By Kim Jessie
Are you in a silo ministry or a collaborative ministry? A silo ministry exists when people focus their energy on things that result in the successful completion of their ministry’s goals and objectives without any concern for the success or failure of other ministry areas within the church.
Sometimes, their focus is so narrow that they will actually talk against or even work counter to other ministry areas within the church.
To alleviate a silo mindset, evaluate your motives. Are you working toward what is best for God’s church? Are you working with only your own ministry area in mind? If you are not ministering with a vision of what God wants accomplished in the entire church, you may be operating with a silo mentality.
To combat silo ministry, develop a collaborative goal that includes all the ministry areas. Make this goal a BHAG: Big Hairy Audacious Goal.
(http://www.jimcollins.com/article_topics/articles/BHAG.html) A BHAG focuses the efforts of all the ministry areas, because without everyone working together, accomplishing the goal will never happen. The goal should rally everyone together to support and accomplish the goal by a certain date.
Several years ago, we had the BHAG of creating the Bridge Network of Churches. All staff and key leaders worked together to create a healthy network. If any of us had worked with a silo mentality, we would have compromised the establishment of a healthy network.
When we all work together to build His Kingdom, God is honored.
For more information, see http://www.facilities.rochester.edu/finance_and_hr/learning/documents/Silos_Politics_and_Turf_Wars.pdf or buy Silos, Politics and Turf Wars by Patrick Lencioni.