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Identifying Influencers
Completion requirements
It’s been said that 1 in 15 people in your church are influencers. We all have our gifts in the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12). We all are of equal value in God’s eyes. But some people have a bigger impact in a congregation than others.
You may know the saying, “A stitch in time saves nine.” So it is that stopping negative influence early will save you a lot of difficulty as a leader later on. It’s easier to plug a crack in a dam that’s dripping than one that has gallons/liters of water pouring out every second. Dissension grows like a cancer.
To be clear, we’re not talking about squashing anything. We’re not talking about force or power moves. We’ve already addressed those in this course. We are talking about redirection. We are talking about satisfying needs. We are talking about good communication and preventing misunderstanding. We are talking about courage to lead rather than the insecurity we previously discussed.
If I am a responsible leader, I am going to have whatever conversation needs to be had.
- LD Buckingham
How do you know who the influencers are in and on your congregation? Often, you know because of experience. You know who the extraverts are and who the “talkers” are. For one, they usually talk to you. Most of the time, an extroverted person is not going to be talkative with their network of influence and then say nothing to you. It can happen, of course, but unless you are completely removed from the people in your church, you are going to know most of the influencers already.
If you do not know them, then the church staff will know them. Individuals on the board will likely know them. In fact, many of them are probably on your board. They wouldn’t likely have been elected to the board otherwise.
If you have been at your church long enough, you might know them because of previous fires that have taken place. Perhaps there is an idea going around the church. “Who told you that?” Where did that idea come from? If you do a little digging, you will find the chain of communication. That chain is likely part of the network of your church’s influencers, and the root of the communication may be a mega-influencer.
Obviously, there are churches of different sizes and the dynamics of influencers can be different depending on the church size.
A small church may have a “church boss” who holds immense sway over the congregation even though he or she is not even on the board. “I was here when you came, and I’ll be here when you go.” Winning that person over can save a pastor a lot of grief indeed.
A middle size church will likely have many influencers. In this case the power of impact is more distributed. In this day and age, you also have to consider that some influencers are on social media. They are hiding in plain sight. You can track them down on Facebook and Instagram.
A larger church is almost like several churches within the church. It is made up of multiple networks of people and many more who probably aren’t connected to each other at all. Within each smaller group are key influencers within their network.
There are also ways to bring out the influencers in your church. If you create pathways for suggestions and feedback, they will often appear. It is in their nature to influence, so asking for ideas and feedback will naturally trigger the impulse to influence from them.
If you have a meeting to solicit ideas, to discuss planning for the future, to discuss where the church is headed, you not only will likely bring out the influencers. It also gives you the opportunity to create and shape influencers.
Malcolm Gladwell talks about “connectors” in his book, The Tipping Point. He mentions the study that brought us the phrase, “six degrees of separation.” Information and ideas get passed along because of these individuals who are connectors. They are not hard to find. In fact, most of the time they will find you.