Mike 
A recent article in our newspaper described how several growing school districts in the area have reduced construction costs by using the same design for multiple schools. For example, one district is building 3 new middle schools with the exact same design. I thought it was a great idea, but the article included the opposing view from several architects. They contend that unique designs for each school are essential to a high quality education.
I’m sure that architects feel threatened by this trend, but I don’t buy their argument. A number of other factors are far more important to the educational experience in those new classrooms, such as hiring and retaining great teachers, and establishing a healthy culture. If the money saved on design can be invested in other ways for a higher return, then I’m in favor of the cookie cutter approach.
That brings me to the ministry that you lead. When is it wise to use a cookie cutter and when should it be avoided? I would frame the question this way: if we used a “product” that someone else created, would this significantly diminish our ability to achieve our core purpose? It would be unwise to copy someone else’s vision, which is how they uniquely describe their core purpose. But if mobilizing people to impact the community by serving a local school is central to your vision, it makes sense to use the “cookie cutter” created by another successful ministry. Some of today’s high profile churches use a teaching team, but you shouldn’t copy this approach just because they’re featured in magazines. If you are convinced that a teaching team is right for your church, then look for the best model for how to do worship planning.
In my experience, churches and ministries make mistakes on both sides of this question. Some are quick to imitate the things that should be done uniquely. Others are prone to reinventing every wheel that they think of. What about you? Do you over- or under-use cookie cutters?
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Should We Use Cookie Cutters?
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This is a tension that I am frequently struggling with. I am naturally a change-agent who thinks of how to improve things and break boxes. But sometimes I am hesitant to make change in some environments if it will mow people down. Using cookie cutters is very much contextual: some environments sniff the usage of the cookie cutter and believe that it is “unoriginal” and thus not authentic, resulting in low trust. I work in an organization that values high transferability, but once a generation has passed and the new generation has low buy-in on the transferred cookie cutter methods, then they chuck it out and try to do their own thing all over again.
I think we live in a culture that values originality rather than cookie cutter approaches (the people). The corporations and organizations value cookie cutters, but then over-use and abuse them into robotic mechanisms. Take this for example https://twitter.com/russmartin/status/474956361500200961 . Somehow there’s gotta be a balance?
You’re right that we all make mistakes in both sides. How does one develop the wisdom to know when to employ a specific technique?