A Simple Way to Write Better Goals for Your Church
I grew up in a church that was incredibly numbers-focused.
We tallied up the number of souls saved in Saturday street witnessing. We counted the kids we brought in on our Sunday school buses. We put thermometers on the wall to track progress on our goals.
Once a year the leaders literally split the church into four teams that competed with each other for a month to see who could invite the most visitors, make the most phone calls, and lead the most people to Christ.
Bigger and bigger was the definition of better.
And it was exhausting.
Even worse, it did spiritual harm to a lot of people.
Sure, much good was done too. (God is gracious to utilize any of us fools in his work.) But many who joined the church lasted for a year or two before leaving and never returning.
It was a real life confirmation of Jesus’ parable about the seed on stony ground: quick to spring up, but lacking the roots to survive.
Like a pendulum I eventually swung to the other end of the spectrum, pushing against the numbers-centered vision I grew up with.
But I couldn’t stop assessing what I was doing.
No one can. It’s part of what makes us human. “We were created to be interpreters,” pastor and counselor Paul Tripp writes. “Human beings do not live life based on the facts of their experience, but on the interpretation of the facts.”
Assessing what happens is fundamental to our humanity.
We might as well be clear about what we hope will happen.
Think about the “bigger is better” mentality for a minute.
What is the goal?
Numbers-driven ministries like the one I grew up with essentially counted one thing: participants.
Every goal measured the breadth of the church, the reach of the church.
Sunday attendance, visitors, converts, baptisms.
But what about its depth?
How can we assess whether people are growing in Christ? How do we evaluate whether they are growing roots to sustain a life of fruitfulness?
How can we write better goals?
There are lots of ways to answer this question, but let me suggest one type of goal to get you started.
Process goals.
A process goal begins with the recognition that people are at different places in their spiritual development, ranging from non-Christian to mature and everything in between.
Your job is to contemplate what growth looks like for the people in your church and to lead them there.
This is where writing clear process goals can help.
Here’s how to do it.
1. Make a list of actions you believe everyone should do.
If you followed last week’s brainstorming questions, this should be fairly simple since the first question brought a ministry area to mind that needs attention.
You know it needs work. Now you need to identify what the church needs to do.
Take last week’s example: evangelism. Among other things I might say that faithful, mature believers share their faith with others, pray regularly for the lost, and get involved in their community.
These actions are good but still a bit generic. We need to think even more specifically about each one. Use the classic questions as a guide; you’ve got the who and the what. Now ask When? Where? and How?
The more concrete your actions, the better it will serve the people who want to grow.
2. Organize that list from easiest to hardest.
Remember the spectrum of spiritual formation in your church. People are at very different places in their journey of faith. So help them by organizing these actions from simplest to most difficult.
You’re setting up a process.
(That’s why they’re called Process Goals.)
Let’s return to the evangelism example, but this time I’ll enumerate five steps from easiest to hardest:
- Pray three times a week for a non-Christian.
- Have a relationship-building meal with a non-Christian you’re praying for.
- Invite a friend to Easter services.
- Serve once a month in an outward facing ministry of the church (e.g., food distribution), a partner organization (e.g., rescue mission), or a non-profit (e.g., an after school program).
- Engage in a spiritual conversation with a non-Christian every month.
While the particulars will change, the idea is the same: show your people how progress is possible.
3. Encourage people to take the next step spiritually.
When you present this process to the church, help them locate themselves on the continuum and encourage them towards the next practice.
Here’s how I might do it for evangelism.
“I believe God is calling us to grow in our witness this year. And that means that we all need to consider where we are, and where the Spirit is leading us. Some of us aren’t even regularly praying for our non-Christian friends, neighbors, or co-workers. Some pray, but haven’t spent time developing a trusting relationship where they might hear our witness as the loving message that it is. Many of us pray and have relationships, but have never invited a friend to join them for a service here.”
And so on.
By laying your dream out in stages, people can see where they are and where they need to go. By encouraging people to take the next step, they will see it as manageable, logical, and (most importantly) necessary.
And by presenting this as a process, you’re not asking them to go from zero to sixty in nine months.
You’re inviting them to take a step with you in the direction of obedience.
4. Give them the help they need.
For each of these steps, provide the support they need to make it happen.
You might suggest a prayer app with notification reminders to encourage intercession.
For Easter you might provide an attractive invitation that they can give to a friend, either physically or digitally.
And for sharing their faith you certainly would want to create opportunities for them to learn and to practice.
The point is, don’t just tell them what they ought to be doing. Give them the help they need.
This also means you need mechanisms for feedback and constructive criticism along the way. But that’s a topic for another day.
5. Celebrate progress, not results.
“Bigger is better” ministry puts the spotlight on results. This approach focuses instead on deepening our discipleship by helping people take the next step spiritually.
This means, of course, that you’ll have to develop ways to track growth.
If your church has an effective small groups in which most people are already involved, you might be able to track progress relationally, asking small group leaders to keep notes of where people are, where they’re aiming to grow, and what progress they’re making.
Another simple vehicle is an anonymous survey sent by text at the end of a worship service. At the beginning of the year you could ask, Where are you on this process? What step(s) do you hope to take this year? and What would be most helpful for you along the way? The first two questions could be multiple choice, and the third a short answer.
After three or four months, conduct a second survey that adds the question, What steps have you taken this year? And then in the fall do it one more time as a sort of year in review.
All along the way—and this is critical—you’ll want to celebrate the progress of the people. Numbers are an easy way to do this (“at the beginning of the year 17% of our congregation prayed weekly for the lost; now 36% are!”).
But numbers don’t tell the whole story, and are not the most effective for generating momentum.
What’s better than numbers? Stories. And here is where your small group leaders come in. As they track this conversation through the year, ask them to pay particular attention to stories of growth. Where is the Lord’s hand obviously moving in someone’s life? Where can we almost see the roots deepening?
Ask them to share those stories with you. Then approach those people and ask them to share their story in a worship service. If they’re not comfortable speaking in public, consider recording a conversation and play it as part of your service.
Believers get excited when they see other believers growing. It challenges them, stimulates their imagination, and inspires them to keep following Christ.
This depth of growth will sustain a life of discipleship.
Download Your Own Process Goals Worksheet
To help you in this process I’ve developed a free, easy-to-use Google Doc that walks you through the brainstorming process.
To get your copy of the Process Goals Worksheet, just fill out the form below or in the sidebar, and I’ll send it to you.
I hope it will help you do three things.
Clarify for yourself what healthy discipleship looks like.
Present your vision to the church with aspirational yet achievable steps.
And celebrate what God does in the process.
What progress are you praying God will bring about in your church next year?
Share your thoughts below with fellow leaders.
Better yet, when I send you the downloadable worksheet, just hit reply. We’ll be able to start a conversation there.