Unit 2. A Mission-Centered Planning Model 

The thesis of this text/workbook is a mission-centered model of planning that moves the church from vision to reality. There are many different models of church planning that are included in the rich literature of church administration. Some of those are very sophisticated and based on such theories as MBO (Management by Objectives), PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique), etc.

For those who desire a much less formal approach, consider following the model by Robert L. Perry. It is called Values-Based Thctical Planning. His approach is less cognitive and data driven and depends heavily on the vision-casting leader. This approach minimizes committee work and attempts to apply history storytelling, and organizational learning as the basis for tactical church planning.*

Bobb Biehl in his book Master Planning, a 1997 Broadman and Holman publication, has developed one of the most detailed and comprehensive models. A church leader would do well to study this and various other models. However, for our purposes, a very simple, direct plan for planning has been modified from a plan by Kenneth Gangel.* Keep in mind that the strength of any plan depends on implementation.

Look at the diagram above. Notice the major steps and how they fit. The rest of the book deals with the steps and the process of planning that a church can use to fulfill its mission. A church long-range plan develops out of the mission statement. But ultimately, good planning leads to positive, measurable, kingdom results. The achievement of spiritual goals does not automatically occur. Effective spirit-empowered leadership is the ingredient that makes it happen. Study the following definitions that describe the steps in the planning diagram. This will help you become familiar with the process you should follow in applying the planning model in your own situation.

• Mission Statement – The word mission (used synonymously with purpose) describes what the church or church organization was designed to do. Or, to put it another way, it describes why the church exists through the ages.

• Vision Statement – Vision describes what the church will do about its mission in space and time. Usually it represents the dream and prophetic voice of church leadership and specifically that of the pastor and ministry leadership interacting with the congregation.

• Situation – Careful planning includes assessing the influences and factors that characterize the environment of the church and its community. External information has to do with such things as demographics and changes in the social structures of the community. Internal information includes such things as statistical data, profile information on membership, Sunday School attendance, evangelism results, giving patterns, budget expenditures. Beyond these statistical measurements, gathering internal information includes identifying the values and aspirations of the congregation. Not to be confused with guesses, this step relates directly to accurate forecasting of what is likely to occur over the next few years. Planning assumptions should be made about every area of the organization ranging from such things as volunteer recruitment to the repair of facilities.

• Direction/Action – Direction has to do with objectives, goals, and strategies. Objectives are broad, less specific, outcome statements that identify priorities and directions for an organization. They flow from the mission statement. Goals are more specific, precise, measurable statements of intention, and often include the criteria by which results are evaluated. Strategies describe the most effective action steps to achieving goals. Often strategies may represent a collection of goals.

• Implementation – Implementation is the process of putting the plan into place. Action plans describe in specific terms what we plan to do, when, who will have responsibility for it, and what resources (fiscal and human) are necessary to carry it through to successful completion. Though plan is a noun, there is also the sense in which it is a verb. Ultimately, a plan works or doesn’t! A good action plan has within it the steps for implementation. Implementation has to do with strategizing, scheduling, recruiting and assigning, resourcing, and monitoring.

• Results/Reality – Mission-centered leadership seeks real results, not merely activities. All good planning seeks to measure outcomes, or “how well we have done.” Without review and evaluation going on constantly, the leader cannot make course corrections that take “us” from the beginning of the planning process to the achievement of goals.

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