The I in the IVVSS Strategic Planning Process

As part of the re-visioning and strategic planning process our Board of Elders are going through right now I have proposed a new vision, 5 Key Strategies and 1-3-5 year goals to achieve all this. Before i post about those however, let me lay out how i understand over a series of posts how all the various parts of a strategic plan fit together.

From the Leighton Ford Arrow Leadership Course i took many years ago at Ontario Theological Seminary (now Tyndale) i was taught the following:




Intimacy (with God and community) before,
     Core Values (that establish the culture of your organization) before,
          Vision (the preferred future God is calling you toward) before,
               Strategy (the 5-6 key activities required to achieve your vision) before, 
                    Structures (the bylaws, buildings, bodies and budgets required to do your strategies). 
                         

So before you do or decide anything... get intimate with God and your community. Spend the time. There is no substitute. Seek after the Lord, asking Him to reveal His will for your life and ministry as well as that of your church's. This of course is the step that holds the most promise and power but is also the step that is so often overlooked or glossed over. Our BOE has been meeting for months at 8am on Sundays praying, seeking God before we entered headlong into this strategic planning process.

Take your Board or Deacons away to a place like 3 Crosses Listening Centre and spend a concerted amount of time in listening prayer.

Read these verses, ask the Holy Spirit to guide your thoughts and words, meditate on them silently, journal each on your own about what God is saying to you, then after 20-30-40 minutes simply read what the Holy Spirit has led each of you to write down.

But also get intimate with your community. Get out there. Do that old Willow Creek "Community Needs Assessment" thing. Or stop and do "person-on-the-street" interviews. Hold round-tables or focus groups. Do anonymous online feedback forms. Do whatever you have to do to ask and get the answers to at least the following questions:

Where is God moving in our church?
Where is God moving in our community?
What is NOT working currently in our church?
How is our church brand perceived in the community?
What are the barriers the members of your target audience have to becoming involved in the life of your church?

The I in the IVVSS process is Intimacy with God and your community.