Major Types of Planning in Church Administration

Up to this point we have looked in rather sweeping fashion at what ministry planning is, why leaders develop church ministry plans, and who should lead in the planning. Let’s turn now to a more detailed look at some of the features of the process.

Basic Operational Planning

First, consider two major types of planning that should occur in every church. One type is in the area of the basic operational life of the church. If you should keep track of all the things your church does for a period of time, you would find that most of the activity is in this area of basic operations. These are the things you do on a continuing basis. They are mostly essential things that are done regularly, if not routinely. They are things you do to survive at the base, the church itself.

You conduct worship services. You have Sunday School, Church Training, and missions education. You sing. You visit the sick. You marry the people. You bury the dead. You comfort the bereaved. These and many other things you do in season and out of season because you are a church. In much of this basic operation, the mode is one of reacting to things which occur, over many of which you have little or no control. Is there planning to do in these basic operational areas? Indeed there is. In basic operational planning, the general thrust is to make the ministries more effective in quality, more efficient in process, and less consuming of resources. The concern is to make the base, the church, the best that it can be.

Many churches make the mistake of planning and working only on operational things. They “strengthen the stake” but they do not “lengthen the cord.” The first is necessary, but is eventually self-defeating without another type of planning. That type we call “advance” or growth planning.

Planning for Advance

Planning for advance is at the growing edge of the church. In this planning, you reach for new people to be brought to Christ, new ministries to be developed, new needs to be met. Here you plan for extraordinary increases in numbers. You also plan for extraordinary improvement in quality, such as in training of workers. Here, too, you consider the validity of ministering to those with special needs, and those in unique circumstances.

Even major strengthening of the base operations might be considered advance. It is important for the base of be strengthened. The lengthening cords must have strengthened stakes to which to be anchored. In developing church ministry plans leaders should consider the needs both in terms of the basic operational areas and in areas for advance. They should lead the church to plan for ministries in both. 

Focusing on Annual Planning and Long-Range Planning

Another way of viewing and doing church ministry planning is to focus on annual planning and on long-range planning. Most of the detailed planning of a church’s ministries would likely fall in the area of annual planning. This involves the pastor, the Church Council, the organizational councils, and some church committees as they plan the annual cycle of ministry events, emphases, and continuing programs. Annual planning needs to consider both operational and advance areas. Also, most of the annual planning probably should be done in relation to implementing church tasks.

One can find the listing of tasks in books such as Educational Ministry of a Church (Tidwell), Christian Education Handbook (Powers), and A Church on Mission (McDonough).

They include such ministries as reaching per-sons for Bible study, witnessing to persons about Christ and leading persons into church membership, equipping church members for discipleship and personal ministry, equipping church leaders for service, providing musical experiences in congregational services, witnessing and ministering through music, engaging in missions activities, teaching missions, leading the church in the accomplishment of its mission, proclaiming the gospel to believers and unbelievers, caring for the church’s members and other persons in the community, and interpreting and undergirding the work of the church and the denomination.

Three Basic Principles in Planning

There are more tasks than we have identified here, but these are representative of the total group. There are three basic principles to consider in annual planning related to tasks.

1. The Church Itself Is the Basic Unit

The first principle of good annual planning is that the church itself is the basic unit. Neither Sunday School, Church Train-ing, music ministry, Woman’s Missionary Union, Brotherhood, the deacons, the church staff, the church committees, nor any one individual is the basic unit to consider.

The church is the basic unit. The implications of this principle are many. Among them is the fact that the interests of the church, the overall fellowship, must have priority over the interests of any other entity, in or out of a church. The churches do not exist so that other entities or bodies will have a support base. The external entities exist to assist churches to fulfill their purpose.

Groups inside a church need to be ready to give way to the interests of the total body on matters like calendar, personnel, and money. In cases of conflicting requests, most often the subgroup in a church, such as one of the church organizations or any of its components, should give way. Those who lead in determining what the total church’s plans require must make a practice of planning far enough in advance so that other entities in the church can gracefully make their plans without conflict.

One example might clarify how this principle applies in a church. Suppose the Church Council schedules a revival series well in advance. The dates are set. The church approves the calendar. Sunday School classes, training groups, workers’ planning meetings, and other important events should give priority to what the church has ap-proved. They should find other ways and times to do the work they would have done at the time of the scheduled revival.

2. All Tasks Are Church Tasks

A second important principle in church ministry planning is: all tasks are church tasks. They are the responsibility of the total church, even though in many churches certain organizations in the church have primary responsibility for their implementation. The implications of this principle are many. One implication is that a church which is not big enough in its membership to warrant having all the recommended organizations still has the responsibility of finding ways to accomplish its tasks. And there are ways to work on these tasks without all of the recommended organizations.

