The Capacity Quadrant Model – planning for mission, leadership & congregational life

By Sharonne Price
Former Executive Officer of the Pastoral Relations & Mission Planning team, Uniting Church SA

Posted in Leadership

This article first appeared in MediaCom’s Australian Leadership magazine and has been republished with permission. Some slight edits have been made to the text where images and diagrams featured in the original have been excluded.

Many consultants acknowledge that mission planning is becoming ever more complex. Congregations often feel the need to reach out and be in mission with the community. Some (both consultants and congregations!) find it hard to know where to begin and where to focus their attention. Moreover, navigating the differences and the similarities between congregations can be time-consuming and yield little more than fruitless comparisons.

The Capacity Quadrant Model changes the focus to enable us to identify barriers to effective mission for a congregation and to choose from a range of strategies depending on the size and strength of the congregation, and its capacity to respond to missional opportunities.

This has been the working model for the Pastoral Relations and Mission Planning team of the SA Presbytery/Synod of the Uniting Church for 2015.


The Model

The two variables used in this model are the size/strength of congregations and their capacity (low versus high capacity) to respond to missional opportunities. From this, four categories or quadrants emerge.

Placing a particular congregation in any specific quadrant is a subjective matter and any congregation or faith community may change their place on this model swiftly – sometimes because they have worked hard at developing a strength or capacity, and sometimes because change comes, whether we plan it or not!

When working with a congregation we often find ourselves “hovering” around a place on the model, always hopeful that with just a little “something” it would change. It often does! Paying attention is sometimes what it takes.

It is our experience that outsiders tend to assess pretty accurately where a particular congregation sits in the model – but what matters most is where the congregation sees itself.

Capacity usually has three components:

» Human resources - leadership, volunteers, expertise.

» Financial resources - either by using extensive reserves from a long history of faithful stewardship or by the willingness of members to give regularly or find “extra mile” funding from deeper pockets.

» Resources of faithfulness and spirituality – a particular depth of discipleship and discernment; a willingness to trust God and each other; a collaborative generosity, a preparedness to give things up; and listening for the call of the Holy Spirit.

Missional work requires all three, but often we find congregations working with only one of the three.


In our particular context in the Uniting Church in South Australia, the characteristics of the quadrants look like this:

Quadrant A: Larger congregations, sentinel congregations. Low capacity to respond to missional opportunities.

Congregations on the 80/80/80/80 rule:
- About 80 regular worshippers
- Can afford 80% of a stipend
- 80% are around 70-80 years of age
- 80% of all effort goes into making worship happen on Sundays

Congregations that have been strong for decades until now, have a site of importance to the wider church, and still seek to embody all that it is to be a congregation, but are feeling stretched and tired.

These churches have more missional ideas and opportunities than they can manage.

These congregations closely watch their budget, and have pared it down as much as possible to maintain what they do.

These churches are full of faithful disciples who have kept their churches “on track” for decades.


Quadrant B: Larger congregations, sentinel congregations. High capacity to respond to missional opportunities.

These congregations are ostensibly our largest and strongest.

Characteristics include:
- Multiple leadership that equips and empowers
- Collaborative and permission-giving culture
- Capacity to take risks
- Strength in lay leadership
- Open structures that allow participation, support and reward to flourish

These congregations constantly have an outward-looking perspective.

These congregations have the capacity to plant new congregations, usually in the model of self-replication.


Quadrant C: Smaller congregations, faith communities. High capacity to respond to missional opportunities.

Whilst these congregations/faith communities may be small, they have galvanised themselves into a missional focus.

These communities may be monastic, missional, discipling or service-oriented.

These communities may be grafted onto other congregations in the other quadrants.

These communities have a capacity to grow and to replicate themselves as they gain strength and wisdom about their contribution to the work of Christ’s realm.


Quadrant D: Smaller congregations, faith communities. Low capacity to respond to missional opportunities.

These congregations fall into two categories:
1. “Tending the flame” communities where the purpose remains focused on worshipping God and being a presence so that Christianity remains a living presence in the community.
2. Congregations that recognise that when a number of key people die, the congregation is likely to die.


Quadrant A churches are in the toughest place. It is easy for a congregation in Quadrant A to slip to Quadrant D and it takes much intentional activity to move a Quadrant A church into Quadrant B.

