22 Questions to Ask the Mid-Sized Church
On the surface, finances might be healthy, facilities appear sufficient and staff are content. Underneath the veneer however there may be a high level of dissatisfaction - and reason for concern! What strategies do you use when coaching pastors of mid-sized churches? 

Written By Gary Reinecke

ICF Master Certified Coach, Resource Designer, Mission Strategist : InFocus

A mid-sized church gives off an all-American vibe. Like the photo of a husband and wife standing in front of their family home with their 2 smiling children and a dog, all seems perfect—but there’s always more than meets the eye.  

The Challenge for Mid-Sized Churches

challenges faced in mid-sized church

The small church can accommodate amateurish quality because the key attraction is its intimacy and family-like warmth. But the medium-sized church’s ministries must be different. Classes really must be great learning experiences. Music must meet aesthetic needs. Preaching must inform and inspire. —Tim Keller

A mid-sized church could have anywhere between 200-450 people. Both the pastor and congregation of mid-sized churches like the benefits of a larger church with the sense of not being too big. However, this is an awkward size that comes with a unique set of challenges.

Coaching Pastors of Mid-Sized Churches

Challenge #1: Resistance to change

Things might “feel” as though they are moving along nicely.  But in reality, churches do not remain static; they are either growing or in decline.  

Coaching to overcome resistance to change

The necessity to change may be low due to the appearance of health e.g. a staff-led church, well-attended worship services, children’s and youth ministries, etc.  But the challenge is for the pastor and leadership to anticipate when the church is still in a healthy place, what they need to do to grow.  

The real issue is the question of vision: Where are we headed?  Where there is no vision people are frustrated and over time become rigid and resistant to new ideas.  When you introduce vision, pay attention to the nuances of how to best communicate.  Before you work on the “How?” it is mission-critical to clarify “Why?” and “What?”  

Key questions to ask about their vision:

1. What is your vision?

2. What are you doing well as a church?

3. What can you prune to maximize what you are doing well?

Challenge #2: Church growth bias

Bigger is not always better.  Being a product of our growth-by-addition, American church culture is sometimes contrary to the multiplication mindset that is exponentially more fruitful in the long-run.

Coaching to overcome church growth bias

One frustration that you will face while coaching medium-sized church pastors is the inability to grow through this barrier. Your client might aspire to be a larger church, growing into the 1,000s.  There are valid reasons for this: diversified ministries, larger presence in the community and more impactful events to attract new church members.  Another option is to plant a church.  

Church planting has the advantage of helping leaders see that they are actually well-suited for daughtering a new church that could double or triple their impact with the added benefit of attracting and mobilizing apostolic leaders.  Leaders of this caliber are attracted to churches with a vision for church multiplication.  They are more likely to leave churches that don’t share that vision because they are drawn to a mission that will potentially reach people far from God that the existing churches are unable to reach.

Key questions to ask about church planting:

4. What ministries are developing leaders from the harvest?

5. How can you multiply the impact and not just grow by addition?

6. How would planting a new church impact your ministry?

Challenge #3: Lack of Urgency 

Pain and discomfort can be catalysts for change; however, leaders can fall into a lethargic culture by creating a false sense of security when things are running smoothly.  

Coaching to overcome lack of urgency

“No pain – no gain” is more than a euphemism.  It is a principle of change.  Pain impacts the sense of urgency for leaders and the greater the pain a leader experiences the more open they may be to change.

Pain, discomfort, frustration are all strong motivators to change.  It is sometimes better to wait until the sense of urgency is great enough to engage the leader as a client; otherwise they may not be as willing to adapt to their situation, acquire new skills or struggle. This is a delicate balance that you need to discern as a coach. 

Key questions to discern the pain point:

7. What is draining your energy?

8. How can you increase your enjoyment in this area?

9. How will you hold yourself accountable to grow in this area?

Challenge #4: Church of small groups

This is a case of what has gotten you here may not take the congregation there (meaning the next growth barrier).

Coaching to build small groups

With a robust small group ministry (80% or more of adults in small groups) you can coach leaders to address both leadership development and pastoral care.  Maximize small groups to provide pastoral care.  And utilize small groups to spot, train and mobilize future leaders.

