What Should You Look For in a Ministry Consultant?
When choosing a consultant to help with your specific ministry, you want the right person for your people and your specific ministry situation. We understand that at the Malphurs Group. Thus, we provide the following qualities that may help you determine if we’re the right group for you: (You can also download this guide for easy reference – PDF, 52k).

Christian character. As consultants who know Jesus Christ as personal Savior, we attempt to model Godly character in the consulting arena as well as spiritual discernment and ministry expertise. We’re convinced that lives marked by Christlikeness are critical to all that we accomplish. We understand that we model behavior for those with whom we minister, and we believe that it must be Christlike behavior. We like to have fun, and we enjoy the people that we work with. But this takes place in a context were our goal is to model Christ for those we work with (2 Cor. 11:1).

Proven competence. When considering a consultant, it’s critical that you select one that is most competent for your specific ministry need and area. Most are experts and are known for their work in just a few specific areas and that’s good. Look for one that is most competent in the area where you need him or her. Often, they’ll be known for those areas, and some have published in them. We believe that we are the leaders in the field when it comes to strategic, visionary direction.  In fact, Dr. Malphurs has published extensively in this field.

Theological expertise. We live in a time when it’s popular to debunk and point out the inadequacies of theological training for ministry. And some well meaning Christian consultants hold up strategic thinkers from the corporate world as experts worthy of our emulation. While acknowledging some of the short-comings of our seminaries, we at the Malphurs’ group insist that our people be theologically credentialed. For example, all have at least a Masters of theology from Dallas Seminary. The reason is that one’s academic preparation in theology serves to mold their thinking and launch them for a lifetime of ministry. We’ve discovered that good biblical, theological preparation is vital to the consulting equation because strategic ministry planning is so deeply theological. 

Strong references. We would invite you to check with our references. We believe that “the proof of the pudding is in the tasting.” “Touch bases” with those who’ve employed us. To a certain extent, we function much as another staff person, and we would suggest that you check our references much as you would a new staff person. You can find some of them on our site.  However, you may want to request a list of our current and most recent references.

Special gifting. The gifts, talents, and abilities that we or any consultant brings to your ministry context are crucial. Ours are leadership, teaching, administration, wisdom, and spiritual discernment mixed with lots of good, practical experience. We are passionate about the local church and helping it to accomplish its mission, the Great Commission. You should know this because passion excites people and “rubs off” on them. And when your people work with a consultant, you need to know what will “rub off” on them.  We desire that they come away from our times together with a greater passion for their church and view it as the hope of the world.

Practical experience. It’s important that you discern how much experience the consultant has. Is he or she a novice? Are they just beginning to use their gifts and abilities in the consulting world? Has he ever pastored a church or worked with a parachurch organization? All of us at the Malphurs’ Group have pastored churches and have been involved in church planting or established churches. In general, we have had good ministry experiences.  However, we confess up front that none of us are “super stars.” But we don’t apologize for this. The reason is that, contrary to popular opinion, star performers don’t necessarily make the best consultants. There’s often a big gap between being a great leader and coaching others to the same. That’s why so few star athletes become coaches. Regardless, our pastoral experience has served as a major foundation to all the consulting that we’ve done. Most important, we believe that we understand churches and what they’re experiencing in their ministries in the twenty-first century.