Do you want the best for your church community? Planning and focus are key when cultivating a ministry environment that thrives. Elevate a message of hope for your church through careful ministry strategy, and sow the seeds for your church to achieve incredible things.
Not sure where you’re headed with your church? This guide outlines how to create, implement, and maintain a strategy for success.
Creating a Strategy
Your church probably has a mission statement, but when was it last revised? A relevant church mission statement is especially important for youth ministry strategy and children’s ministry but seeps into all areas of church endeavors. Freshen yours up and ensure it lives by these principles.
Clarity
Is your church mission clear and concise? For a powerful church mission, keep it simple so that every member of your church can repeat it on demand. It should be reducible to a single sentence or central concept to keep everyone in your community on the same page.
Alignment
Does your family ministry strategy work alongside your preaching ministry strategy? If your church uses a simple discipleship process, it will become embedded in every ministry. Alignment ensures that each sub-section of the church works together rather than as separate entities.
Focus
The simpler the mission, the easier it is to remain focused on it. Get used to saying “no” to opportunities and collaborations that don’t align with your strategy, or else you’ll risk getting distracted. When your attention drifts away from your goals, your chances of reaching them dwindle too.
Implementing the Strategy
Now that you have a solid strategy that your church community agrees on, how will you implement it for real-life results? Blur out the noise and stay focused on what’s important by creating strategy-based goals and plans in these areas.
Social Media
Church social media pages are the first point of contact for any new or potential visitor to your ministry. Developing a social media strategy will boost engagement with your page, getting the word out about projects and fundraisers. Having a plan in place and designing your posts in advance keeps your strategy on track.
Projects
How can your church give back to the less fortunate in a relevant way and align your efforts with your core mission? Figuring this out is crucial, as it legitimizes your projects while maximizing your impact. A good church strategy matches your church’s strengths with opportunities, so your local community knows what you are about.
Mission Trips
Depending on the size of your budget, you may be in a position to take things to the international level. Helping those on our doorstep is essential, but church mission trips offer a unique insight into different cultures and provide bonding opportunities like no other. If you have the means to plan a mission trip, make sure its goals align with your wider strategy.
Living the Strategy
When all the events have come to an end, and the fundraisers have stopped, can you say with honesty that your church follows its mission? “Practice what you preach” are words to live by. Church members and the wider community will feel a sense of disconnection if the day-to-day runnings of your church don’t quite match up with the overarching strategy.
Agreement
Communication between the different ministries of your church ensures that your church acts as one community. Aligning everyone's efforts means you can direct the energy toward one central purpose. It boosts efficiency while preventing fractures or disagreements. Offering regular training opportunities to your church leaders is a beneficial way of doing this.
Integrity
Live by the Bible to ensure your church is built on a foundation of strong moral principles. Open discussions around the future of the church help create an environment of honesty and trust. Plus, opening a discussion to all church members might provide you with more insight than you think!
Results
Reflection is essential when measuring success. Whether you choose to do quarterly, annually, or even weekly check-ins, make sure you dedicate time to assessing whether your church is on-track. A simple reminder at the end of meetings is a great way to do this regularly, and results-based reflections can happen at bigger milestones.
Sharing the Strategy
Ready to take your influence to the next level? Here’s what you need to do.
Expand
If church growth is what matters to your ministry and you are in a position to expand, don’t be afraid to do so. Tweaking your strategy to facilitate development enables you to reach more people and increase your potential to do God’s work.
Welcome
Taking the next step requires planning, so assign a team of church workers to the role. Make sure you are prepared for more people to join your church’s movement by expanding your physical space and creating a welcoming environment that people are keen to be a part of.
Enjoy
Church growth is seen as a marker of success, but it isn’t always accurate. Don’t forget to sit back and enjoy the ride if your church is going through a prosperous period. Chasing something bigger and better can cloud your feelings of joy and gratitude.
Whatever its size and wherever it is, your church is destined for greatness. Put the time into pinpointing your unique abilities and creating a coherent strategy. Hope for change and transformation will follow suit.