One Simple Reason to have a “Strategic Plan”

Strategic-plan

Why a strategic plan?  Health.

Thom Rainer, the CEO of Lifeway Resources says that most churches in America are not healthy. And this guy knows his stuff.  He has been doing research on churches and writing books for decades. He has seen it first hand.

Jesus created the church to be a living body.  His body.  Bodies are healthy when there is growth, when there is movement, when all it’s systems are working together smoothly.

I think churches in America tend to be unhealthy precisely because it is so easy to fall into a routine, right?  The routine of one Sunday after another.  One program after another.  One event after another.  Church life become cyclical, and there ceases to be forward movement.  The Church is designed as a movement… Not an institution.

This weekend, I am getting together with a group of people within the church to get out of the day-to-day and the week-to-week cycle and look to the future. We’re going to be thinking about 2020, and even 2025 as we ask the questions “Who does God want us to become,” and “How can we best position ourselves to receive His blessings?”

We are going to be putting together a strategic plan to move forward as a church into the next decade. You could think of this as a church health plan, a plan to help the church continue to grow and to move toward increasing health.

We already know what our clear call from God is… We’re here to “Love God, Love Others, and Make Disciples that Make Disciples.” But what does that look like? What should the result of that be? How do I know I am moving in that direction? What is my path toward that? How do we know we’re accomplishing God’s plan for us, and not just having great events?

So, I am asking that everyone be part of our strategic planning this weekend.  Some have been invited to participate in a series of meetings by our team on Friday and Saturday, but ALL of us can be involved by praying.  Please pray for our team as they seek God’s face.  Pray for our staff that we won’t lean into our own ministry silos.  And pray for me, that God will continue to keep the vision sharp and clear about where He wants us to go next.

Thanks so much for being a compassionate, caring, Holy Spirit filled church.  I know God will keep doing bigger and bigger things here, and we will get to experience it all together.