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Avoid a Cascading Ministry Failure

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Avoid a Cascading Ministry Failure

Smithsonian Channel’s “Air Disasters” is must-watch TV in my home. The catastrophic incidents in aviation history are presented with reenactments, survivor interviews and cockpit recordings. But what’s particularly interesting are the insights that show what went wrong and whether or not the crashes could have been prevented.

Accidents sometimes occur after a series of unforeseen or unintended events create the conditions where flight systems, pilot training, safety protocols or mechanical parts fail. And very often, one failure is compounded by another and another producing what’s known as a failure cascade.

A cascading failure is “a failure in a system of interconnected parts in which the failure of one or few parts leads to the failure of other parts,” growing progressively with self-reinforcing momentum. One part of the network fails which triggers a flood of other breakdowns and failures. Then, each new problem gets magnified and grows exponentially as more pieces of the system fail.

Cascading failures in ministry often build for years under the surface and then emerge in some major event that produces a series of stumbles, missed opportunities and downside momentum. It could be caused by the unhealthy exit of a key leader, poor team culture, a difficult or changing community context, church conflict or a creeping sense of apathy and entitlement in the congregation.

When a church strings together a series of these challenging events, the danger of cascading ministry failures increases. And while churches and leaders bear some responsibility for this, it’s often true that unrelated and unforeseen situations come together to create the conditions for a prolonged breakdown.

And while the failure cascade is one possibility, that doesn’t mean it’s inevitable. What do leaders and churches do to stay centered on growth, spirit sensitivity and the Great Commission? They have:

  • Clear Vision — They focus on Christ-centered, missional objectives above everything else.
  • Personal Spiritual Discipline — Leaders who prioritize a heart connection with Jesus are less likely to experience spiritual drift and leadership insecurity.
  • Organizational Spiritual Discipline — A church with biblical preaching, teaching and doctrine will usually have strategies and action plans with gospel impact. Those congregations aren’t prone to complacency or lukewarmness.
  • A Heart for Discipleship — When a church makes disciples who make disciples, it builds the DNA of multiplication into its identity. That’s the very definition of a growth mindset.
  • Intentional Leadership — Leaders who watch for the signs of mission drift and sideways energy spent on second-tier distractions are a key guardrail for the small stumbles that lead to bigger issues.
  • Hyper Contextual Ministry — A focus on reaching its community keeps a church centered on the gospel imperative. Thom Rainer says it this way: “When a church ceases to have a heart and ministry for its community, it is on the path toward death.”
  • Effective Ministry Execution — Intentional ministry, solid planning and resource allocation ensure that what the church does matches what it says about the gospel. Growing churches don’t leave these decisions to chance.

So what’s the Big Idea?

Avoid a cascading ministry failure with a growth mindset centered on the Great Commission. Missional leaders and churches have clear vision, spiritual discipline, a heart for discipleship, intentional leadership, hyper contextual ministry and effective ministry execution.   

Resources


Sources

“Cascading Failure,” Accessed April 8, 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascading_failure.

Thom S. Rainer, Autopsy of a Deceased Church: 12 Ways to Keep Yours Alive (Nashville: B&H Books, 2014), 28.

Change the Environment to Change the Meeting

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Change the Environment to Change the Meeting

Early in my ministry life, I remember a weekly staff meeting around a large conference table in a cramped room (with fluorescent lights and leather-bound club chairs). At the time, I didn’t think much about the setting or the meeting outcomes, but in retrospect, I see how the two things are inextricably linked.

It’s clear that different rooms can often produce very different meeting outcomes. Perhaps you need to create a new leadership dynamic, cultivate a different kind of interaction, or facilitate a specific team collaboration goal. And it might be useful to tweak your team culture in some specific way. Whatever the objective, environmental factors play an important role.

Consider these scenarios and the problems they create:

  • The Capacity Problem — A large group of 40 people gathers in a room with a large conference table that only seats 20 people. The result? The other 20 people become second-tier participants in the meeting because they’re not at the first-tier table. The solution? Reduce the size of the meeting or find a bigger setting.
  • The Engagement Problem — A group meets together in a room with seating in rows and a lectern up front. The result? The leader talks a lot and group engagement suffers. The solution? Circle up and plan activities to “break the ice.”
  • The Formality Problem — A group gathers in a sterile room with tile floors, harsh lights, metal folding chairs and rectangular tables positioned in a square with a head and foot. The result? The formality of the setting impedes open conversation. The solution? Find a new room with couches and lounge chairs to encourage less formality and honest, open dialogue.
  • The Collaboration Problem — A large group of 45 meets in a room filled with round tables while the leader asks for group dialogue and feedback. The result? The leader does most of the talking and group collaboration falls flat. The solution? Form smaller groups with round tables and have table leaders give feedback to the larger group throughout the meeting.

