strategic plan

The vision is the statement describing how the church will accomplish its mission. In other words, what’s the unique approach YOUR CHURCH will take to “helping people far from God become fully devoted followers of Jesus.” More than many, YOUR CHURCH is focused on reaching people who are “unchurched.” Therefore, YOUR CHURCH’s vision is specific to the unchurched…

YOUR CHURCH’s vision is to … “Build a church that un-churched people love to attend.”

What does this mean? Above all else, it means that decisions will be viewed from the perspective of an un-churched first-time guest. YOUR CHURCH leadership often says, “We will offend the churched person before we will offend the unchurched person.” Or, “We will offend the Christian before we will offend the non-Christian.”

YOUR CHURCH is an “attractional growth model” church. An important part of the vision is the intentional creation of something “excellent” that “attracts” the un-churched person to check out a Sunday morning service. It’s critical that the Sunday morning experience is excellent enough to inspire believers and to thrill the un-churched friends and family they invite.  In fact, it will be via the Sunday morning service that a believer will experience something “so awesome” that they will be motivated to invite their friends and family. Unchurched people are attracted to Sunday morning services and, eventually, are connected to the church by becoming part of the community by being asked to serve and/or invited to a group.

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The mission is the statement of what the church is trying to accomplish. All Christian churches have basically the same mission … to “reach the lost.” However, the mission is stated differently depending on the church’s unique DNA and approach.

YOUR CHURCH’s mission is …

“To help people far from God become fully devoted followers of Jesus.”

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The Strategic Plan is the church’s guiding document developed by the church staff and Leadership Team, containing the detailed plan for accomplishing the church’s mission. It is always available via the YOUR CHURCH Management System, functioning as the primary tool for communication and staff accountability. The bottom line is this; the Strategic Plan is “the plan,” demanding the attention, focus, and priority of all church staff and Leadership Team.

The Strategic Plan is “evergreen,” meaning it never expires, has no defined beginning or end, and is always in effect. It is revisited/revised annually in October/November, prior to the coming year’s financial planning process. Church staff then review and update it monthly, beginning in January.

For the annual revisit/revision, a 3-year planning horizon is assumed. Attempting to plan beyond that is difficult, obviously due to uncertainty. The primary focus during the annual planning process should be on the coming year. However, there are many “objectives” such as capital campaigns, building programs, direct mail (and other advertising initiatives), major events, etc. that often require consideration beyond the coming year.

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