Goals that focus on the A, B, C’s, (attendance, buildings and cash) are not God’s primary goals. They are the fruits of living faithfully where we have allowed God’s light to shine through us. The Great Commission challenges us as Christians to “go and make disciples.” Jesus in the sermon on the mount reminds us of the importance of practicing and passing on our faith everyday, everywhere. The reason for setting goals is to make a difference for the glory of God in the short period we’re on this earth.
During a break at a Session retreat, a very goal-oriented pastor expressed his frustration with what he perceived as my leisurely pace in helping his leaders establish goals for the next 10 years. We took a brief walk outside and I reminded him that the goals that were set in the past were his goals and were never owned nor acted upon by the elders. I reminded him that many of the elders perceived the goal setting process as a sham and weren’t interested in setting goals that would never be discussed again and most likely never be achieved. I stated that my intention was to find a new way forward in setting goals that were connected to the mission, embraced by the leadership, and could be realistically achieved. My final comment to him before the break ended was, “Help me understand why it’s so important to set goals when they’re never reviewed and rarely achieved?”
When the retreat ended, we did have a list of specific goals but it wasn’t a “Ten Year Plan.” After spending time in prayer and scripture, and spending time revisiting the congregation’s mission, values, strengths, and weaknesses, leaders created a narrative or storyboard that described how their ministry might look like five years from now. This led to a laundry list of possible goals which went through three rounds of prioritizing before our “top three” goals surfaced. In small groups, teams spent time identifying strategies for fulfilling each main goal and then placed each action item in the order they’d be addressed. Our final exercise was to assign a point person to each action item to along with a due date for completion to ensure accountability.
When I think about that retreat experience, and what they achieved that following year, I come away with five significant learnings:
After reviewing the mission, values and data gathered, the elders put on prayer shawls, and spent time in silent and corporate prayer, and took time to pray after each decision that was made. PRAYER MATTERS!
Spending time creating the narrative or storyboard helped leaders visualize the change, mobilized them to action and spawned individual ownership of the collective goals. VISION MATTERS!
The lead pastor was willing to let go of past behaviors and assumptions and embrace a new way of exercising leadership. LEADERSHIP MATTERS!
The “big picture“ vision may have energized the leaders, but it was clarity about the “next steps” and who was responsible that moved ministry forward. NEXT STEPS MATTER!
The Plan became a living document that was constantly reviewed and updated. It didn’t suffer the same fate of most strategic plans that get created and then stored in a congregation’s library, not to be referred to again until five years later. FLEXIBILITY MATTERS!
As a former youth worker I quickly learned that trying to caravan – drive a group of kids using several different vehicles - to the same location was a futile exercise. I’d lose two cars at a stop sign. Many times I thought the group was following me only to find out it was some stranger’s car that looked like the car that was supposed to be following me. As I became older and wiser, I started giving every driver a map to the final destination and the phone number to that location. Setting goals is like giving every driver a map - we need to be very clear about the final outcome and very flexible in how everyone gets there.
Here are ten tips which I found to be particularly helpful in achieving congregational goals:
- Make a firm decision. Before setting any goal, ask those involved, “On a scale of 1-10 (10=very!), how committed am I to achieving this goal?” If the collective answer is not an “8 or higher” seriously reconsider if you should be listing it as a goal.
- Get priorities in order. Unexpected things always show up in our lives that cause us to reshuffle our plans. Plan ahead by determining “which balls to drop” if necessary. Make sure you create sufficient margins in your life so that every slight delay or interruption doesn’t result in deferring one or more or your goals. Congregations have a tendency to keep adding programs and ministries without eliminating anything. This is a recipe for burnout and mediocrity. Leaders are responsible for making decisions which involves “killing” off programs and ministries in order to say “yes” to the most important things. We can’t have our cake and eat it too if you’re going to do our best work on building the kingdom.
- Write them down and keep them handy. List your goals somewhere that you’ll see them on a daily basis. I keep my goals on my iPhone and usually review them when I’m waiting in line, at a stop light, or when I have a few moments of down time.
- Determine how you’ll categorize goals. I categorize my goals chronologically. I have a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual and “someday” goals. My “someday” list includes goals and ideas that I don’t want to forget about yet also have no intention of acting upon for at least a year.
- Revisit your goals on a monthly basis. Think about them. Are they realistic goals ? Are you spreading yourself too thin ? Did you set goals just for the sake of it or for the wrong reasons? Have situations changed that would deem certain goals no longer a priority?
- Identify your next steps. Every goal should have a “next step” with a deadline. I suggest that individuals review next steps at least weekly, and that congregations review their next steps on a monthly basis.
