It’s a simple question. If you could choose only one, would you rather have the right people on your team or have the right organizational structure to operate in? Both people and structure are two common reasons that churches become stuck. But if you could only “fix” one which one would you choose?

Structure

Your church is perfectly structured to get the results you’re currently getting. At the Unstuck Group we’ve found that it’s not uncommon to see a particular structure that has worked in the past eventually becomes a lid for growth. If you want different results then it may be time to restructure things at your church. As a church grows the need to restructure can occur multiple times in the life of a church. The way the church board operates, the way the staff operates, the polity of a church, and the way a church budgets can all become lids to growth if they don’t change over time as the church changes.

People

In church-world we’re quicker to place blame for a church being stuck at the feet of a particular person. It’s easier to see and diagnose. It’s clear that people (a leader) can become a lid to the growth of a church. It’s a rare leader who can lead a church through sustained growth over a long period of time. Few leaders are sober minded enough to build a team that compliments their gifting, continue to develop as a leader over time, or understand that the church needs something different from the leader in various seasons and sizes.

If it were up to me I’d choose the right people every time. If you get the people right everything else seems to follow suit. The right people will make the right decisions and build the right structures. After all, the Sabbath was made for man not the other way around.