Church Mergers and the 5 Key Components to their Success

Since September 2021, PMSpecialist has been the project manager for a client working on a church merger. There are many different components involved in a merger. As the project manager, we are tasked with making sure everything works together to reach the desired outcome. Today, we are going to talk about five components and the lessons we have learned from this merger.

Leadership

• Bringing the leadership together from both churches has been challenging. In our first meeting, thirteen people made up the Transition Team. The goal is to keep the project moving forward and make the best decisions that would benefit the business. One of the issues we found was when you leave the meeting, and you are working on an action item, having to wait for approval from the team slows the process down. One of the Lessons Learned during the process, was that thirteen people were far too many people for a Transition Team. So, we chose a core team of five people who met twice a week to handle the merger and provide an overview. Then the core team delegated action items to sub-teams. The Transition Team worked great together while helping our leadership to be transparent and to communicate effectively on the weekly progress. One of my favorite quotes I heard many times during this process was “value conversations over assumptions.” It proved to always be better to over communicate making sure all were on the same page.

Shared Vision

• Transition Teams need to develop a shared vision, culture, and be committed to the merger. It is not always easy to adapt to the give and take needed during the transition. Particularly if you have been with one of the churches for a long period of time. You naturally are more committed to them and the vision they have. However, knowing the merger is critical, you must jump on board. The members of the Transition Team went through a merger grieving process, Denial, Bargaining, Anger, Depression, and Acceptance. At times, it was a roller coaster of emotions. The main focus for the team had to be staying committed to the process. Now, it is so rewarding to be a part of the team knowing the hard work paid off and is making a difference in the lives of so many people.

Human Resources

• The churches worked together on a human resources assessment to see who the best people were to keep for the various positions. Letting people go is always a difficult responsibility. That said, communication was key in how the message was delivered to the individuals. The churches chose to pay out a severance for those who no longer had a position with the newly merged church, and we know all those people who were displaced found jobs elsewhere.

Operations

• Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) proved to be the most time-consuming piece of the merger. Both churches had their own SOPs, and, of course, each member thought their Church had the better option. The Transition Team talked through each process (finance, operations, facility management, human resources, etc.) and determined what could be done differently to streamline the process and be more beneficial for the merged church. Communication among the Transition Team and sub-team was key to this activity because it was such a tedious task, but together we were able to accomplish the desired outcome.

Legal

• When merging two churches into one, legal tasks can be challenging. You would think it would be easy as 123. However, when you run into issues, for example on the title search, it causes you time and money. Until the issue is officially resolved, you are at a standstill. The legal processes are out of your hands, and you cannot do anything about it, it is a waiting game, and patience is key!

When all was said and done, this was an amazing opportunity to project manage and go through the merger process. We learned lessons that are key not only to church mergers but things we can use with other PMSpecialist client projects. Best of all, the church merger was a success! These are the top three things that contributed to the success of this merger:

• Charge
• Commitment
• Communication

We hope these lessons learned can help you manage projects and tasks in your church or business. If you need some assistance, PMSpecialist is here to help. We are here to guide you and your business in achieving your goals for a successful 2022. Contact us today, and let’s chat.