Definition: “A Change Apostle is a church leader, employee, or volunteer that passionately seeks out opportunities to improve the delivery of services and programs provided by the Church. They challenge the current process and rally support to implement change that aligns with the purpose of the Church.”
I'm not going to beat around the bush: you generally have to solve alot of problems to actually implement change (and when I say actually I really mean just moving the needle in the direction you intended). Change is a challenge, and it takes good people to make change happen. Change Apostles must possess three things in order to be effective at driving change in a Church.
1. Purpose. Every church has a vision of what it plans to accomplish. Its a shared vision for the future and all strategic initiatives (programs, services, goals, etc.) are based on this vision. Change Apostles embrace that purpose, and see the bigger picture, even if it means they must sacrifice programming in their ministry in order to support that vision.
2. Passion. Change Apostles embrace the purpose. They enthusiastically seek out opportunities and challenge the current way of doing things. They love what they do and express it by taking action.
3. Perseverence. Change isn't easy and at times it can be a long hard road to overcome resistance. Change Apostles have the fortitude to transform resistance and reshape it into momentum.
So, do you think you have what it takes to make positive changes that result in long term sustainable growth in your Church? Perhaps the first step would be to check out the "Change Apostles" program in our membership site (or you can purchase it separately in our e-store). This course provides the right level of instruction and tools to either enhance your current personal change management capabilities or train up Change Apostle apprentices from within your group of church staff and volunteers.
The first module of the Change Apostles program is set to be released on April 19th, 2010.
Finish Strong,
Andrew