- Track your progress. Make sure your life and ministry are going in the right direction by tracking your progress daily. I list my progress on goals using an online journal and find it energizing to see the goals I set for the year being realized. Tracking the progress being made on goals should be part of every meeting agenda. If deadlines are being missed or projects are delayed, then there needs to be conversation about how we get back on track.
- Involve others. Consider using a coach to accelerate your efforts. Talk to others who have gone down the same path you’re exploring and learn from their experiences. Invite others to pray for you and your ministries.
- Use Wikiboards or Google Docs for shared goals. I’m a fan of shared Google Docs where team members can view and edit various ministry plans and projects. It’s a great way to encourage accountability, where team members describe their progress on particular projects or goals. Have participants bookmark the webpage to facilitate easy access to the site.
- Take time to consider who else you might support: Don’t get so wrapped up in your own goals that you forget how you might support the goals of other people or partnering organizations.
Setting SMART annual goalsTo frame conversation about setting annual goals for congregation, I usually ask leaders, “In light of our mission, core values and strategic plan, what do you hope that we will be celebrating a year from now?” After gathering everyone’s feedback and then spending time prioritizing and combining the goals that have been listed, we begin by addressing just one major goal at a time, walking through the SMART goal setting process:
- Make sure the stated goal is SPECIFIC, addressing the six 'W' questions: Who? What? Where? When? Which? Why?
- The goal must be MEASURABLE or it’s not a goal. If you can’t determine whether or not the goal has been accomplished, then it’s not measurable.
- The goal must be ACCOUNTABLE. Assign a specific individual to take ownership for fulfilling the goal. Most accountability problems within congregations are due to not assigning a person to be responsible for the goal.
- The goal must be REALISTIC. Don’t sabotage your efforts by setting the bar too high. It's simply de-motivating when leaders consistently fail to reach their goals due to unrealistic expectations.
- The goal must be TIMELY. In my experience if you don't set time deadlines for your actions, you simply don't achieve your goals.
Once you’ve completed the SMART goal setting process for that one goal, the next step is to break down your goal into mini-goals that can be accomplished within the next 90 days. After you’ve completed this step, leaders will then spend time breaking down the 90-day goals into 30-day tasks. After all the goals, mini-goals and tasks have been listed, I suggest reordering the list of goals and tasks so that items with the closest upcoming due dates are listed first. Please note that your Annual SMART Goal document is a working document that is to be reviewed and updated monthly, with new 30-day goals being added to the list. A portion of one congregation’s Annual SMART Goals is listed below to give you an idea of what a list might look like:
Annual Goal: Enhance Our Congregation’s Welcoming Presence to Visitors- 30:Create an “undercover greeter” job description (Ken)
- 30:Schedule “Extravagant Hospitality” training dates (Kari)
- 30: Recruit a trainer to facilitate the Hospitality training (Kari)
- 30:Create a draft of Hospitality training objectives and methodologies (Mark)
- 30:Assemble a “website” review team (Steve)
- 90:Complete website audit report to Council with recommendations (Steve)
- 90:Present final draft of Hospitality Training plans to Council (Mark)
- 90:Train staff and Council members in undercover greeting methods (Ken)
- 360:Launch updated website that is user-friendly for visitors (Steve)
- 360:Train at 90 % of Hospitality Teams members in “extravagant hospitality” skills (Kari)
- 360:Equip paid and elected leaders to be “undercover greeters” (Ken)
Final thoughts on goal settingBreak 30-day tasks into Into bite-sized pieces: Encourage individuals responsible for 30-day tasks to schedule daily and weekly action steps that will help them reach their goals in a timely manner. Remind people, that “you can't do a project -- you can only do the next action.” Meeting conveners are encouraged to contact leaders throughout the month to see how they’re coming with their projects. If you don’t know what to do on a daily basis to achieve your goal, then it’s not a goal - it’s a fantasy!
Aim for good, not perfect: Sometimes we set the standards unreasonably high, which prevent us from even wanting to start. Balance your desire for perfection with the need to get things done. Does it really have to be perfect to create value?
Remind people of the “why”: The “why” behind what we do is what keeps people motivated. The “why” should be related to how lives are being changed as a result of tasks we are working on. It will easier to sustain momentum for a goal or task if the “why” is readily apparent.
Refuse to procrastinate. Don’t put off until tomorrow the things that you can do today. Start something today that matters. Procrastination only leads to regret. When I lose steam on my projects, I often read Mark Twain’s quote below for encouragement:
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
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Questions to Ponder- Does your congregation have a history of setting goals? A history of achieving them?
- If your congregation sets goals, would most members know what they are?
- Do you have a good process for assigning and tracking goals to ensure they get accomplished?
- Are goals and actions steps regularly discussed at staff meetings? Leadership meetings?
- What might your congregation do differently as a result of reading this chapter?