Why Consulting?

Five Reasons why using a church consultant is a good investment for your ministry by Aubrey Malphurs

Ever struggled with the idea of bringing in someone as a ministry consultant when you know that your “in over your head?” Ever found it difficult to convince a board or a church treasurer that you need some specialized help? While in seminary, I worked for a Christian businessman that regularly brought in a business consultant to help him with the operation of his company. As I look back on that, I realized the wisdom of such coaching and consulting. So did various leaders in the Scriptures-Moses had Jethro (Exodus 18) and Timothy had Titus had Paul. The following are several value-added features that argue strongly for using a ministry consultant.

1. A good church consultant has the experience, expertise, and time that your leadership staff simply doesn’t have. The advent of ministry learning organizations, the explosion of knowledge, and the fast pace of communication make it nearly impossible for a senior pastor or an executive leadership team to remain knowledgeable of new methods and ministry paradigms that God is blessing. In addition, projects that require new skills and lots of time bombard leaders almost daily. In today’s fast-paced, every-changing word, churches have difficulty hiring enough knowledgeable people just to keep up with normal, ongoing ministries. Strategic minded churches and other ministry organizations are increasingly turning to ministry consultants to help them fill the knowledge and time gap for the many special situations that arise. These consultants bring to bare their expertise and years of ministry experiences gained from other projects and other ministry organizations.
2. A good church consultant provides flexibility for their client churches. The typical church can bring them in for short-term knowledge acquisition, skills development, strategic planning, and other ministry projects. Much as Jethro in Exodus 18:27, they’re there when you need them and gone when you don’t. They come on the scene, serve your purpose, and then they disappear. Many also offer coaching on the telephone or over the Internet that is flexible to the leader’s time.
3. A good church consultant provides a fresh objective point of view. Most consultants have other projects under their belts and valuable experience in dealing with an array of ministry situations and leadership personalities. These provide them with fresh, unbiased approaches to ministry. This “cross-pollination” of ideas and experiences from other similar ministries allow you to tap into the brain power and strategies of those ministries. Often the pastor or leadership staff is too close to their situations to see the problems and potential solutions that a good, objective consultant recognizes almost immediately. In addition, the consultant doesn’t have to tolerate but can address any internal politics or power plays that some use to short circuit healthy, biblical change.
4. A good church consultant provides maximum ministry efficiency. There are three reasons why they can do this. First, they bring experience with similar situations or problems so that they don’t need to take valuable time to get “up to speed.” Second, Senior Pastors, other leadership staff, or volunteer leaders have to accomplish their “normal” assignments in addition to any special projects. To become knowledgeable and give attention to a special project on top of many other responsibilities is the proverbial straw that breaks the staff person’s back. Consultants, however, have the luxury of focusing all their expertise only on the special projects and assignments for which you’ve retained them. Third, they don’t have to deal with the church’s necessary, daily tasks such as attending staff meetings, returning phone calls or answering e-mails from congregants, “putting out fires,” and dealing with other policies and procedures. Armed with ministry tools such as the “storyboarding” process, they complete their assignments in one-half to one-forth the time.
5. When it comes to the bottom line, a good church consultant is more cost effective for the ministry organization. The question is which is more cost efficient, using a consultant or hiring a new staff person? Hired staff require a regular paycheck along with other benefits such as a health package, retirement, and possibly a severance package. However, consultants serve you much as another staff person without the additional overhead. They work with you on an as-needed basis. The ministry has the benefit of an additional, specialized staff person without all the added financial overhead that comes with new staff. A second vital question is can you afford not to use a specialist where you need his special expertise, especially if you’re “stuck” and the future of the ministry is “hanging in the balance?” If the project fails due to the use of someone “in house,” some people may not give you a second chance.
6. Finally, a good church consultant brings a solid grounding in the Bible and theology to the ministry situation. Ministry with and to church is deeply theological. It’s critical that a consultant have a thorough grounding in theology that he or she brings to your situation. We have discovered that good biblical, theological preparation is vital to the consulting equation. That is why the Malphurs Group only uses consultants that have been trained theologically in a seminary context.

*Shared with permission from Aubrey Malphurs, Dallas Texas.