Often churches get caught up with business-as-usual and do not allow themselves times of reflection and renewal. When certain triggers start to occur, such as declining numbers or lack of programming support, a church can significantly benefit from having persons from the outside provide a multi-level assessment of the congregation. HGC uses a consultation approach developed by a number of coaches and consultants and refined through each experience.
In simple terms, a church consultation focuses on assessing the health of a local church (using outward focused measures), identifying a detailed growth (or turn-around) plan; and coaching follow-up and accountability measures for the pastor and church leaders. While the actual consultation usually takes place over a weekend, there is a significant amount of preparatory work done by HGC and the church. Please note that this framework is just a framework. Every church is unique. Therefore, while we have a standard approach, we leave an appropriate and reasonable amount of flexibility in the process to accommodate specific situations and requests.
Here are some highlights of HGC's Consultation process:
- The Evaluation - The Church leader and a team completes HGC's congregational self-study at least one month prior to the weekend meeting. (There are exceptions if a crisis exists.) In addition, HGC conducts a variety of strengths-based personality assessments on the pastor and their spouse. (Other church leaders and staff members can also be assessed.) HGC will run in-depth demographic information to augment the material provided by the congregation.
- The Official Visit - HGC brings a team of at least two consultants to the church for meetings and training. It starts on a Friday with interviews and focus group meetings. Saturday mornings are typically devoted to time with leadership boards. There is afternoon training on church life cycles is for the congregation at-large. On Sunday morning, the HGC lead consultant meets with the pastor to review initial findings before presenting them to the Church during the morning message. Following the worship service, there is time for questions-and-answers.
- Determining Next Steps - HGC recommends that within two weeks after the official visit, the church pastor and leaders meet to discuss reaction to the recommendations presented by HGC. The HGC consultation team remains available to discuss those recommendations and other matters related to the consultation. If the church would like to further engage HGC toward the implementation of the recommendations, a covenant agreement begins to be developed.
HGC can also help churches will less invasive approaches, depending on the needs.