LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The need for new vision may be more prevalent than the need to resolve conflict, according to today’s church leaders. Vision is the reason more leaders cite as the motivation behind hiring a consultant. This new finding is part of The Society for Church Consulting’s (SCC) recently completed “Future Trends in Church Consulting” market study. According to Tom Harper, SCC president, the results of the study were often surprising.
“We’ve always thought conflict was the No. 1 reason church leaders brought in a consultant,”
After surveying 515 church leaders, the importance of church vision became clear. The SCC will release all the findings from the “Future Trends” report at its Church Consulting Summit Nov. 10-12 at New Orleans Baptist Seminary. The Summit will also address the issue of church vision with a workshop on the subject by Will Mancini, author of “Church Unique.”
Mancini works as a consultant to help churches hone their distinctive purpose and vision within their own communities. He finds his work coaching churches to be increasing in importance.
“There has never been a more viable time for the role of the consultant,”
Mancini referenced prominent church consultant, Lyle Shaller’s, 1995 prediction that the need for consultants would increase five times in the 25 years. “This has been true in my experience,”
The SCC works to train and certify church consultants through five levels of courses and a practicum. As the number of trained consultants increases, the SCC has found the number of leaders working with consultants is also increasing.
According to the “Future Trends” study, 51 percent of church leaders said they have worked with a consultant in the past. “That’s a much higher number than we thought,” said Harper.
The increase may be due to the results. According to the study, these consultants are proving very effective. “Some 70 percent of leaders indicated they were satisfied or very satisfied with their consultants,”
“When asked their perception of church consultants, only 5 percent replied they had a negative perception,”
About the Society for Church Consulting:
The Society for Church Consulting exists to revitalize churches, and to help healthy ones get to the next level. We train, equip and certify consultants. We prepare them and other ministry leaders to battle the decline in today's church. For more information click: www.churchconsultation.org
