Having worked in business and church I can say with conviction that in the church we generally do not know how to measure success.
It’s easy in business, you must make a profit or you will not stay in business. You can celebrate small wins because you know they are the things that move you toward making a profit. However, in ministry “profit” is not the goal. In fact, many churches continue to generate income through tithes and offerings while never accomplishing much toward their mission. This is partly due to the fact that we are not clear on our mission!
In his excellent book 7 Practices of Effective Ministry, Andy Stanley states “It is possible for a church to become very efficient at doing ministry ineffectively.” This is because we do not have a clear picture of the end. We must work with the end in mind, or as Andy says it, we must clarify the win!
Yogi Berra once said “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” That characterizes many (if not most) churches in North America. When we don’t know where we’re going, we never know what or when to celebrate! We don’t know what the “small wins” are if and when they come. Without celebration, people lose vision, hope, and motivation.
In a church plant, we must have a plan of action! That plan must move us toward a clear vision and it must identify small wins along the way. These should be the focus of our intercessors (please tell me you have an intercession team), and they should be markers for celebration. I encourage planters to maintain a 90 Day Plan and to update it monthly. At least monthly you and your team should celebrate the small wins!
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2 comments:
The 90 day plan is very helpful for the planter... but I think it is even more helpful for the leadership team/core group. My plan was all stuff that was swimming around in my head but for my team to see the pieces all put together was very helpful for them.
Celebrating the small victories is hard because of the overwhelming nature of church planting. It is hard for me to stop long enough to feel the small victories because of the mounting challenges that are continually cascading towards me. However, amidst the difficulty to do so, I agree that it is necessary and it is something in which I need improvement. Thanks Glenn!
Matt, thanks for your comments. You are correct - the 90 day plan is just as important for your team as yourself. If we look at it everyday, that will help us identify the small wins and celebrate. Keep up the good work.
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