Road Map to Success
In response to the Great Commission outlined in Mathew 28:16–20, church leaders, through the process of strategic planning, develop a road map to facilitate the accomplishment of the desired mission objectives. What are the critical elements in the process of developing and implementing a strategic plan to ensure peak performance in your ministry?
Planning Is Crucial
Although the term “strategic planning” is not found in the Bible, there are multiple references of the virtue of planning. Proverbs 20:18 states that “plans are established by seeking advice; so if you wage war, obtain guidance” (NIV). This biblical text conforms with the historical application of strategic planning to war situations, where the term strategos referred to a military leader. Indeed, accomplishing a mission often entails engaging in warfare with opposing forces. Thus, it is crucial for leaders to seek counsel and plan.
As stewards of God’s given resources, stewardship and other church leaders should ensure optimization through careful planning that prioritizes core mission objectives. God has entrusted His mission in the hands of church leaders to plan the allocation of resources for effective accomplishment of His divine purposes. Resources, actions, and goals are brought into alignment through planning. This approach helps to build confidence among stakeholders, to assure them that resources are being utilized prudently.
Be Strategic
By thoughtfully reflecting on how to accomplish a mission, leaders should be strategic. The Bible provides counsel on the importance of being strategic. Ephesians 5:16 talks about “making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” (NIV). A need for both strategy and urgency is conveyed through this biblical text. Strategic planning for businesses focuses on what is happening in their markets to enable them to gain competitive advantage. Similarly, church organizations and ministries must focus on the prevailing contextual elements, inside and outside the church, at a given time. Hence, leaders can choose the most adequate direction to reach their goals.
Implement Strategies
Subsequently, strategic plans are formulated and agreed upon by the governance bodies. This sets the stage for the implementation of strategies. What happens next is crucial for the accomplishment of a mission. Quite often, these well-prepared strategic plans end up on office shelves and do not get implemented. This phenomenon of a disparity between plans on paper and the actual activities of the entities is referred to as “implementation gap.” It creates a misalignment between strategies and actions. Lack of clarity of direction and vague strategies contribute to such gaps. Those who plan and those who execute need to be on the same page.
In the Bible we find an inspiring example of Nehemiah, who followed through in implementing the plan to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He formulated strategies, identified resources, and proceeded to act. Once he set forth to accomplish the strategic plan, he did not accept any distractions from those who wanted to derail the God-given objective. Proverbs 16:3 assures us that God can help us implement our plans: “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans” (NIV).
The situation of famine in Egypt also provides a notable example of strategy implementation in the Bible. In Genesis 41, Joseph managed the famine situation by interpreting the pharoah’s dream correctly and putting in place measures to alleviate the famine. He created a strategic plan that was successfully executed. Joseph exercised great leadership in ensuring that the famine mitigation actions were implemented. There was precision of strategy and a clear action plan that was efficiently implemented. He earned the trust of the pharaoh, who instructed the people to obey his instructions. This is an example of great leadership that identifies objectives and puts in place action plans to accomplish them.
Engage Stakeholders
Leaders should constantly seek counsel as they implement the strategic plans for their ministries. It should be a collaborative effort that endeavors to create a bridge between the strategy and mission outcomes. Proverbs 15:22 offers particularly useful guidance in this regard: “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed” (NIV). Every stakeholder should be enjoined in the formulation and implementation efforts to enable the entity to execute the actions that accomplish mission objectives.
Relative to the implementation of plans, Ellen G. White advises as follows:
There is need of Nehemiahs in the church today,—not men who can pray and preach only, but men whose prayers and sermons are braced with firm and eager purpose. The course pursued by this Hebrew patriot in the accomplishment of his plans is one that should still be adopted by ministers and leading men. When they have laid their plans, they should present them to the church in such a manner as to win their interest and cooperation. Let the people understand the plans and share in the work, and they will have a personal interest in its prosperity.[*]
Buy-in from all people involved in the implementation phase is essential to ensure engagement that is needed to attain missional outcomes.
Consequently, patience should be exercised in the strategy implementation process. Success is not achieved overnight. The Bible warns against hasty planning and implementation in Proverbs 21:5: “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty” (NIV). Disciplined efforts are necessary to execute the planned actions. Leaders sometimes succumb to the phenomenon of seeking instant gratification and do not stay long enough with the execution of plans to attain the desired results. There may be a tendency to revert to previous actions rather than patiently work through the planned actions.
Monitor and Evaluate Implementation
During implementation, it is necessary to build monitoring mechanisms to ensure fidelity to the strategic plan. In addition, it helps to identify areas where strategies may need to be amended due to changed circumstances. Without such constant examination of the premise upon which the strategies were developed, the actions may be at variance with current realities and fall short of attaining the desired objectives. Thus, leaders should embed a culture of checking how the implementers are performing and build confidence that they are available to offer support.
Toward the end of the strategic plan cycle, an evaluation should be conducted to identify lessons learned that will inform the formulation stage of the next cycle. Mission assessment tools should be developed to aid the evaluation process. In Galatians 6:3–5, apostle Paul invites everyone to evaluate themselves: “If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load” (NIV). Evaluation may be an arduous process at times, especially when goals have not been met. However, it is a necessary measure to gain improvement. It also helps to affirm what works well.
Conclusion
God has given the church a mission to fulfill and provided counsel on developing strategic plans that should be implemented diligently to accomplish the desired objectives. He is the owner of all resources, including people who are needed to achieve His divine goals. He has placed everything at the disposal of church leaders to plan, execute, and evaluate under His guidance.
Reference
[*] Ellen G. White, EGW SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 3 (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1954), 1137.
