We’ve explored at the importance of planning here. And then, in this post we looked at the culture of planning in churches and organizations. Now let’s dive into another aspect of planning. Planning your planning in more practical sense. Let’s look at the rhythm of planning in your church and organization.
Lengths of Time
At any given time, your ministry or organization exists in multiple time zones. There’s the past, present, near future and further future at play. Old school speak says something like, “Short, medium and long term. It’s one of those things we all kind of know what it is but don’t have a consensus on the definition.
Regardless, our present is usually defined by the past. Thing we did and didn’t do got us where we are. I said this before and it is worth repeating: Of course, God’s hand is in the mix, but I’m talking about the part we have to play as co-laborers.
The Rhythm Of Planning In Your Church and Organization
No doubt every church has / should have a weekly planning meeting. This starts with the core team(s) / staff and cascades to the wider teams. The same should apply for the monthly, quarterly and yearly.
Planning a year ahead is a great thing. Some churches use the calendar year and others the school year. In some countries churches use the country’s tax year. Whatever you do make sure you plan. It’s too important not to.
And, in the bigger scheme of things, every plan or strategy needs a timeline. In church life, it makes sense to have plans that span a few years. An example is outreach that serves inmates while incarcerated and beyond. There could be a ‘pipeline’ that takes years.
The longer the period you’re planning the longer the time you’re likely to need in the process. The more people you have consult the longer the planning period. The point is to have a set cadence of planning and reviewing your operational plans as you go.
Plan for your planning. When are you going to plan what and how often will you do it? A lot falls by the way side because we don’t provision for it.
What is the rhythm of planning of planning in your church or organization look like?
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