2. During this step, leaders develop a strategy to
realize the mission they have articulated and the
dreams they see.
In this step of the strategic thinking and acting
process, the fundamental ministry questions are:
-How will we get to where we want to be?
-How will we realize our ministry dream?
-How will God use this ministry to accomplish
God’s ends?
-How will we successfully sail to our port of call?
The answer to all is a biblical, strategic
architecture that will provide guidance for the
operational and strategic decisions that daily
affect the life and direction of the church.
3. The Importance of a Strategy
1. A Strategy Accomplishes the Mission and Vision
2. The Strategy Facilitates Understanding
3. The strategy Provides a Sense of Spiritual Momentum
4. The Strategy Invests God’s Resources Properly
5. The Strategy Displays What God is Blessing
The Definition of a Strategy- a strategy is the process that
determines how your ministry will accomplish its mission. This
definition relates to the mission, the process, and the answer to
the question, How?
1. A Mission
2. A Process- a strategy is the process of moving people from
spiritual pre-birth to Christ likeness or maturity.
3. The How-a strategy tells how to do what we are supposed to do.
It is the overall process that enables a church to accomplish its
mission. It is the ministry means that accomplishes the ministry
end. If the church’s mission is to make disciples, the strategy
directs how the church will make its disciples.
4. The Kinds of Strategies- The focus is primarily on the church’s
corporate or broad, general organizational strategy.
4. Developing A Strategy for Your Ministry
It is time to develop a general, overall strategy that
is tailor-made for your unique ministry. The
preparation for strategic envisioning and the prior
steps in the strategic thinking an acting process will
have significant impact on the development of the
strategy. The ministry analysis, for example,
evaluates the effectiveness of the old strategy and so
influences the new one. Spiritual formation provided
the spiritual foundation for the building of the
strategy. Your core values drive the strategy. The
mission directs the strategy, determining what the
strategy seeks to accomplish, and the vision
energizes the strategy.
The values, mission, and vision are timeless and do
not change appreciably, although the vision may
change around the edges but not at the core. The
same is true of the general strategy.
5. The General Strategy
-Core Elements: community, disciple making, team building,
ministry setting, and financing. These will always be the core
elements of the strategy, they will change around the edges to
stay in tune with the times.
- The general corporate strategy framework includes five
specific activities:
1. Discovering the ministry community
2. Making mature disciples
3. Building a ministry dream team
4. Determining the best ministry setting
5. Raising the necessary finances
Each of these ask key strategic questions:
1. Whom are we trying to reach?
2. What are we attempting to do for them?
3. Who will do this for them?
4. Where will this take place?
5. How much will it cost?
