It’s a common saying that, “If there’s fire in the pulpit, there will be fire in the pews.” Having the key leaders and pastors of the church involved in the process and owning the results is invaluable. As your church embarks on the journey to actually achieve your strategic focus vision, you need all the support and solidarity you can get. If participation and ownership of key leaders and staff is important, the participation and ownership of those who will bear the primary burden of implementation is at least equally essential. So, the missions advocates can’t mobilize the church to embrace a strategic focus without the leaders; and the leaders can’t implement one without solid support and help from the missions activists of the church.
Choosing a strategic missions focus is no small matter. it will commit personal and financial resources of the church for long time. Presentation of the data and rationale of your options to the church leadership should be a regular agenda throughout the whole process until all have come to final agreement. Decisions and agreements of church leadership need to be properly documented; there may be times coming that some will doubt or question what was done and how and why it was done. Answer their questions, as much as possible. Call on resource people from outside your congregation to add expertise, experience, and validity to what you are doing. Call Propempo! – this is part of what we do. Propempo can consult and guide your church through this process. We don’t have a cookie-cutter approach; your church’s unique identity, tradition, and bridges are taken into account.
Plan to announce and celebrate your strategic focus decision with the whole congregation.