The vast majority of pastoral care issues can be handled in small group environments through the loving relationships found within.  Roughly, 20% require the expertise of clergy. counselors, or specialists that go beyond the skill-set, experience or expertise of your typical small group.  So it makes good sense to invest in leaders to pastor, care for and facilitate small groups of all kinds.  And use this important environment for leadership development..

Key questions to ask about small groups:

10. What is your vision for small groups?

11. What percentage of your adults are in small groups?

12. How are you using small groups to spot, train and mobilize future leaders?

Challenge #5: Good quality preaching, music and equipping ministries

The quality is good enough for a mid-sized church but the challenge is real.  Large churches will tend to be excellent in all three categories.

Coaching to develop excellence in growing ministries

A mid-sized church can remain medium by maintaining good preaching, music and equipping ministries; but to achieve the next category, the large church, excellence is more and more important.  “Excellence” is an overused, loaded word.  It can camouflage a plethora of issues. It can also be used to set a certain standard.  That is how it is being used here.

Feedback is critical to attain and sustain excellence.  Honest, consistent feedback is one of the strategic practices a team can apply to grow in the three areas.  Caring and compassionate feedback with a high level of empathy can go a long way to move from good to great or medium to large.

Key questions to ask about raising the bar of excellence:

13. What’s working?

14. What is not working?

15. What needs to change?

Bonus Challenge: Helping the pastor move forward

Another challenge is helping pastors adapt their own leadership to accommodate their vision for ministry. It’s important to revisit, confirm, and build excitement around that vision and then help them strategize the best way to move forward.

Key questions to ask a medium size church pastor:

16. What is your vision for growth?

17. How can you maximize each person’s gifts on your team?

18. Are there individuals on your team that are being called elsewhere?

19. Who else do you need on your team?

20. What are the most important things that you can do now for the greatest impact?

21. What’s one new initiative that you could introduce that will catalyze growth?

22. What will you actually do?

Christian Coaching Essentials Cohort

  • Are you new to coaching?  
  • Do you need to refresh your coaching process?
  • Who do you know that needs to be trained?

REGISTRATION OPEN FOR FALL 2023 COHORT: LEARN MORE HERE

Photo by Sam Balye on Unsplash

Cover Photo by Daniel Tseng on Unsplash

Coaching to Develop Problem Solving Skills

Your clients come to you because they are stuck and need help moving forward. Often, because you are experienced and have the benefit of objectivity, you can pinpoint the problem and have a good idea where the solution lies. It’s tempting just to provide that help, knowing that clients will find it helpful. 

6 Strategies for Landing New Clients

You are poised and ready to help people and you are getting a lot of interest in coaching. Now you need to turn those potential clients into contracted clients.

Coaching the Small Church Pastor

There are wonderful things about working with small congregations, but just as with any church, there are potential pit-falls to be aware of from the perspective of a coach.

6 Ways You Can Upgrade Your Coaching Questions

You don’t just want to get your clients talking, you want the conversation to get deep, meaningful, and actionable. Upgrade your coaching questions from good to powerful.

5 Challenges Every House Church Faces

House Churches are becoming more common. Are you ready to coach their leadership toward effective ministry?

When church planters need coaching the most

No one likes feeling stuck. Coaching church planters when they are at critical sticking points helps them move forward with clarity and confidence. 

How to reboot your church board

If you feel like your board is tying your hands from moving forward effectively in ministry—or if your board members feel like you are tying their hands—there’s need for a reboot.

The best investment you can make in your church

It’s not a building or hiring additional staff members. And it’s not coming up with a new program. The best investment you can make in your church is to help develop the innate leadership skills in the people who are already there.

Slow Your Roll and Establish Disciple Making DNA

One of the pitfalls of launching small groups after the corporate gathering is established is that the DNA of disciple making can become secondary rather than primary.  This is a common problem when coaching church planters who, in their compulsion to “go public”, have found themselves relaunching two years later.  You as the church planter coach have influence in this decision.  

The meetings you dread as a supervisor

When things are going well and goals are being met, being a supervisor is great. Meeting with your team is delightful. You can be a source of encouragement, celebrating their progress and helping them continue to move forward. But what about those times when the goals aren’t being met? Things can get uncomfortable.