For your ministry to break your next growth barrier, you must realize that all the ministries in your church are not created equal.

Some ministries need to be treated unfairly.

They need an unfair amount of your time and budget.

When it comes to the ministries in your church, look at what is the most effective and move your personnel and financial resources there.

For some, this means an honest evaluation of all the regular programs and ministries.

For others, you need to stop doing something that worked long ago but does not work well anymore.

When you evaluate programs, ministries, and special events, the keyword is not “good” or “bad.” It is “effective.”

Pastors and church leaders must ask, “How effective is this at helping us accomplish our mission and vision?”

There are a lot of good programs holding us back from doing great ministry.

Stewardship is about allocating time, money, resources and energy into what works best.

Breaking the Next Growth Barrier

Breaking the next growth barrier requires you must find your ministry hedgehog.

In Good to Great, author Jim Collins introduced the idea of the hedgehog concept.

While the fox knows many things, the hedgehog is focused on one thing.

Churches need to find their ministry hedgehog.

The key to growth might not be what you start, but what you stop.

There are ten things pastors can do to break down growth barriers in their church.

One way to break these barriers is to prepare for your guests.

You must do more than say we have a welcoming environment.

You must intentionally craft steps for people to take.

Breaking the Next Growth Barrier

Showing Hospitality

I Peter 4:9 says: “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.” 

Hebrews 13:2 says some of us have actually entertained angels without knowing.

So there is a Biblical mandate to show hospitality.

A church that’s friendly to guests is a church that takes the Bible seriously.

You have at least four opportunities to show hospitality to guests:

1. Your website should set expectations.

2. Your first impressions team should say, “Hello!”

3. Your church service should explain everything.

4. Your follow-up process should create conversations.

Pastors that lead their church through the next growth barrier create intentional processes.

In your church, what happens when someone visits?

If you don’t know, put a process in place and use the same steps every time.

Would phone calls, note cards, or text messages help people get connected?

Could you provide a personal guide to help new people make friends?

Are you leading people to one, super-clear next step?

Have you written down or sketched out your process?

Preparing for guests is one of 10 things churches can do to break growth barriers.