Virtual Church Consulting

Church consultants can help a church in a variety of ways. Here are what I would consider the top five ways a church consultant can assist a church.

Strategic Planning and Visioning: A church consultant helps develop a clear, strategic plan that aligns with the church’s mission and vision. This involves assessing the current state of the church, identifying long-term goals, and creating a roadmap to achieve these objectives. The consultant can facilitate visioning sessions, help articulate the church’s mission, and set actionable goals. This strategic planning ensures the church moves forward with purpose and direction, effectively utilizing its resources.

Leadership Development and Training: Effective leadership is crucial for any church. A consultant offers training and development programs for church leaders, including pastors, ministry leaders, and administrative staff. These programs focus on skill development in conflict resolution, team building, effective communication, and spiritual leadership. By strengthening the leadership team, a church consultant ensures the church is well-equipped to face challenges and lead the congregation effectively.

Community Outreach and Engagement: Churches often seek to impact their communities significantly. Consultants can help design effective outreach programs that resonate with the community’s needs. They can assist in identifying critical areas of need, developing partnerships with local organizations, and creating programs that effectively engage and serve the community. This helps fulfill the church’s mission and builds a stronger, more connected congregation.

Financial Management and Stewardship: Financial health is essential for the sustainability of any church. Church consultants can guide budgeting, financial planning, and stewardship campaigns. They can help churches develop strategies for effective fundraising, manage expenses, and ensure financial accountability and transparency. This guidance allows churches to maintain financial health and steward their resources responsibly.

Conflict Resolution and Crisis Management: Like any organization, churches can face internal conflicts or external crises. A consultant brings an objective perspective and expertise in conflict resolution and crisis management. They can help mediate disputes, guide the handling of sensitive issues, and develop policies to prevent future conflicts. Their intervention can be crucial in maintaining unity and stability within the church.

In conclusion, a church consultant offers valuable expertise and guidance across various aspects of church operations. From strategic planning to leadership development, community engagement, financial stewardship, and conflict resolution, their role is vital in helping churches thrive and effectively serve their congregations and communities.

Steve Lawes is a Church Consultant and also provides coaching for pastors, churches, ministries and church planters.

We are in a series called Kingdom Revealed and looking deeply into the first two chapters of Genesis. We have talked about the cosmic temple, imagers, and trees. This week, we will discuss mountains (high places) and rivers.

Genesis 2:10–14 (NIV)
10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

While the Genesis account of the Garden of Eden doesn’t come right out and say that it is on a mountain, it is inferred by seeing that Eden is a high enough place for a river to flow out and water various distant regions of the land. Understanding Eden as a cosmic temple on a mountain or high place, from which flows a river of divine life that provides life for all nations, is foundational for the biblical story line.

The prophet Ezekiel refers to Eden as a mountain.

Ezekiel 28:13a (NIV)
13You were in Eden, the garden of God;

Ezekiel 28:14b (NIV)
14 … You were on the holy mount of God;

As you read the Bible, many important things, good and bad, happen in mountains and high places. About the rivers flowing out of Eden, each name is associated with various regions of the ancient biblical map:

Pishon – (Sinai Peninsula) Northern Egypt
Gihon – Cush, Southern Egypt, the upper Nile, Ethiopia
Tigris – Assyria
Euphrates – Babylon

Each of these areas, which are being sourced by the river flowing out of Eden, will play a significant role in the ongoing story of the Bible. With all these story pieces in place, let’s make some interesting connections with Jesus.

What we have seen so far in the first two chapters of Genesis is that we have a cosmic temple (tabernacle). It is on a mountain. There is a tree of life in the middle of the garden. There is a river flowing out of the garden that spreads life.

The apostle John is so amazing in picking up these threads of the story:

Jesus is a tabernacle.

John 1:14 (NIV)
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus is a river of life.

John 7:37–39 (NIV)
37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

The festival mentioned in John 7 was the feast of Tabernacles. There are some more amazing connections but we will save them for the weekend, so plan to join us at Keys Vineyard Church this weekend either in person or online.

Steve Lawes is a Church Consultant and also provides coaching for pastors, churches, ministries and church planters.

We are in a series called Kingdom Revealed and we are taking a deep look into the first two chapters of Genesis. Last week, we started talking about trees. I said that in the Scripture, trees, people, and water are often seen together at significant times in His Story. This week, we will look at the two trees in the middle of the garden.

Genesis 2:8–9 (NIV)
8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The two trees in the garden are pictured next to each other. To eat from one, you have to walk by the other. The tree of life represents a gift that God wants to give humanity. The tree of life is not magical in offering its own life to the one who eats. The idea represented is that God is the giver of life, and the tree is at the center of the temple garden, so proximity to the tree means proximity to the author of life.

It is important to see that the divine command in Genesis Chapter 2:16 doesn’t place the tree of life off limits. God commands humans to enjoy the gift of eternal life.

Genesis 2:15–16 (NIV)
15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;

Any tree included the tree of life. The tree of good and bad is a warning about forfeiting what God has already given.

Genesis 2:17 (NIV)
17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

God wants to shelter humans from good and bad until they can learn wisdom from Him. This is the real issue. Who will you listen to for wisdom? Will you trust that God is faithful and that you can trust Him even in those times when you have to wait? Or will you listen to other influences, the culture, the evil one, or your flesh, and reach out and take what you want?

The two trees in the garden illuminate the human condition while explaining the choice before each of us. God has commanded us to enjoy his good gifts, and we choose whether to receive those good gifts from God or define good and bad for ourselves.

This week at Keys Vineyard Church, we will discuss all of this while also peering into Genesis 3 and looking at what happens as Adam and Eve choose who they will listen to. Make plans to join us in-person or online.

Steve Lawes is a Church Consultant and also provides coaching for pastors, churches, ministries and church planters.