A Guide to Leading Change	

	1.	Questions to ask yourself before you begin: 
	1.	What is God's vision for this particular piece of the Body of Christ?
	2.	(Prov. 29.18 - "Where there is no vision, the people perish.")
	3.	a. What are the spiritual gifts and talents of the people in the congregation?
	4.	b. What are my spiritual gifts and talents?
	5.	c. How do a & b complement each other?
	6.	d. What in my Christian faith stirs my passions? What do I get excited about? For what am I willing to work hard?
	7.	What is the history of this congregation?  (I have a theory that the older a congregation is, the more change they have experienced. Be the #1 fan of the congregation's history - talk about it frequently, respect it, and celebrate it. It can be a great ally in bringing about change!) 
	8.	Are you willing to make the time commitment involved to affect real change?,
	9.	(Some changes can be done in a matter of weeks or months, others will take some years.)
	10.	Is the environment of the community consistent with the vision? 
	2.	If you decide to go ahead with the change(s): 
	1.	Begin talking about your ideas -informally.
	2.	(Explain what the problem is and involve the congregation in creating the solution. Listen to people's ideas and incorporate them as you can, be sure to contact the "power" people in the congregation and get them "on board" if you can.)
	3.	Educate, Educate, Educate. 
	4.	Thank the people who help make a change succeed. Write notes, make phone calls, chat with them informally. Tell them how the change has been a value to the congregation. 
	3.	After a short rest, start the process again with a new concern!
	4.	(Change really does get easier with frequency -- the longer the time interval between change events, the more difficult change is for people.)