2.2 Assessing the Situation

Section Introduction

Effective mission-centered leaders must carefully assess the church’s present situation. Leaders in business regularly conduct environmental analyses to determine strengths and weaknesses. They formulate plans to capitalize on their competition’s weaknesses while minimizing their own. They seize opportunities and overcome threats from the marketplace. They plan ways to meet challenges and changing market interests in order to remain profitable and effective.

Likewise, coaches study their opponents’ weaknesses. They develop a game plan using plays that exploit the other team’s weaknesses. The disciplined coach spends practice time drilling, training, and stimulating the “game situation.” He/she anticipates every move or likely play the team will encounter, and prepares appropriate responses.

Just so, mission-centered church leaders must formulate and implement plans to bring about change. They base their growth plans on careful analysis of the church situation. They consider internal and external strengths/weaknesses. They capitalize on the church’s strengths. They take advantage of key opportunities. In short, they know the situation. The visionary, mission-centered church leader knows or wants to know:

How is God at work in us now?
Where has the congregation been? Headed?
What are the memorable stories from the church’s history?
What has been accomplished?
What are the congregation’s values?
What part of the community is the church reaching or not reaching?
What are the critical environmental factors that the church faces?
What are the demographic, economic, political, legal, and ethical forces at work in the church community?
What steps should the church take to serve the community?
What is necessary to create a “community of commitment” that will live out its core values and intentionally move toward accomplishing dreams and goals?

For You to Consider: How visionary is your leadership? How would you rate yourself in light of the above questions?

In Section 1 the focus was on how to lead a church to define its mission and develop a vision. In Section II the focus is on how to lead the church to assess the environment in which the church carries out its mission. This assessment includes both internal and external influences that shape or impact the church’s ministry; and, it includes applying sound principles of planning. On the basis of the assessment, action plans are developed to help achieve the church’s mission. But before the tough work of developing plans can occur, the leader needs to understand and be able to apply basic principles of good church planning. Study these carefully. They provide a philosophy for planning and a good understanding of how to proceed in assessing the situation, developing and implementing action plans, and evaluating results.

Unit 1. Mission-Centered Planning Principles: Tools for Leadership

Unit 2. Congregation and Community Assessment

Unit 3. Statistical Information Team

Unit 4. Church Member Survey

Unit 5. Compiling and Analyzing Information

Course Conclusion

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