Every ministry faces growth barriers. No church grows all the time without facing a plateau or season of struggles. The question isn’t if we will face growth barriers, it’s what will we do when they come?

We will all face growth barriers, but we don’t have bow down to them! You can overcome them and continue to reach more people for Christ. You can bust through the barriers in your ministry!

Growth seasons are great, but as great as they are, plateau seasons are just as hard on the other end. It takes intentionality, hard work, and creativity to bust through the barriers, but it can be done. So here are three things Jesus gave us that can help bust through growth barriers.

Three Steps to Busting Growth Barriers

1) ASK

The first step to busting growth barriers is to ask the question: “What are our lids?”  Your lids are the things that are keeping the ministry from growing. They’re your limiters, and your ministry won’t grow until they’re lifted. This step is about being intentional about finding the barriers in your ministry.

This is a difficult question and one that can take weeks or months to answer. However, it’s one question you must answer if you want to grow. Asking it will help you identify and overcome the limiters in your ministry.

ACTION STEP: Ask “What are our lids?” Then write down at least three lids, pray over them, and share them with your team.

2) SEEK

After identifying your ministry’s lids, it’s time to seek solutions. It’s time to seek ways to get better. It’s time to seek current opportunities in your ministry to facilitate growth.

This is where you seek practical ways to lift the lids on your ministry and put in the work to employ potential solutions. It’s one thing to know your lids, but it’s something entirely different to find workable solutions. Seeking is all about working hard to find solutions with your team and put them into practice.

ACTION STEP: Brainstorm about possible solutions with your team. Then break down the list of possibilities into 3 action steps to lift each lid.

3) KNOCK

To bust through growth barriers, you have to try new things. This is where knocking comes in. You won’t bust growth barriers by simply identifying lids. You’ll also need to knock on new doors and try new ideas.

Knocking is all about finding new growth opportunities. It’s less about systems and processes and more about creativity and ingenuity. What new opportunities for growth are available and how can you seize them going forward?

Sometimes you will knock on the wrong door, but if you keep knocking you will eventually find a next level opportunity!

ACTION STEP: Brainstorm new ideas on paper and ask yourself the question: “What would I do in ministry if I knew I could not fail?”

If your ministry is facing growth barriers, it’s time to ask, seek, and knock. When you do, I believe you will bust through the barriers and find a new level of success! Which step do you need to take?