TN104 A grid structure for churches

First published on this website in December 2017 and last updated in December 2023

Synopsis

This is for those who enjoy structure diagrams!

How do you balance the focus on the centre with the focus on the local in examples such as the following?

• Different congregations in one church
• Different churches sharing resources
• Different departments in one church
• A small group structure

These notes explain how the idea of a grid can help in these cases. The columns represent the various congregations in a multi-site church, the departments (worship, outreach, operations, etc.) in a large church, or the various small groups in any church's home group structure. The rows are means of binding those varied units together in some way.

This might be by sharing a Minister, having one uniting vision, an overall leadership or using the same means of communication such as website. For a small group structure it might be a common syllabus, regular meetings for all group leaders, and so on.

You can strengthen the number of rows or you can add features to the columns to strengthen them instead. The key is to get the balance right.

These notes have been updated in December 2023 with some formatting amendments.