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Take a look at your church’s structure

~ image by pandemin from Getty Images

The Michigan Conference is sponsoring two online events on the Simplified Accountability Structure (SAS) — one for inquirers and one for those already using SAS and needing a refresher — to help church leaders explore this model’s benefits.

REV. RON BROOKS
Coordinator for Simplified Accountability Structure (SAS), Michigan Conference

Structure is not sexy, but it certainly is essential. Just look at the tallest building in the world at 2,717 feet. The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is some 163 stories tall. I’m not getting on that elevator without a solid foundation under me. Imagine a body without the bone structure to support it. Can anyone say, “Jell-O?”

Structure matters, and that is especially true in the church. Structure means we have sound systems in place. A familiar business axiom says, “Your system is perfectly designed to yield the result you are getting.” Basically, if we don’t like our results, we need to examine our systems.

More and more churches across the Michigan Conference are discovering their current system is not working like it once did. They are unhappy with the results they see in their traditional structure, and they are looking at the single-board Simplified Accountability Structure (SAS) to help them get better results by changing how they are organized and functioning as a church.

The Michigan Conference is sponsoring two free online events focused on this model in early October. On Wednesday, October 2, 2024, I will lead a session for those curious and want to learn more. “Is SAS right for you?” will be held via Zoom from 10 to 11:30 am Eastern. Click to register and learn more. Register by September 29.

On Wednesday, October 9, 2024, I will present a second session for those already using SAS who want a refresher and learn the latest best practices. “SAS Check-up” will also be held online from 10 to 11:30 am Eastern. Click to register and learn more. Register by September 29.

Several factors are motivating churches of all sizes in the Michigan Conference to take a look and change their governance model to SAS. Here are five common reasons we hear:

    • Efficiency: The traditional structure requires the “permission train” to stop at several committees before new ideas or ministries can leave the station. This can sometimes take several months, and in today’s world, opportunity doesn’t wait. SAS helps churches make decisions faster, plus it frees up people from administrative tasks and allows them to move into impactful ministries. Two things churches that have made the switch have discovered are having more people in mission and making quicker ministry-driven decisions. SAS is more efficient.
    • Alignment: Most churches find themselves working in silos. One team or committee has no idea what the others are doing. Churches with alignment problems have scheduling issues, or resource conflicts arise. The different groups compete for power, funding, and staff/volunteer time rather than moving together to accomplish a common purpose or goal. Because SAS is a single-board model, it makes aligning a church’s ministries around a common mission and vision much easier. Think about beams of light being focused on a single point and the power of a laser, and you can imagine what can happen if a church aligns all its resources toward one goal.
    • Missional Focus: Somewhere along the way, we have lost sight of our purpose. All too often, we have become inward-centered instead of outward-focused. A change in structure to fulfill a missional focus is usually needed to move us out of that way of thinking and doing ministry.
    • Accountability: I remember years ago starting Growth Groups in a church. People loved the gathering, fellowshipping, and eating together parts, but when I asked them to hold one another accountable to things like daily prayer and scripture reading or attending church regularly, they balked, “We can’t do that.” Because volunteers run the church, we think we can’t hold one another accountable, so nothing gets done. We are the carriers of a Wesleyan theology. We have accountability hardwired from our history of class meetings and conferencing. Churches that want to reclaim this missional accountability find the SAS model extremely helpful. After all, “Accountability” is its middle name.
    • Adaptability: Our world is changing so dramatically and quickly that one of the most needed and crucial skills for the local church is to not just survive but thrive through the ability to adapt. The single-board SAS governance model is nimbler and better able to adapt to new possibilities and problems as they arise in the changing context of the church.

Does SAS interest you? Would you like to learn from others and hear how SAS has impacted their churches? Join me during one of the upcoming SAS events sponsored by the Michigan Conference. I’ll gladly answer your questions and help you discern whether this model is right for your church.

Register by September 29 for these free online events. If you have questions about the events or implementing SAS, contact me by email at [email protected] or by phone at 269-779-6131.

Last Updated on September 13, 2024

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The Michigan Conference