Leadership, plus an additional six percent who are People of Passion.

This additional six percent have a contagious positive and spiritual passion about the future of the congregation. Their passion is recognized by others in the congregation. They are respected for their passion and willingness to act on their convictions out of a sincere devotion to God and to the congregation.

They are the inspirational leadership of a Spiritual Strategic Journey. They have no boundaries around their belief in the transformational work of God. They long for the congregation to pursue and perfect their full Kingdom potential. They think and act not inside a box, but outside, if not beyond the box.

They contribute significantly to the core spiritual journey of the congregation. They come alongside the People of Pastoral Leadership in casting God’s empowering vision. They express deep passion for the work of God within the congregation and its context.

They exhibit urgency and deep commitment to the spiritual journey of the congregation in the context where God has placed them. They have a critical role in nurturing the People of Position in the congregation to be captivated by God’s empowering vision.

People of Position

The People of Position are a minimum of 21 percent of the Quad A’s in your congregation. This circle includes the one percent People of Pastoral Leadership, plus the six percent who are the People of Passion. The People of Position are the next 14 percent or a tripling of the previous circle of influence.

People of Position hold one or more formal and/or informal leadership positions in the life of the congregation. They are visible leaders and often longer tenured members of the congregation. They are stakeholders and feel a deep sense of ownership, accountability, and responsibility for the past and present of the congregation. It is difficult for them to project the values of the past and present into the future.

The People of Passion can be effective in influencing the openness of People of Position to transition and change. Doing so is an art rather than a science. It is about creating a spiritual movement. Not simply arriving at a decision.

The People of Passion and the People of Position are not mutually exclusive categories. People with formal and informal leadership positions in the congregation may also have great passion for the past, present, and future of the congregation.

Many people with formal and informal positions in your congregation are already included in the People of Passion category. This is because they possess an inner passion to be embraced by God’s future for the congregation.

Enduring Visionary Leadership Community

Let’s pause and look at the first three people groups—the People of Pastoral Leadership, Passion, and Position—and absorb the significance of their collective influence.

The three together form the Enduring Visionary Leadership Community for the Spiritual Strategic Journey of your congregation. They function as the guiding coalition for the emerging future. They are called on to work in a collaborative manner.

If the Enduring Visionary Leadership Community becomes organized around God’s emerging future, your congregation will likely journey effectively in that direction. They clearly represent the necessary leadership.

It does not take a majority of your active congregation. It only requires the right 21 percent. Just any gathering of 21 percent is not acceptable. It must be the people who are perceived within the congregation to be the People of Pastoral Leadership, Passion, and Position.

The emphasis should be on the positive side of inviting the best people to be captivated by an exhilarating journey headed in the direction of the full Kingdom potential God has for your congregation.

Does this mean with the best people serving as the Enduring Visionary Leadership Community no one will oppose the new direction of the congregation? No, opposition to the Spiritual Strategic Journey may arise, but it is unlikely to derail the journey.

The Enduring Visionary Leadership Community contributes important elements to the journey. They provide empowerment, influence, and resources for the fulfillment of the  Spiritual Strategic Journey. They manage the resources of the congregation—involving people, finances, facilities, and the governance systems—in ways which embolden visionary leadership to empower the congregation to soar with its gifts, strengths, and preferences.

People of Participation

The People of Participation are the next 42 percent of the Quad A’s. These additional people represent the followership of the congregation who are aligned with the leadership. Frequently they are able to identify multiple people among the People of Pastoral Leadership, Passion, or Position who they trust as positive, spiritual leadership for the congregation.

They desire to be part of a congregation that provides spiritual meaning and a deep sense of community. They look to leaders of the congregation to provide inspiration plus programs, ministries, and activities that help them achieve this.

They often feel a sense of passionate urgency about the Spiritual Strategic Journey of the congregation. Yet cannot be counted on provide leadership or to fully understand the necessity for a full Spiritual Strategic Journey process.

In the core spiritual journey of the congregation the People of Participation are the willing workers. They respond to the call to Christian mission. To be people of salt and light in the congregation’s context. To be people who ask for leadership to help them figure out how to continually grow in the grace and knowledge of our Triune God.

In making these contributions they are steady and committed. They are positive and committed as long as the leaders with whom they identify are positive and committed in their involvement with the congregation.

People of Passivity

The People of Passivity are the remainder of the Quad A’s in the congregation. These people attend less frequently than active leaders or followers. Give less money. Are more likely to be involved primarily or only in corporate worship in the congregation.

Their current spiritual condition borders on being passive or casual. At one or more times in their lives, they were more actively involved and in significant leadership positions in one or more congregations.

They are at a stage of life where they make very little contribution to the core spiritual journey of the congregation. At the same time, they are people of worth and value created in the image of God to live and to love.

They have no proactive role in the Spiritual Strategic Journey of the congregation. They are not a factor that must be considered. They primarily hang around the outskirts of the congregation not really aware of the particulars of the journey. As long as the worship services and other aspects of the congregation are going reasonably well, they are satisfied.

