I began as Lead Pastor at my current church, West Park Church in London, Ontario four years ago. When I started I faced a steep learning curve. I not only needed to understand a new church culture, but a new country culture as well. So, I developed what I called my six month on-boarding plan to best discern what needed to be done early on. If you are starting a new ministry role or are simply starting a new ministry project, if you’ll put in place these 5 essentials as you begin, your chances of success will increase. In this post I state those 5 essentials.
A book that’s helped me create my plan and one that I recommend for pastors transitioning to a new church is, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter by Michael D. Watkins. He also has an iPhone app as well. The book is a must read. He suggests that before you implement a change, you must make sure you have these five supporting pillars in place.
- Awareness. A critical mass of people aware of the need for change.
- Diagnosis. You know what needs to be changed and why.
- Vision. You have a compelling vision and a solid strategy.
- Plan. You have the expertise to put together a detailed plan.
- Support. You have developed a sufficiently strong group of supporters to implement your plan.
So the next time you plan a new ministry initiate, consider these 5 pillars.
What other pillars would you add?
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Reference: Watkins, Michael D. (2013-04-23). The First 90 Days, Updated and Expanded: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter (Kindle Locations 1711-1715). Harvard Business Review Press. Kindle Edition
This article about starting a new ministry project originally appeared here and is used by permission.
