Leading Generosity through Assessing the Flock

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How often a church researches its own gifts and talents is rare at best. Barna Research reports that “Less than 1 percent of leaders report using a survey or other evaluation instrument to assess the results of their programs.”

Accordingly, some pastors do not know the true state of their congregation’s ability to manage crucial changes required for church growth. In a recent LifeWay article, Micah Fries noted that “a church that takes seriously Christ’s command to be and make disciples, and that invests in the necessary tools to evaluate its effectiveness, is far more likely to be a church where people are experiencing the gospel and where lives are being changed.”

The pastor is the key leader for assessing both the needs and the resources of the congregation.

Last year the Georgia Baptist Mission Board focused on communicating Kingdom Generosity through varied learning styles within the congregation, but this year the focus has shifted to “Leading Generosity” as a part of the Kingdom Generosity Podcasts. Pastors want effective tools to do real ministry, and there are many out there from which to choose.

This month, Buck Burch interviewed Dr. Rodney Agan of the Connexus Group. Agan holds a PhD in Communications and has been in the ministry for over 30 years as Baptist pastor and in executive leadership training on 5 continents. Although his assessment tools are being used by large companies like Chick-Fil-A and Marketplace Chaplains USA, Agan shared how a pastor can utilize a ministry version (Ministry Imprint) to discover better ways to lead his staff and maximize the gifts of his congregation. As a Georgia Baptist himself, Agan provides the assessment tools to Georgia Baptist pastors at a reduced rate.

For pastors who want to begin the journey of leading generosity through assessment, Agan suggests a dual approach.

• To understand how to manage interpersonal communications better on a pastoral team and to properly supervise the gifting needed for church leadership, pastors are encouraged to employ an internal tool for the ministry staff.
• To better mine the gems of congregational talents, Agan suggests a member survey that creates a broad dashboard for volunteer skill matching.

These are part of his Ministry Imprint model found at ministryimprint.com. Agan believes pastors should know the skills, experience, passions, spiritual gifts, and personalities of each church member to properly equip them to do the work of the ministry. This stewardship of congregational talent through assessment and placement helps the pastor lead his church to a higher level of generosity by maximizing gifting for greater effectiveness for the Kingdom.

These “Kingdom Generosity Moments” are updated each month, so this current Episode #1-2018 interview can be accessed freely for streaming or download here. Just click the link and scroll down to hear this month’s installment.