This is not a heresy! It is simply saying that a church which does not have a functioning Church Training organization still has the responsibility to accomplish the task of equipping church members for discipleship and person-al ministry.

A church which does not have a Woman’s Missionary Union or a Brotherhood organization still has the responsibility for the tasks of teaching missions and of supporting missions. These and all the other tasks are church tasks. Another implication is that in a church which does have the organizations recommended for implementing its tasks, the tasks are not the “property” of the organizations. They are still church tasks and must be duly subject to the will and the processes of the church. This means, among other things, that church organizations play by the rules of the church in planning, scheduling, enlisting and training leaders, funding, and in policies and procedures related to other actions. All tasks are church tasks.

3. Tasks Must Be Planned in Relationship

A third principle is: tasks must be planned in relationship. They must not be planned as though there were no other tasks of the church. Planners can find many ways for tasks of various organizations to be planned in complementary fashion, so as to strengthen and help one another.

For example, while it is considered a pastoral ministries task to lead in proclaiming the gospel to believers and unbelievers, the Sunday School can plan to complement pastoral ministries in this task by the ways the Sunday School does its work of reaching persons for Bible study, witnessing to persons about Christ, and leading persons into church membership. Other organizations can find ways to work together as they plan to implement their tasks.

This is an arena which can be a model of God’s children working together, graciously considering one another, and supporting one another, thereby strengthening the total church and its ministries. This way the church can have a church ministry plan, not just an accumulation of plans of many groups without unity.

Long-Range Planning

Usually Extends for Several Years

The other type of planning we mentioned is long-range planning. This kind of planning considers what a church should plan to do to meet the studied needs in and out of its fellowship over a seven-to-ten year period. It usually is done by a special committee of a church and requires careful leader-ship over many months to develop.

Good long-range planning considers the same functional areas as do other types of planning: purpose, objectives, program, organization, human re-sources, physical resources, financial resources, and controls. The committee recommends church goals, strategies, and action plans which are projected over the years of the plan. Such planning can give annual planning a very fine context in which to operate. The church approves the long-range plan. Major items are processed again for church approval as they come up on the long-range timetable. Plans may be reviewed and re-vised along the way as needed.

Help Is Plentiful for Those Who Lead Planning

There are many materials available to help leaders in planning church ministries, both in annual planning and in long-range planning. There are usually revised planning guides for use by the Church Council and organizational councils. There is a long-range planning notebook for use by church commit-tees for long-range planning. Each year the major leadership magazine for each of the church program organizations and for church leaders in administration carry simultaneous planning features, usually in the spring and early summer editions. Several state conventions have planning materials tailored for use by churches in their state for annual planning. Church leaders are wise to consider these materials, and to incorporate them into their planning at all points where they can contribute.

Suggested Format for Annual Planning

The following brief format for developing your church min-istry plans might be helpful, especially in annual planning:

1. Establish and/or review your church’s statements of purpose and objectives.

2. Identify areas of need for planning, both in basic operations and in areas for advance.

3. Set worthy goals that are attainable but challenging, measureable, and time-phased.

4. Suggest major strategies, approaches to reach each goal. This is your plan of action.

5. Develop the details of your plans, drawing upon program. organizations and committees.

6. Correlate the proposed plans into a calendar of activities for church approval.

7. Coordinate financial planning to assure funding for the ministries.

8.Include evaluation criteria and periodic reviews of progress as appropriate.

9. Give positive leadership to the implementation of the plans.

10. Repeat this cycle for next year’s plans.

Church leaders in planning must learn to be patient with one another and with others. It probably took your church quite some time to get in the condition it is in. With patience, good planning, and His help, maybe it will not take quite so long to develop effective church ministry plans that will see the church approaching its potential in bringing persons to God through Jesus Christ.

Abstract

The fellowship we call church should be on the move in ministry. It should have a clear understanding of purpose. It needs specific objectives. Purpose and objectives should come to reality in a ministry plan. This plan is the church program.

A good ministry plan can lead a church to make progress in unity. It can develop leaders and members. It can help bring others to Christ. The pastor usually should be the leader in church planning. The Church Council should work with the pastor in annual planning.

A special committee is usually the best way to do long-range planning. Both annual and long-range planning should take into account basic operational planning and planning for advance.

Most annual planning relates to implementing church tasks. It is essential to the best planning that key principles be observed. There are numerous helps available for those who lead in planning. These materials are coordinated to make the work of church leaders more feasible. Leaders should develop and use a format for planning that meets their needs. They must also learn to be patient.