It is the total package that counts not just the hamburger.

The apostle Paul taught that the church is like a ‘human body’ where every member has a part to play. No part is more important than another. It is as the parts work together that the church will have health and growth.

McDonald’s success is not based on it having hamburgers that are superior to other hamburger sellers. In fact most people would rate McDonald hamburgers as very average. The difference is what is packaged with the hamburger – clean toilets, parking, quick service, easily found, consistency in product and collectibles.

So often we see trends in church that emphasize one part of church life above the rest. This may not be the intent of the innovators but rather the mistake of the followers. A classic example of this was seen in the ‘seeker’ service movement. Many churches put great effort in developing a service that would be attractive and user friendly to ‘un-churched seekers’. The problem for most churches who tried this innovation was that very few, if any, seekers turned up to their seeker friendly service.

Those adopting the ‘seeker service’ strategy had failed to adopt the full package. The seeker service on its own would not produce the desired result. For the seeker service to work it needed a whole range of other factors working together. Members needed to bring un-church friends with them to the service. Greeters needed to be coached in how to put newcomers at ease. Follow-up strategies that conveyed a message, “we want to be your friend” without being intrusive needed to be in place. Small groups that could quickly assist newcomers in assimilating into the church community were rarely in place.  

Innovative strategies that do not consider the whole system of church are bound to fail. Christian Schwarz’s model, Natural Church Development, provides a way for churches to measure and explore the different components of church. He says that the lowest performing area of church life will set the level of health and growth in a church. That in raising the quality of any characteristic of a church one must do so while considering the biotic impact on other areas. Schwarz’s model enables us to work in improving a church’s situation in a holistic way.

It is true to say that I have never met a leader who is not doing something useful. The problem lies not in what they are doing but more often in what they are not doing. A huge benefit of being in a coaching relationship is the ability for the coach and coachee to identify the gaps, those missing ingredients, that when added will bring greater success.

Franchising

A new franchise opens every eight minutes of every day in the USA. Franchises have a 90% survival rate after 10 years, while other forms of independent business have only an 18% survival rate. McDonalds is the ultimate franchised organisation. What franchisers like McDonalds to do is work out in detail what needs to occur for any new business to success.

The franchising business movement is based on one very important principle: “You reap what you sow.” You reap what you sow every time. Josh Hunt says, “Franchises have figured out, in the details, exactly what it takes to reap their desired results. They sow the required behaviour and expect and get the desired results, every single time.” He says, “…if it works in Atlanta, it will work in Dallas. If it sells in Chicago, it will sell in Sacramento, every single time. It is a law. God has said it. It will be done.”1

So often leaders in churches spend their energy recreating what already exists in other places. Instead of taking what is a proven strategy they seem to have a need to create their own. The problem with this is that creating new approaches, as necessary as that is on occasions, can be very energy draining and often overlooks important factors. When a leader employs a franchising approach it moves the energy of the leaders from the conceptual area to the details of implementation increasing the likelihood of success.

Hunt challenges the idea that all we need is broad principles. “It is not about a handful of broad principles. I wish I had a dollar for every time I have heard someone say that all we have to do is understand a handful of broad principles and everything will work out. It is not true. Success is not in understanding a handful of broad principles. It is in the details. They have worked out the law of sowing and reaping in the details. And so have doubling churches. They have worked out, in the details what it takes to serve people through a local church. Non-doubling churches, by comparison, are not as sharp”.

I don’t particularly like McDonalds but I appreciate the fact that they give evidence to the truth: that average people can succeed in business when they are give the right plans, ingredients and support. Most McDonald outlets are run and owned by average people who have decided they would like to run a family business. They succeed because of the plan and the support that is provided.

It seems to me that the church system should follow McDonalds example and give higher priority to assisting churches clarify their ministry plan and provide a much higher level of personal support to pastors and leaders.

1.      Josh Hunt, The Franchising of America, www.joshunt.com.

Franchising Ministries

Within church life there are some obvious areas that lend themselves to a franchised approach. Here is a list of some possible ministries where a franchised approach could occur:

Small Groups/Sabbath School Classes
Bible Seminars
Storm Co Events
Kids’ Club
Cooking Schools
Bible Studies
Kids’ Sabbath School
Family Life seminars

In order to use a franchised approach, leaders need to access the information from someone who has demonstrated success. By adopting a franchising approach you preserve energy that can be used for the “people” things that bring success. The more you perform a strategy the more effective and effecient you become.