“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him.”
Luke 14:28-29
Planning is an important element in church or ministry leadership. Robert Schuller, author and former Pastor of the Crystal Cathedral in California, says, “those who fail to plan, plan to fail.” Having a clearly defined plan helps a church or ministry organize its resources and apply them in such a way as to best achieve their vision. Without a plan, churches and ministries waste limited resources and valuable time, and inevitably fall short of achieving what God has called them to do. Having a plan does not restrict a church or ministry to a prescribed course of action, but rather lays the foundation upon which the church or ministry can strategically deploy its assets for maximum effectiveness.
To begin with we must first define what is meant by strategic planning. Strategic planning is the process of setting goals, organizing activities and deploying resources to achieve a Vision. A Strategic Plan tells you what resources you are going to use, when you are going to use them, and how you are going to apply them, in order to accomplish what God has called you to do. All of your available resources are given to you by God (James 1:17) and His desire is that you invest and manage them wisely in order to produce fruit for the Kingdom. A strategic plan helps the leader to do just that.
One of the questions many church and ministry leaders ask is why we should have a plan at all, since we are supposed to be led by the Holy Spirit who directs us as He desires. But we must remember that even a strategic plan is directed by the Holy Spirit, and as we start to organize and decide how best to deploy the resources that God has given to us the Holy Spirit is right there with us guiding our decisions and plans. The strategic plan is not for God’s benefit, but for ours. It is a tool that helps us stay focused on the Vision that God has given us and to manage our resources wisely and effectively.
It is also important to remember that our God is a God of planning. Scripture includes references to God’s plan for salvation (John 3:16) and His plan for us (Jeremiah 29:11). It also includes references to our use of planning (Psalm 20:4, Proverbs 15:22 & 16:3, and Isaiah 32:8).
Churches and ministries need a strategic plan for several reasons. First of all, it enables the church to chart a course for the future. A strategic plan helps us to build a foundation for future growth and development. Having a plan assures us that we have a strong ministry foundation that will not be swept away or collapse when difficulties arise (Luke 6:46-49). Second, a plan helps to avoid distractions. The strategic plan will help to keep the focus of the church or ministry on its vision and mission and avoid being distracted from its primary mission or goal. Third, a plan enables a church or ministry to utilize its resources effectively and efficiently. One of the primary benefits of a strategic plan is to enable efficient resource deployment. As part of the planning process the leader must choose how to maximize output from the available resources and to allocate them wisely and not waste the resources God has provided. Finally, a strategic plan helps to prevent future conflicts. This is because the leadership team has already decided how best to use its resources to accomplish its goals and vision. With a plan in place, the church or ministry can better evaluate the impact of conflicts against the current plan and determine the best way forward.
What does a strategic plan involve? There are 7 elements to a strategic plan. They are:
1. Statement of Vision. The statement of vision describes the desired outcome that you are attempting to accomplish. It answers the question of what your ultimate goalis or where you are going. It should be something you can measure so that you know when it is completed. If you cannot measure it, it is not a goal or a vision.
2. Statement of Needs. The statement of needs defines what you need to accomplish the vision. This is usually expressed in terms of the resources needed, such as people, money, time, equipment, etc.
3. Activity Planning. Activity planning is the element that identifies the activities you are going to implement for each need. It answers the question of how each need will be achieved and what you are specifically going to do to achieve them.
4. Timing. Timing is the element of the plan that answers the question of when something needs to happen. Timing specifies when you are going to do an activity, how long each activity will take, or when an activity must be completed.
5. Resources. The element of Resources answers the question of what is needed in more detail. A good strategic plan first considers the existing resources that are available. This usually includes people, equipment, or financial resources from your existing budget. Then the church or ministry can determine those resources that need to be acquired.
6. Tactics. The element of Tactics identifies specific opportunities that you have, either in terms of resources or timing, and answers the question of why you are including an activity in your plan. This includes things like the gifts & skills of your members or how to take advantage of available resources or cost savings on potential purchases.
7. Organization. The final element is Organization, which answers the questions of who is responsible for completing a task. The element identifies who will have what authority for project decisions or financial decisions. It also determines what teams are needed, who will be on them, and who will lead them.
How do we develop a strategic plan? The development of a strategic plan is a process that should be done with attention to detail and with collaboration with others to assure that it is a comprehensive and well thought-out plan. If it is done quickly or only by one person then there is a greater likelihood that there will be errors or things missing that could result in poor results or outright failure. So it is important to take the time necessary to get it right and to involve others in its development so that all points of view and options are considered.
Here are some basic steps to use when developing a strategic plan:
Step #1: Organize a strategic planning group. The first thing you want to do is to put a team together who will develop the plan. You should pick key people who have appropriate skills or background in what you are planning.
Step #2: Outline your Plan. The starting point to any plan is a simple outline that defines your vision and key needs. This is the foundation of the plan. Getting this step right guards against making a critical mistake that ends up invalidating the final plan.
Step #3: Add details to the Plan. Using the outline, determine the list of activities you are going to implement to meet each need that you have identified as necessary to achieve the vision. Each activity should include their timing, resources, tactics, and organization. This is where you focus on how each need is to be met.
Step #4: Gather input from others in the church. Once you have a draft of your plan, ask others within the church or ministry for their thoughts, opinions and perspective. This will enable you to adjust the plan or introduce new ideas that you had not thought of.
Step #5: Prepare a written document. Writing a plan down helps to clarify it and uncover missing activities or ideas. The plan can then also be distributed for others to comment on and provide a base point for discussions and reference.
Step #6: Finalize the Plan. Prepare the final written strategic plan that the team members can review for accuracy and completeness. I suggest that you have each member of the planning team sign the document to acknowledge their agreement with it..
Step #7: Communicate the Plan. The last step in the planning process is to communicate the plan to team members and to the church or ministry. The important thing here is to communicate to the church or ministry what the plan is and what your intentions are.
Can a strategic plan change? Absolutely! A strategic plan is not meant to be carved in stone, meaning that it can never change. A good strategic plan must change because our environment and situations are constantly changing. And because things change, the plan must change and adapt to the changes that affect it as well. Some of the assumptions included in the plan are no longer valid. Some of the people you had counted on to implement the plan are no longer at your church. Some of the costs you estimated have gone way up or way down since the plan was made. All of these changes will impact the plan and must be taken into consideration if the plan is to be implemented effectively. Without a plan in place you could make erroneous assumptions or inaccurate evaluations on the true impact of the change. Taking the time needed to evaluate the impact and make adjustments to your plan will enable the church or ministry to better manage its resources and more effectively achieve its vision.
(taken from chapter 9 of our Management for Church Leaders™ Volume #1 Training Manual © 2010)