Strategic PlanningRegion 6 First Call Retreat

Rev. Mike Ward, CFRE, GSB Partner www.gsbfr.com ward@gsbfr.com

How does a Strategic Plan Guide during Coronavirus

• Knowing who you are is critical

• Keeps focus on what is most important—mission creep can happen now

• Living into your vision is no less important now, in fact, it should have gained urgency

• Goals should not change, but tactics might

• Congregation with $500k budget just launched $100k special appeal this week.

What we are seeing• Increase in congregations reaching out to us for

help in planning right now

• Those involved in planning now are excited to vision the future and not get stuck living in the current moment

• People are more open to seeing new possibilities now

What is in a Strategic Plan?• Mission

• Vision

• Core Values

• Goals

• Objectives

• Tactics

Slido question (congregation identity) www.slido.com

Event code #78403

https://app.sli.do/event/zbttmn4v

Mission

• Who you are

• Why you exist

Pitfalls

• Too long

• Too generic

• Too churchy

• Too trite

Mike’s favorite

• A community of Jesus Christ providing sabbath rest

How to create a Mission Statement

• 8 words

• Verb

• Target

• Outcome

Examples following this model

• Nurturing our congregation for deployment in Christ’s Kingdom

• Prepare all generations to impact lives for Christ

Vision

• What the world will look like because you fulfill your mission

Pitfalls

• Too boring

• Not bold enough

Mike’s favorite

• A world in which everyone has a decent place to live (Habitat)

Core Values• The 4 values that you have that, if not attended

to, will cause tension and conflict to arise in your organization.

• These should not be “aspirational”, they should be who you truly are

• Core Values is what separates churches from one another

Pitfalls

• Too many

• What you think the right answer is supposed to be

Exercise to start the process• First, clarify your core values. If you have them

already, share an example of how each is currently lived out in your place

• Then, review your mission statement. Re-write it following my example of how they should read

• Finally, picture the world 10 years from now. How has it changed because of you living out your mission and core values.

Slido Question (Our important identity step) www.slido.com Event #78403

https://app.sli.do/event/zbttmn4v

Goals• Specific

• Measurable

• Attainable

• Realistic

• Time-bound

Pitfalls

• Too many

• Too vague

• Short term

Well-worded

• To grow first-time worship attendees by 104 per year by December, 2023

• Normally, we would say “Increase worship attendance”

Objectives• Fall between Goals and Tactics and are used when

you have a more complex goal

• Objectives for 104 first time worship attendees

• Create a comprehensive Marketing program by July 2020

• Create a culture of invitation by March, 2021

• Implement effective tracking of non-members by November, 2020

Tactics

• Tangible items needed in order to reach a goal

• e.g. Associate pastor, facility, facebook ads,

Tactics for Create a “culture of invitation” by December, 2023• Establish 6, “Bring a friend” events per year

• Provide yard signs for 100 families inviting to Christmas Eve and Easter

• Provide Hospitality training with “invitation plan” for a person in each of key neighborhoods to welcome those who move in

• Have a monthly “outcome” story shared from someone who successfully invited someone to worship—share by video with entire congregation

Slido Question (status of our plan) www.slido.com Event #78403

https://app.sli.do/event/zbttmn4v