Here’s a case study for you: A ministry that focused on training people in doing relational ministry started with coaching, a hands-on learning process, and focused attention on individuals. Its popularity grew. As the ministry gained more and more people to process through their system, they transitioned their training process from discipleship and hands-on development into a non-interactive seminar-style training.
That shift ultimately led to the ministry’s decline. They were training people to take a personal, relational approach to ministry, but they were doing it in a classroom training style. It created a disconnect. I’ve seen that cycle too often. The personal approach we take when we’re small generates success, which brings more people, which then leads us to abandon the personal approach in favor of a programmatic one.