Tip #58: The Strategy Habit
October 29, 2007 – 4:30 pm
Whether we like it or not, youth ministry has the reputation of being led by people who are characterized more by flying by the seat of their pants than by effective strategic planning. That may be exhilarating for us, we may even believe that we’re being “spirit led” by planning on the fly, but the simple truth is that we don’t put a high priority on time spent planning because it just isn’t that exciting. When we don’t plan, we may end up short-changing our students, our churches, and our King.
It isn’t difficult to make strategy an effective habit. It begins with a simple set of questions to answer about the items on your schedule and how they related to your ministry’s mission. Grab your calendar and ask yourself:
- Goal - Does this scheduled event relate to the mission?
- Means - How does this scheduled event move us toward the mission goal?
- Timeline - What steps need to be taken in advance, during, and following to make this event effective?
Yes, that simple. This strategy habit can be used to plan an entire year for your youth ministry, or a shorter time frame - adapt it, please! It will help you plan your tasks, prepare yourself and staff/volunteers, clearly communicate your ministry purpose, ensure communication with students and parents can happen in a timely and complete way, and, most importantly that the ministry you lead is moving toward fulfilling the mission of the Kingdom. That’s a habit worth having, isn’t it?
