See How to Create Effective Family Ministry Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 & Part 4 for further details on this series, including:
Step One: Do Your Homework
Step Two: Understand Your Context
Step Three: Formalize Your Ideals
Step Four: Begin The Conversation
Step Five: Develop A Strategy
Step Six: Create Buy-In
The final two steps complete the process and launch you into your new initiative. They are:
Step Seven: Present the Vision
We spoke in Step Six of creating a strategy which included a plan to communicate the vision. This step is where that plan is implemented. Follow the plan you created with the following in mind:
- Listen – as you communicate your visions/plan, listen to the feedback. The “inflow” is as important as the “outflow” when it comes to communicate. Listen well!
- Adjust - flexibility is vital in any new initiative. As you receive feedback, you may realize there were things that you just didn’t consider, challenges that will need to be addressed. Be ready to adjust.
- Continue – keep sharing the vision. As a leadership team, virtually every conversation should include the new vision being pursued. If the entire leadership team is talking the vision, it will begin taking root.
Step Eight: Pursue the Plan
Finally you’ve gotten to the point where the plan is in full construction mode. Of course, many bricks have already been laid to get to this point, but they are all foundational. Now it’s time to build the structure. Three keys to pursuing the plan:
- Remain confident – having gone through the process you should be confident that the plan you are pursuing is what God wants you to pursue. Though you will encounter challenges and obstacles, hold to that confidence.
- Stay committed - adjusting the plan is one thing (see Step Seven) but abandonment is another. Pursuing any initiative worth pursuing requires commitment. Adjust where necessary, but stay committed to what God has called you to do.
- Keep communicating – communication is critical. You cannot over-communicate with your leadership team, core leaders or the church as a whole. Keep communicating to cast vision, find and solve problems, and keep the plan moving.
Creating an effective Family Ministry, or any other, is going to be a challenge. I have found this eight step process to be helpful in moving ministry forward. How about you? What process have you used? How would you adjust this process?