These examples show just how much the environment shapes the meeting. It also tells us that meeting purpose is the most important factor in where you meet, who you invite and what you talk about—the meeting agenda.

Recognize that different meetings have different purposes: information, collaboration, planning, execution or vision. Depending on your objective, you’ll do best when you match the environment with the meeting’s purpose.

Consider these environmental factors that impact meeting goals and purpose:

  • Space — Is there enough space for everyone?
  • Furniture — Is the look and feel conducive for the meeting’s purpose?
  • Seating — Are the chairs comfortable and configured correctly?
  • Setup — Does the room setup contribute to the meeting’s goal?
  • Technology — Does the room have adequate sound and presentation tools?
  • Lighting — Is the room well lit?
  • Composition — Are the right people in the room?
  • Food — Is the meeting long (or early/late) enough to require coffee, water, or snacks?

So what’s the Big Idea?

Change the environment to change the meeting.

Resources

Scoreboards & Accountability

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Scoreboards & Accountability

If you’ve served or led for any length of time, then you’ve probably watched a key initiative come up short. Maybe a ministry plan was doomed from the start. Perhaps it was slowly and quietly smothered by competing priorities.

What happened? The whirlwind of day-to-day activities consumed most of your time and energy, leaving little margin for important and strategic things.

Ministry 4DX is the application of Franklin Covey’s 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX) to church growth and revitalization. It leads your team to execute on your most important strategic priorities in the midst of the whirlwind. 4DX includes:

  • Discipline #1 – Focus on the wildly important
  • Discipline #2 – Act on the lead measure.
  • Discipline #3 – Create a compelling scoreboard.
  • Discipline #4 – Create a cadence of accountability.

Create a compelling scoreboard. Since each ministry area or department has 1 or 2 wildly important goals (WIGs), it makes sense that each team will use a scoreboard that measures important lead measures for those goals.

The key idea is to take weekly stock of several lead measures, then show the lag measure they impact. Over time, positive movement in the lead measures should impact the lag measure (attendance, participation, etc.) in the right direction.

For example, a departmental scorecard for community might have five lead measures for new leaders and groups that point to one lag measure—attendance. The team’s time and energy is spent on the first five items with the expectation that average attendance will go up.

Create a cadence of accountability. Each ministry area or department can schedule weekly LAUNCH meetings to help create a cadence of accountability.

Typical meetings are no more than 20 minutes and include quick reports from everyone. Here’s a typical agenda:

  • Pray for each other.
  • What are the 1-3 most important things I can do this week to impact the scoreboard?
  • Report on last week’s commitments.
  • Review and update the scoreboard.
  • Make commitments for next week.

So what’s the Big Idea?

Use 4DX to execute on your most important strategic priorities in the midst of the whirlwind. Create a compelling scoreboard and a cadence of accountability.

Resources

Ministry 4DX, Part 1

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Ministry 4DX, Part 1

If you’ve served or led for any length of time, then you’ve probably watched a key initiative come up short. Maybe a ministry plan was doomed from the start. Perhaps it was slowly and quietly smothered by competing priorities.

What happened? The whirlwind of day-to-day activities consumed most of your time and energy, leaving little margin for important and strategic things.

Ministry 4DX is the application of Franklin Covey’s 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX) to church growth and revitalization. It leads your team to execute on your most important strategic priorities in the midst of the whirlwind. 4DX includes:

  • Discipline #1 – Focus on the wildly important
  • Discipline #2 – Act on the lead measure.
  • Discipline #3 – Create a compelling scoreboard.
  • Discipline #4 – Create a cadence of accountability.

Focus on the wildly important. Each team needs wildly important goals (WIGs). And because team focus is quickly diluted, it’s important that ministry departments and teams have no more than 1 or 2 WIGs at the same time.

Ask the question: What do you need to focus on above all else? For example:

  • Evangelism WIG – Train 1,000 people to share their 1 story, memorize 1 verse, and get their commitment to share with 1 person by 8/1/16.
  • Worship WIG – Grow the 11:00am service +45 by 8/1/16.
  • Community WIG – Grow LIFE groups +80 by 8/1/16.
  • Service WIG – Mobilize 150 people on short-term mission trips by 8/1/16.