Quadrant B churches may spend all their capacity just trying to stay in Quadrant B. These congregations give much to the denomination.

Quadrant C churches have nothing to lose and everything to gain. They may choose to have a short lifespan, or grow into new opportunities for mission.

Quadrant D churches face difficult decisions. Some face them positively but others find it just too hard.


The task of the Pastoral Relations and Mission Planning team is to help congregations honestly consider where they might sit in the model, and then to work with them on building capacity
(developing discipleship as expressed by the three capacity builders) as they listen for God’s call to mission for them. The mission planning component is focused on:

» Identity

» Purpose

» Context

These, too, change with the seasons of community life.


Deeper applications of the model

We have found that the model allows us to differentiate the focus of our work with congregations.

Goal-setting and planning approaches may include:

Quadrant A
Asset-based mission planning. Working from strengths. Appreciative enquiry. Effective partnerships with other organisations/churches/communities.

Quadrant B
Getting the structure right. Effective staffing ratios. Leadership and management education.
Resourcing and planning help to “nudge” a congregation to the next level of missional engagement.

A further vision/capacity for new horizons for Quadrants A & B
Church planting. Supporting very large visions. Resourcing other congregations.

Quadrant C
Getting the practices right. Attention to the small, important aspects of community life. Keeping the mission alive and responsive.
Short consultations provide encouraging, positive feedback.

Quadrant D
Considering legacy. Rationalising property. Considering how to be a gift to the community.
Discerning a future in these circumstances is time-consuming but can achieve surprising results.

A further vision/capacity for new horizons for Quadrants C & D
Becoming a blueprint for other smaller faith communities to follow – even a sort of franchising.
Growing to be a congregation.

It is notable that it is important to keep a new vision in view for every congregation, no matter their current quadrant. God is always about re-creating and re-vitalising the church.

This paper provides the minimum outline of the Capacity Quadrant Model. We hope that readers will take time to examine each quadrant and look for what it might have to offer ministry and mission in their own context.


Leadership strengths

The model offers ways to think about the type of leadership a particular congregation may need if they are to respond faithfully to the call to develop their capacity to respond to missional opportunities. Here are some simple indicators of the type of ministry leader that will help a particular congregation to grow in mission and strength:

Quadrant A – MOTIVATE. PLAN. ENCOURAGE personal qualities of hopefulness and resilience. This is the hardest quadrant for single minister placements.

Quadrant B – EMPOWER personal qualities of an “all of picture view”, personal ego-strength, conflict management and especially humility alongside a capacity to inspire.

Quadrant C – BUILD from valuing small things, knowing how to make new initiatives sustainable, confident and grounded.

Quadrant D – CREATE a capacity to see the stirrings of new life and make something new. A willingness to celebrate the small things and to appreciate each member of the community. Understanding how to PASTOR a community through death into new life.


We are still learning what the Capacity Quadrant Model has to offer.

Amongst its gifts is the opportunity to map our Presbytery, and to consider which quadrants need to be our priorities for limited mission planning resources.

It suggests which churches may respond best to the particular gifts of mission planning consultants, and it provides warnings about the dangers and risks to the wider church if all our efforts are centred in one quadrant at the exclusion of the others.

It suggests priorities for leadership development and appropriate placements.

However, it is but a model. As always, our effectiveness as consultants and as a church will be measured by the faithful discernment of God’s spirit in our midst.


More from Leadership

Subscribe to receive Leadership articles by email >

Leadership

Towards 2027: taking the DeLorean out for a spin

Assembly General Secretary Colleen Geyer has delivered a wide-ranging reflection on the future of the Church at the Uniting Leadership and Theology Symposium in Adelaide. In a speech traversing sustainability, diversity, structure and identity Colleen asks can we as the Uniting Church be bold enough to listen to our history, step away from what has always been, be open to where God is leading us and step aside for the leaders who'll take us there?

Leadership

Guidance on Church practices and the Novel Coronavirus

Whilst the situation with the spread of COVID-19 is concerning, there are simple and sensible actions we can take to help reduce the spread and help allay fears in our community. This is also an opportunity to take a fresh look at some of our practices and consider if there are more suitable alternatives that will help to maintain a safe church.


Comments

Comments (3)