New Ideas, Old Church
Five steps for giving change a chance.
Todd Pylant
January 1, 2005
"Bull! This is all a bunch of bull!" Mrs. Abbott was somewhat displeased with my new ideas for children's ministry. Trying to bring change to an established congregation isn't easy. Our church was one of the oldest in our denomination. The church has practiced the traditional Sunday school model forever. It was the most sacred of cows. But the Children's Committee had an increasingly difficult time recruiting volunteers, technology was changing the way children learn, and our ministry needed a shot in the arm. Our plan included moving the traditional Sunday school to a workshop rotation model (see www.rotation.org), which prompted Mrs. Abbott's forceful comments. However, I discovered a gem through this process: there's a way to bring significant change to even the most historic church. Our church adopted the new children's ministry model with little fighting, almost no wounds, and a lot of excitement. How can this be? The gem I discovered was the "model for planned change," an eight-step model for navigating the murky waters of institutional change developed by Minneapolis researcher James Mason. I reduced the eight steps to five as I worked with the committee to bring the innovation to our congregation. 1. Look back.
The committee spent a great deal of time exploring the historic values of our children's ministry. We had always valued teaching the Bible to children in age appropriate and relevant ways, building relationships between adults and children, and reaching the unchurched. We highlighted these values and expressed them in letters to our children's workers and parents. Everyone needed to know we were carrying the torch of our past into the future. 2. Look forward.
While honoring the past, we faced the challenges of ...
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