Planning is a big deal. You've heard it…when you fail to plan…you plan to fail. I think this quote is very true when it comes to leading a church.
Effectively leading a church of any size requires planning. God is into planning so don't tell me that we are just being "led by the Spirit". Planning is the act of a Spirit-led leader. Besides, we call it the Plan of Salvation.
Over the next couple of weeks, I want to share my thoughts and principles regarding planning. Let me start by defining my planning rhythms.
Short-Term Planning represents the next 12-15 months – The church calendar has natural rhythms that come around every year. We always know there will be an Easter; Christmas, and summer mission trips. Sunday is coming every week. I've yet to be surprised when a Sunday arrived. This is why we should constantly prepare for the next 12-15 months. What messages series will we preach? What outreaches and mission trips will we achieve? What staff needs to be hired? How will we recognize and appreciate our volunteers? How will we serve the immediate needs of our local community? How much money will the next year cost and how do we plan to invite new people to join us as financial partners (tithers)?
Mid-Term Planning represents the next 2-5 years – When planning, we should anticipate the impact of what we are doing now, will have on where we want to go next. Where do you see God leading in the next 2-5 years? What have we been doing that we need to stop doing? What are we not doing that we should be? If we are going to go where God is leading, what needs to change? What staff, facilities, finances, infrastructure, (and so much more) do we need if we are to get to where we are going in the next 3-5 years?
Long-Term Planning represents the next 5-15 years – Decades fly by a lot faster than I used to give them credit for. This might be a sign of my aging but the truth is still a reality. The world is changing at lightning rates of speed. Will our church change at the rate needed to keep up with the unforeseen changes our world will experience in the next 10 years? God already knows the future and desires for us to be prepared for it. What vision is God giving you for the next 5-15 years? Who are you sharing this vision with? What plans need to be in place to put your church on track for this vision to become a reality? What obvious challenges will need to be addressed? How will you plan to address them? The elephant in the corner of the room will need to be addressed.
Long-Range Planning represents the next 15-30 years – My personal email address is carpe2morrow@aol.com. This play on words is a mix of Latin and English. Carpe means to seize. My desire is to Seize Tomorrow. I think too many churches are behind the curve. But to just catch up with current times is insufficient. The modern day church desperately needs to get ahead of the curve. We need to seize tomorrow. Planning this far out requires church leaders to dream. Dream audacious dreams. Plan according to your God-given dreams. Slow the train down and realize that God does do a sudden work but more often He takes His time. If you believe your church will be around in 15-30 years, what do you need to plan for? What will it be like?
Start planning now, the future is on its way!
How do you break down the way you plan? Do you need help defining or refining your plans? Have you ever thought of using a coach?
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