Have you ever had a fabulous dish at a restaurant, but they can’t or won’t give you the recipe? Can you imagine knowing nothing about food or cooking and then trying to recreate that same dish without a recipe? What would be the result in most cases? It would probably taste like you had no recipe. You need a recipe or a successful plan to pull off a great dish.
Ministry is the same way. God absolutely should have the reins, but if you don’t pay close attention to how He is guiding you, your ministry could end up like a dish cooked with no recipe. I find when I ask most mission teams and ministries for their goals, there really aren’t any. If there are a few, they are often ambiguous at best.
It may feel like your ministry is all over the place, because it is. With no plan, how can you really tell what God wants you to do? How do you know what is working and what isn’t? How can you properly allocate volunteer time and efforts?
Done properly, a godly strategic plan still leaves God in charge. It’s not the normal business model of strategic planning where we make the plans and pray expecting God to rubber stamp what we have already decided. It’s not just waiting for God to push us into doing something…which usually means nothing happens.
A godly strategic plan closely resembles what Nehemiah did. Chapter one of the book of Nehemiah is becoming one of my favorites. Nehemiah asked someone from Jerusalem how things were going as the former exiles resettled. The report he received disturbed him greatly. Instead of storming into the King’s chambers with a list of demands, Nehemiah spent quite a bit of time praying and asking God for help. Only after a period of what appears to be intense prayer did he start to act.
Teach One Reach One has developed a new workshop guiding ministries through the strategic planning process. We can help guide you through strategic planning in person or can share our workshop notes with you. We have found the process helps leaders, volunteers and parents get on the same page. It illuminates not only changes that need to be made, but where God wants your ministry to grow.
Whether you contact us for help and free resources or try it on your own, your ministry absolutely needs to take the time to listen to God through prayer and godly strategic planning. You may be shocked to see how God works through your ministry as you heed the Proverbs about committing your plans to God and seeking advice.