It's tough to make these decisions. You have so much time invested. It's almost personal. For some leaders, it is personal because of the investment. But it's a process, not a person.

Here are some good questions to help you evaluate what ministries or parts of ministries may need to hit the wood chipper.

1. Who started the ministry and why? This first question won't apply to your core nonoption ministries such as ushers, greeters, children's ministry and so on. This applies to the unique ministries you believe God has directed your church specifically to offer. On many occasions I've asked a pastor why a certain ministry is in place and the response is something like: "Well, the former pastor's grandfather started it, and we just felt bad about stopping it." Sometimes knowing the history will help you in the decision-making process.

2. What is the purpose? It's so important to be crystal clear about the measurable outcomes of each ministry. It's true that most of what we do can be generally summarized to the purpose of life change. But you can also make the purpose of life change specific. For example, within your high school ministry, one life change objective may be to see some students called to full-time ministry. Or see the greeters team so engage with each new person that they want to come back even before they experience the worship service! Sometimes you need to get tough in your decision-making. If a ministry is no longer on purpose, and can't be turned back to that purpose, it's time to restart it in a fresh way or close it down permanently.

Dr. Mark Rutland's

National Institute of Christian Leadership (NICL)

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