If you’re a church leader, you likely have a vision for your ministry in 2016. There’s something you passionately feel your team needs to accomplish. Maybe you’d like to better minister to families. Maybe you’re hoping to start new small groups. You might even be considering the launch of a new campus. Whatever that vision may be, I hope you’ll accomplish it. But I’m concerned that many church leaders will end the year disappointed.
Most annual visions have the shelf-life of a new year’s resolution. It won’t be long until the pace of ministry picks back up again. Weekend services, unexpected problems, and flashy “opportunities” will threaten to pull your focus away from the vision. Even Easter is lurking right around the corner.
When a team gets distracted, most leaders believe that more vision-casting is the answer. But if your team lacks discipline, it’s only a matter of time before you get pulled off course. You likely know this because vision-casting alone has failed you before.
A year’s worth of progress requires a disciplined process.
If you want to truly accomplish your vision this year, it’s going to take more than a solid message. You need a disciplined process to guide your team’s efforts in a consistent direction. It’s not too late to put one in place. Utilize the following four steps to establish an operating rhythm that can turn your vision into action throughout the year ahead.
- Define Your Priorities – Does everyone on your team understand your vision for 2016 as clearly as you? Pull your leaders together to discuss which areas of ministry are most important to develop this year. Ask them to share their own observations and opinions of what will make the greatest impact. Then decide together what your team’s priorities will be. I recommend having no more than 3-5 overarching priorities for the year.
- Establish a Plan – Once you’ve set your priorities, spend your next meeting asking, “What major steps must we take to develop these areas?” These should be broad-sweeping checkpoints rather than small tasks. Think, “Develop New Leaders” over “Create Training Handouts.” After you’ve mapped out your team’s plan for 2016, determine the month by which each step should be taken.
- Make It Personal – Progress only happens when individuals make consistent and intentional investments of time. Ask everyone to craft a set of quarterly goals that answer the question, “How will I contribute to this plan?” Focusing these on just 3 months at a time will break a large project down into more manageable next steps. Once everyone has drafted their quarterly goals, meet individually to review and refine them.
- Make Disciplined Progress – As you move forward, continue discussing your priorities and progress in every meeting. Look for opportunities to celebrate wins (big and small) that move you further ahead. Undoubtedly, you’ll run into problems along the way. If they are major issues, adjust your plans mid-quarter. If they are non-pressing, address them when setting your next quarter’s goals. Don’t let small fires throw you off course completely.
I’m confident that God wants to use your team to do something significant in 2016. I’m also sure that you will have plenty of reasons to become distracted. Before that happens, establish a disciplined process to ensure that you truly accomplish what you’ve been called to this year.
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