6 Symptoms your Church has Ministry Silos

Jan 18, 2015

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Ministry Silos are one of the most common symptoms I find in churches that are stuck. Most churches don’t want to admit that they have silos. But admit it or not, the majority of churches have silos. It’s actually a natural easy drift that most churches make towards ministry silos. I wrote about this in a post: “What if Home Depot Functioned like a Church?”

Ministry Silos = multiple independent ministries operating under one roof

But how do you know if you have ministry silos at your church? You probably have ministry silos at your church if…

1. Each Ministry has their own Vision & Values Statements

If each ministry is chasing it’s own vision and developing it’s own organizational values; then you’ve got ministry silos.

2. You Frequently hear the word “My Ministry” in Meetings

If you hear the words, “my ministry, my budget, my volunteers, my rooms,” etc.; then you’ve got ministry silos.

3. There is no Coordinated Calendaring Process

If every ministry has their own independent calendar and there are consistent conflicts when it comes to using facility space, announcements, and other church resources; then you’ve got ministry silos.

4. No one is Sharing Best Practices

If each ministry is building their guest experience, discipleship process, missions experiences, and volunteer process (among other things) uniquely and independently from one another; you’ve got ministry silos.

5. There is no Coordinated Budgeting Process

If each ministry is coming up with their own budget independently of each other instead of working together and sacrificing for what is best for the vision of the church; then you’ve got ministry silos.

6. Each Ministry has their own Brand

If each ministry has it’s own cool name, logo, t-shirts, websites, and promotional material that look like their from different organizations instead of from the same church; then you’ve got ministry silos.

What else would you add to the list?

Your team can use this list at your next team meeting to begin evaluating where your church is at when it comes to ministry silos. Then use this post: “Tearing Down Ministry Silos” to help you begin taking your next steps.

Want help addressing the dysfunction of ministry silos at your church? At the Unstuck Group we’ve helped some of the fastest growing and most innovative churches in the country get unstuck. We can help you too.

Photo Credit: dawn_perry via Compfight cc

Comments

One response to “6 Symptoms your Church has Ministry Silos”

Mason Stanley

February 6, 2015

Love this post!

Just finished “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” and this post immediately brought me back to the book’s principles.

I’ve seen silos formed when leaders/pastors have direct report meetings where they discuss aspects of ministry that should be discussed at an “all-hands” type of meeting. Decisions get made or ideas get discussed only to change with the pastor’s next direct report. You can have the right people on the bus, but if they aren’t riding at the same time it can create tension.

I’ve also seen silos erected because church teams struggle to handle constructive conflict. There seems to be a notion that exists, because it is a staff of Christians in Church that there shouldn’t be conflict. The sad part is, the lack of constructive conflict leads to back-biting, back-stabbing, and tall silos!

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