Strategic planning for missions involves setting clear and biblical goals and methods for the work in a particular setting. “Strategic planning is a prayerfully discerned, Spirit-guided process of preparation, development, implementation, and evaluation of the necessary steps involved for missionary endeavors.”[1]

A strategic plan for missions in a particular setting could include research and conclusions regarding several issues, such as:

1. A profile of the people group, city or region 
2. An assessment of the needs
3. An assessment of the target people’s receptivity
4. Key threats to and opportunities for the work
5. A platform for entry that will best prepare for the introduction of the gospel
6. Personnel needed
7. Effective strategies for the team’s entry and planting the church
8. A clear picture of a preferred future that includes an envisioning of the future church’s form and life

[1] Terry, John Mark and J.D. Payne, Developing a Strategy for Missions: A Biblical, Historical, and Cultural Introduction, p. 13