One of the primary issues that leaders face is managing well the people or teams that they oversee. Lead Pastors often wrestle with the tension between being authority to paid staff and being friend/mentor/developer to the paid staff that they oversee. Whether you have 1, 5 or 50 staff members, being proactive in leading your staff is essential. In my previous post, I unpacked 7 reasons that every person on your staff team should write an annual plan. The beauty of coaching your team through this process is that it allows you to move from Bad Cop to Good Cop as a leader. But what does this plan look like and how can you get started? On a church staff team, have each person walk through the following 6 steps to writing an annual plan for his/her area of leadership:
1. Define your Ministry
Why does this ministry even exist? How does this ministry fit into the overall vision for the church? What is the biblical basis for this ministry? What is the Scripture calling us to in this ministry? What are we attempting to accomplish in this ministry? I recommend that this section be somewhere between 1/2 page to 1 page long. Don’t feel like you have to answer each question listed here, but these are the kinds of questions that you are unpacking in this step. (This is not the place for a seven-page ministry philosophy but a summary of that larger philosophy.)
2. Describe the Present
What does the ministry look like now? What does it consist of? List numbers, programs, leaders, etc. Be thorough and detailed in your description. Make this at least 1/2 page long.
3. Diagnose Current Problems
What are the current problems in this ministry? What is holding the ministry back?
What is frustrating? What are we missing/lacking in the ministry? What obstacles are we facing? Remember, You don’t have to list and answer each of these questions, but these are the kinds of things that you are thinking through in this step. Be thorough and list all of the obstacles that come to mind.
4. Design a Plan
What are we going to do to move the ministry forward? What are we going to do over the next year in order to solve the above problems? What specific things are we going to start, stop, or do to move forward? What are we going to do to move beyond the present? What will we accomplish this year to move the ministry forward?
Make specific and measurable goals in this section. Don’t list and answer all of the above questions. Rather, write what you are going to do in the coming year. Make this section for goals. Make sure to keep your goals specific and measurable.
5. Detail the Progress
This step is not an afterthought but is critical to the whole process. How will we implement our plan over the coming year? In detailing the progress, Your headings in this section should be months: (January, February, March…) Underneath each month, list what you will accomplish in that month from step 4 above.
6. Plan your development
What is your plan for personal growth this year? What are you going to read, study, or do to grow?
I recommend taking a whole day away to walk thoughtfully through this process.
Still have questions? Feel free to ask them in the comments section.
Ready to get started coaching your team through this plan? Read this post to learn how to take your whole team through this annual planning process.
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