Life Cycle Background
An Australian, Phillip Jenson, outlined the life cycle for a congregation over 30 years ago. Jenson called it the Uluru graph based on the stages and plateaus making a shape like Uluru. Various versions and adaptations of the tool exist. This particular version grew out of a presentation by John E Kaiser and Paul Borden (Growing Healthy Churches, Hit the Bullseye 2003). It has been trialed and adapted to capture some of the unique aspects of Adventist Church life.
Understanding Life Cycles
- Church is a living organism, a body, and all organisms have a life cycle. Unlike the human body, church life cycles can be renewed.
- The further down the right-hand side of the cycle a church moves the harder it is to renew. However, at every point there are conversations to be had, decisions to be made and steps to be taken that can be a positive step for God’s kingdom.
- Decline is not inevitable. A church may go from youth to old age in a matter of years or it may last for many decades. An ongoing culture of renewal can become the nature of the church.
- Churches can continue to live at a healthy point at the top of the cycle, like a healthy plant. However, being healthy includes reproduction.
- As ministry context changes, including culture, people and resources, leaders need to continually reevaluate and explore creative ways to be a missional community.
- Being familiar with the whole cycle is valuable as many of the issues in later stages can be avoided with intentional focus at earlier points.
- The cycle applies to the whole congregations however can also apply to different ministries within a congregation.
- Most congregations do not fit the categories perfectly. However, one category usually is evident which enables a congregation to determine its current life cycle status.
- The first phases of a church’s life cycle are typically its most dynamic ones. During this time, vision and understanding of the church’s purpose are generally very clear. Morale is high and this helps draw people into participation. Changes are easily adopted and integrated into the church structure. Because of minimal organisation, there is spontaneity and flexibility in decision making. Structures are created in response to the needs, with the function of ministry determining the form.
- As the initial drive of establishing the church wears off, it generally institutes a relatively predictable series of ministries and structure. The zeal that was focused on the “why” of ministry is now concentrated upon “how”.
- When the church reaches it mature phase, the people, practices and policies are set in place. Change may be introduced, but the foundation has been solidified. Structures that are organized for security, predictability and safety end up taking precedence over purpose. This is the institutional plateau on which many churches rest for many years.
- Without realising what is taking place, a church gradually begins to find itself on a ministry decline. Current members have a poor understanding of the purpose of the church. This results in ministry being done “because we’ve always done it that way”. The plateauing of a church almost always involves increased bureaucracy, emphasis on maintenance and unwillingness to change. Most of the system’s energy is used in just keeping it running. Questions regarding the system’s effectiveness are seldom asked.
- If nothing is done to change the trend, a church eventually disintegrates into a period of stagnation and decline. Rigid structures prevent new ministries from being started and drive visionary leaders away to other churches where new ideas are accepted and implemented. Many churches enter the final phase of the life cycle unaware that they have begun a slow descent.
- However, at any point the right questions can inform the right actions and renewal can take place.
Critical Points
Point A – This is where the church plant is putting in place programmes/ministries to achieve the vision. When these ministries do not connect within the wider community the church already moves into decline.
Point B – The vision diminishes. People who have joined the congregation through programmes/ministries are attached to that ministry and think it is the vision. A new generation have never had the vision explained. The ministries still appear to be effective and are protected. Most churches do not have the evaluation systems in place that help identify the first steps of decline.
Point C – The church realises that it is in decline however instead of focusing on vision return to the ministries/programmes that were effective at the top of the life cycle.
Vision, Relationships, Programmes, Management
V = Vision
R = Relationships
P = Programmes/Ministries
M = Management/Structures