Most churches have a handful of people quietly holding everything together. Rhett Harris from EV Church has spent over a decade helping churches break out of that cycle.

We sat down with him to find out what’s actually going on, and what’s working.

Why does it feel like the same few people keep holding everything together?

Because they usually are.

In most churches, a small group of faithful people end up carrying the load: planning, leading, filling gaps. And while they keep showing up, they’re running out of steam.

That’s not a people problem. It’s a leadership problem. And it limits how many people a church can actually receive and care for.

If we want to see more people come to know Jesus, churches need the capacity to grow.

So is the fix just getting more volunteers?

Imagine doubling your volunteers overnight. Someone still has to organise them, follow them up, and hold it all together. And that person? It’s the same exhausted few it always was.

More bodies in the room doesn’t solve the problem. What actually changes things is raising people who can take responsibility for an area.

Why is it so hard to actually do that?

Because the urgent always wins.

Every week brings real pressures that can’t wait. Leadership development and handing over responsibilities is different.

It’s important, but it never feels urgent. No one’s chasing you about it on a Friday afternoon.

Think of a minister as a juggler with too many balls in the air. The only real solution is getting more jugglers. But to train them, you have to slow down the juggling first, and that’s genuinely hard when Sunday is always coming.

What does it look like when a church actually starts to change?

Usually it starts with one moment of clarity.

One pastor we worked with recently sat down and drew an organisational chart of his church’s ministries for the first time. His name was everywhere.

Not because he was controlling, just because he’d never been deliberate about handing things over. Seeing it laid out like that made the problem impossible to ignore.

In another church, a woman was given responsibility for children’s ministry leadership, handed a training resource, and trusted to run with it. She tripled the number of leaders working under her.

The issue is rarely a shortage of people. It’s that no one has been clearly asked to lead. Once that changes, people rise to it.

Has any church’s story particularly stuck with you?

Phill Morrow was called to Christlife Presbyterian Church in Toowoomba, QLD, which had been through complex issues and decline.

When he arrived, a small group of church members had been holding the whole thing together for far too long. They came to him early on and said: you’ve got about twelve months before we’re done.

Phill got to work. He cast a vision, rallied people, prayed like mad, and started building capacity — appointing leaders, forming proper teams and developing the next generation.

That was a few years ago and those five people are now fifty. Volunteers give up Thursday mornings to come in and serve together as leaders. The church has grown significantly.

Phill showed up at National Conference recently and handed me a mug. One side said Rhett. The other said Multiplying leaders since 2022.

It was a joke, but it wasn’t really a joke. Five exhausted church members are now fifty energised ones, working together to reach their region for Christ. That’s what this is about.

What’s a practical first step?

Try this: look back at the last few weeks and write down what you actually spent your time on.

Sort it into two columns: things that are operational (getting this week done), and things that are multiplying (investing in someone who could take on more responsibility).

For most pastors, the second column is nearly empty.

Then ask the harder question: if you stepped back from one area tomorrow, is there someone who could carry it — not perfectly, but responsibly — or would it fall straight back on you?

That usually tells you everything you need to know. From there, pick one area where things feel stretched and ask: who could lead this? A lot of churches discover they already have the people. They just haven’t asked.

What are the Leadership Pipeline Cohorts?

It’s some of the best conversations I have all year.

Small groups of church leaders meet online a few times a year, working through the practical challenge of building leaders in their specific church context.

They share what they’re trying, what’s stuck, what’s changed. It leads into a real conversation about org charts, team structures, who to hand things to, how to bring a sceptical congregation along.

Chris Rooleht and I bring resources and ideas, but a lot of the best material comes from the leaders themselves.

Some churches are well ahead on this and have hard-won ideas worth sharing. The cohorts are where that happens.

When someone shares what worked for them, the whole group walks away with something they didn’t have before.

Most leaders are figuring this out in isolation. The cohorts are a place to not do that.

Rhett Harris and Chris Rooleht facilitate Leadership Pipeline Cohorts for churches who have already been involved with Reach Australia’s programs and consults.

Free, ongoing, and open to enquiry at. Find out more at www.reachaustralia.com.au/leadership-pipeline-cohorts.