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What is the Personality of Your Church?

Orginally published on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at 3:32 AM
by Todd Rhoades

In his new book, “What is Your Church’s Personality? Discovering and Developing the Ministry Style of Your Church”, Philip D. Douglass defines eight different types of church personalities. Here they are:

Fellowship Churches are conscientious, hard-working, orderly, and sensitive to the needs of the people in general, but especially those who are members of their church. These churches bring out the best in people by helping them work toward personally meaningful goals in an organized manner.

Inspirational Churches are encouraging and supportive to their people and conscientious about putting personal relationships ahead of ministry tasks. Since they focus on the ways individuals feel, they closely monitor how people interact with one another as well as the ways their ministry efforts impact people positively and negatively.

Relational Churches focus on personal connections, values, opinions, and people interactions. They actively strive to bond with one another, create harmony, and cooperate – making sure that everyone is involved and positive about the church.

Entrepreneurial Churches are drawn to opportunities that require them to anticipate the future and create new approaches, because they see every need as an opportunity for trying something different. They regularly scan the community to find connections with people and ministries that already exist so they can become involved.

Strategizer Churches develop creative ideas and insights to initiate innovative transformation in the surrounding community through encouraging their people to develop their giftedness and give themselves sacrificially to ministry. These churches are willing to take time to consider the facts and new ideas in the context of past experiences to better enable them to discern the Lord’s direction for the future.

Organizer Churches like to solve complex problems in a methodical manner by using logical analysis to critique their ministry programs, spot flaws, and make necessary changes that complete their ministry tasks efficiently. They are organized and competent, priding themselves in getting the most accomplished in the least time.

Adventurous Churches respond quickly to issues in their midst and in the community around them by being action oriented. Because they are at their best in emergency situations, they see problems as an adventure and an opportunity for ministry.

Expressive Churches are friendly and outgoing in communicating their love for people as a means of motivating them to join in the fellowship. These churches like to be at the center of the action because they are comprised of easygoing, optimistic, and considerate people who enjoy talking, laughing, and sharing their lives with newcomers.

So, what kind of church personality is your church? I’d love to hear…

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There are 6 Comments:

Posted by Brianmpei

Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at 8:24 AM

As I read the first I thought, “That’s us.” Then each one after that I thought, “No, that’s us.” I’m eager to copy this and email it around to see what everyone else in our church thinks...”
Posted by

Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at 9:56 AM

Brian,

That’s funny I just kept reading these posts and thought, “that’s not us, maybe the nest one will be us...Nope not us either”
Posted by

Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at 12:00 PM

Well maybe personalities should be thought of as continums? No individual or organization is all one thing seems like we are bits of this and that.
Posted by

Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at 6:23 PM

Hey, are there any more? I didn’t see us in there either! Ha! Funny, and yet not so funny! I’d loved to have been the entrepreneurial, or the relational or the expressive.
I loved Brian’s comment, it really matched my sentiments.
Thanks Todd for the read, it was good. We just didn’t seem to fit.
JIM
Posted by

Monday, June 02, 2008 at 12:39 PM

I immediately thought that we are a combination… definitely Expressive and Strategizer, Entrepreneuiral, and Relational.

So, what does that make us...Confused?

That said, I really like who we have become. The church is growing and that’s exciting. And I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to see people come to Christ from out of nowhere.

I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Posted by

Wednesday, June 11, 2008 at 7:35 AM

I like it! Your insights on traits of churches seems to draw different things out of each reader. I suppose it depends on the culture of and around your church. We live in an area where people are private, guarded, and not too visionary. “They like the constant safeness of no change.” But that doesn’t mean they won’t change. They simply need clear, exciting, meaningful reasons to change.

I see that as an indicator of the true heart of a church. They may be resistant to some of the traits you describe, but they obey and move towards them when God speaks to their heart. I think that is the most exciting church to be part of… an obedient church!

I wonder if there shouldn’t be three more categories?

--A Moses church...being lead gracefully (or not) to their grave because of a moment of faithless decision making.

--A Caleb church that cultivates readiness to move ahead but are simply waiting for the faith of the people, the right leader and the will of God to gel together at the same moment. They then respond with, “i was ready then, and i am ready now!”

--a Joshua church that is willing to take the weight of new vision, new battles, and new movement towards holiness onto its shoulders for the sake of generations to come. This church will gather itself up and go into the spiritual battle willingly, and in a state of spiritual and emotional health.

Isn’t the Body of Christ and all its different venues amazing?!

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Hi... I'm Todd Rhoades. I'm a Christ-follower, husband, father and I love to connect leaders with other leaders. Hopefully you'll find something here at MMI you like and will return often. If you want, you can find out more about me or follow my every step on Twitter.