FUNCTIONAL STRUCTURES. Andy Stanley at Catalyst last year addressed some of these issues in relation to Systems. Every church has a structure. Some good, some not so good. If your structures are such that they bog you down in minute activity then you need to look at change.

Good structures should be measured by your Values, Vision, Mission, and ultimately the Outcomes you hope to achieve. If a program or ministry is not meeting these criteria then you need to reconsider what you are doing.

Structure is a constant process of evaluating, planning, and implementing systems you need to add or subtract. Think in terms of being able to REMOVE things that are not producing the results you wanted. PRUNING and refining to other programs that may meet your criteria. Finally RESHAPING, making a good program or team better.

 Ken Hemphill wrote a book several years ago, The Bonzai Theory of Church Growth. In the book he describes how a professional can take a normal tree and reduce it to a small pot. The tree may be dozens of years old and even producing fruit but be contained in the same pot it began in. I am afraid that a lot of church plants are like the Bonzai Tree, the structures are keeping you small. Get out of the pot. Develop structures that take you to the next level. You might even want a professional consultant help you look at your systems to help you determine what is keeping you small. Grow up and out!