People of Perpetual Care

The People of Perpetual Care are the people whose names are on the role of the congregation but who do not actively participate. Their attendance is noticed around Christmas and Easter, at weddings and funerals, and on special occasions in their lives or in the life of the church. You may also see them when out-of-town family members who are more active in their church are in town visiting.

People of Perpetual Care tend not to hold any church elected leadership positions. Give little or no money to the church. Do not typically make their presence known in the business affairs of the congregation except in the most severe crisis situations.

Yet they want all the rites and pastoral presence at baptisms, weddings, funerals, and in times of life-threatening illness.

Rather than contributing to the core spiritual journey, they tend to drain energy from the congregation. Their unanticipated requests for spiritual services often come at inconvenient times, with a sense of deep urgency, and a guilt motivation focused on the People of Pastoral Leadership.

They expect People of Pastoral Leadership to provide them with what they want—when they want it. In the midst of these occasions are great opportunities for the voice of God to be heard and the presence of God to be felt by these people.

People of Potential

A wild card group of people in a congregation are the People of Potential. They do not represent a concentric circle but are a swarming of people found among the People of Participation, People of Passivity, and People of Perpetual Care.

They are people who have a potential to contribute to the core leadership of the congregation. They have not figured out how to connect, where to land, or why they ought to become more involved.

They are searchers. They are searching for community and meaning. Often their swarming is invisible or unseen by the Enduring Visionary Leadership Community. Perhaps their ability to practice faithfulness to their spiritual journey within the fellowship of your congregation has been discounted or marginalized.

The Enduring Visionary Leadership Community should watch for subtle changes in the behavior of these people. Such changes represent an open door of opportunity. These changes can include an increase in attendance. An increase in financial support for the congregation and its ministry. Asking questions about the future of the congregation and how they can get involved.

For years church consultants and coaches have talked about subtle signs people show when they become inactive or getting ready to drop out or leave a congregation. There are also signs people are getting ready to get more involved in the congregation.

While they are making little or no current contributions to the core spiritual journey, often these people represent candidates for the next round of People of Passion or People of Position. Discover them eagerly. Nurture them lovingly.

Who Are the People of Potential?

People of Potential can be young adults who are professionals, entrepreneurs, or organizational leaders who have ideas and creative energy to contribute. They are adults who recently became parents and see the value of deeper investment of time and efforts in church life as a model for their children. New Christians with a lot of passion about their faith can have tremendous potential in a congregation if properly involved in a discipleship process.

New people who connect may have sharp insights into the effectiveness of the congregation. These insights have not been tainted by the culture of the congregation. Empty Nest adults who are looking for new places in which to invest their time may be tremendous People of Potential.

A similar situation is true for recent retirees. Particularly if these people take early retirement and have generous resources to fund their retirement. People who have had a new spiritual encounter or experience may be looking for places to invest their new passion and fulfill its meaning in their lives.

The Relationship Between the People Groups and Readiness for Transition and Change

Some years ago I heard the country comedian Jerry Clower talk about decision-making in his small-town Mississippi church that was governed by congregational polity. He indicated his pastor was a strong spiritual person who would sit in the pastor’s study at the church building, read his Bible, pray earnestly to God, and discern the will of God for the church.

Then the pastor would share his discernment in his sermons and Bible studies. If more than 50 percent agreed with his discernment, then the congregation would take the needed actions. If less than 50 percent were convinced the pastor was right, then no action would be taken.

Congregations are governed in various ways. Yet many people  say a majority of a congregation must be in favor of a new sense of direction before the congregation will fully embrace it. To an extent this is true.

Whether a congregation votes on major decisions, a board handles them, or the pastor declares them, it is doubtful much that is lasting will happen unless the full heart, soul, mind, and strength of the congregation is behind a new or renewed direction.

A strong relationship exists between the people groups and the readiness of a congregation for transition, change, and transformation. The Enduring Visionary Leadership Community, composed of the right 21 percent of the congregation, can effectively navigate the Spiritual Strategic Journey. It does not take 50 percent of the congregation. It takes the right 21 percent.

This is a freeing concept for many congregational leaders. They are trying to figure out how they can get the majority of what sometimes seems like an unorganized mob to agree on the future direction of the congregation. To discover that it only takes 21 percent who are the Pastoral, Passion, and Position leaders of the congregation makes the transition, change, and transformation journey seem possible.

When the Enduring Visionary Leadership Community is well formed and mature in their leadership, the congregation is ready to launch a Spiritual Strategic Journey that may transform the congregation and empower it in the direction of its full Kingdom potential.

Endnote:

Throughout this document the term Spiritual Strategic Journey remains undefined. A Spiritual Strategic Journey is the process for discerning a congregation’s future used by George Bullard in the place of long-range or strategic planning. For more information contact George.

Copyright 2024 by George W. Bullard Jr. November 6, 2024 Edition

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