Act on the lead measure. Every goal needs a measuring stick, but not just any measuring stick. Placing your focus on the right measure is one of the most important things you can do to improve execution.

What’s the difference between lead and lag measures? Here’s a quick definition:

  • Lead Measure – Something that leads to the goal
  • Lag Measure – Something that measures the goal

The key idea is to take weekly stock of several lead measures, then show the lag measure they impact. Over time, positive movement in the lead measures should impact the lag measure (attendance, participation, etc.) in the right direction.

Take a look at some lead and lag ministry measure examples:

  • Evangelism Lead Measure—1×3 Outreach Initiative Commitments—impacts the Lag Measure—Baptisms
  • Worship Lead Measure—Invite Cards Distributed—impacts the Lag Measure—Worship Attendance
  • Community Lead Measure—New Groups Started—impacts the Lag Measure—Groups Attendance
  • Service Lead Measure—New People Mobilized—impacts the Lag Measure—Missions Participation

So what’s the Big Idea?

Use 4DX to execute on your most important strategic priorities in the midst of the whirlwind. Focus on the wildly important and act on the lead measure.

Resources

Ministry Planning with OGSM

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Ministry Planning with OGSM

“Oh Great, (just) Shoot Me!” Those OGSM words have been heard more than once when a new strategy planning process is about to begin. Born in the fear and anxiety we feel about increased accountability and evaluation, that’s a natural response.

Of course, OGSM isn’t an abbreviation for “Oh Great, (just) Shoot Me!” It’s an acronym for classic strategy planning in four steps: Objectives, Goals, Strategies and Measures.

Start with the strategy planning pre-requisite—vision and values. Vision answers the question: WHY does the organization exist? A model vision statement is the one adopted by Willow Creek Community Church:

Willow Creek exists to turn irreligious people into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

Values are an outgrowth of ministry vision. They are a set of PRIORITIES that govern everything that happens in a ministry. Everything that you do—every event, program or initiative—will somehow address these priorities.

For example, a church might have values that clarify its priorities like this:

  • Prayer – Prayer is our foundation.
  • Worship – Worshiping together is important to us.
  • Missions & Evangelism – We actively share our faith with neighbors and nations.
  • Discipleship – We grow spiritually in small groups.
  • NextGen – Faith at home matters for the next generation.

With vision and a set of values in your pocket, strategy planning can begin. The OGSM acronym spells out a straightforward process:

  1. Objectives – WHAT will you do to accomplish each value? Typically, you will develop 2-3 objectives for each organizational value. Use WORDS for your objectives.
  2. Goals – What is your numerical goal? Develop a goal for each strategy, plan and objective. Set goals either early or late in the process. Set incremental benchmarks (short and medium-term goals) to achieve throughout the year. It may be useful to establish goals as a FINAL step in the process. Use NUMBERS for your goals.
  3. Strategies – HOW will you accomplish each objective? WHAT will you do? Develop several strategies and plans for each objective. Use WORDS for your strategies.
  4. Measures – What does success look like for each strategy? How do you MEASURE success numerically for each strategy and plan? Brainstorm several ways to measure success for each strategy and plan. Use NUMBERS for your measures.

Objectives usually have a “we will” structure. In order to accomplish organizational vision and values, your objective is what you will do to accomplish those priorities. For example, ministry values might lead to objectives like:

  • Prayer – We will seek the face of God and pray for spiritual renewal as the first step in total commitment to Jesus Christ.
  • Worship – We will give our best offering to God with a worship blend that celebrates the old and the new.
  • Evangelism – We will build relationships to introduce friends and neighbors to Jesus Christ.
  • Discipleship – We will reach, teach and care for people through Bible Fellowship and community groups.
  • NextGen – We will equip parents to raise godly kids and be spiritual leaders at home.

Strategies are the action plan for each objective. They answer the essential HOW and WHAT questions with strategic plans, tactics and details. Quantitative MEASURES help you evaluate a plan’s success or failure. Finally, GOALS are the objective stated numerically.

So what’s the Big Idea?

Establish an organizational vision and a set of values. Then write your strategic plans in four steps: Objectives, Goals, Strategies and Measures.  It’s the way you achieve more for the Kingdom personally and keep the organization aligned with the Great Commission.

Resources


Source

“What Willow Believes,” Accessed March 5, 2015, http://www.willowcreek.org/aboutwillow/what-willow-believes.

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