10 Reminders for Congregational Resolutions

Resolutions. Goals. Points of Emphasis.

Your congregation does have them, right?

Sadly, many congregations do not. I’m thankful that Lebanon Road’s elders do have goals. I can’t share all of them yet, but I can share one. Our elders want to make the goals more well-known!

Since many are thinking of personal resolutions, I thought it might be good to share some basic reminders for writing congregational goals. If you haven’t written yours yet, start now! (Who ever said a congregational “year” has to be from January through December, anyway?!)

1. Be specific. “Increase attendance” is not a goal. If you have 100 on the first Sunday in January and 101 on the last Sunday of December you may or may not have met that goal. You may have just had a family give birth during the year! Instead, set specific goals. Use a percentage or a specific number for these. “Be more mission-minded” is not a goal. “Establish two new mission points” is.

3. Be positive. I mean, think big! Certainly, you need to be realistic (see #3), but you don’t need to put a damper on a congregation with talent. If you have people, you have talent! Think of those talents and set some big goals to strive toward.

3. Be realistic. I fully agree that, with God, we can accomplish much (cf. Philippians 4:13). However, if you have 25 people in your congregation and you are way out in the country, it is probably not a realistic goal to want to grow to 200 this year (although it might not be a bad long-term goal!). This is where percentages might be a good idea.

4. Don’t just think of attendance. While it’s the easiest to think of, set goals in every area of the congregation. Think of goals for VBS. Think of goals for the family aspect of the congregation. Elders need to set goals for themselves, as well!

5. Set a time table. Yearly goals are great, but so are “mini-goals” for the short term. If you have a goal of increasing the budget for the Bible school program, for example, why not set a goal of increasing it just a little bit each month. Then, as you do, share that with the congregation and let them see that the goals are being met.

6. Be open. Share the goals as they are met, and be honest about goals that are not being met. If you have an elder that has a way with words, it might be good if he speaks to these goals. He will know how to approach sharing them without “talking down” to the congregation when a goal isn’t going to be met.

7. Set long-term goals. A year is great, as are the mini-goals, but so are 3-year and 5-year goals. This is especially true with capital improvements or with matters of “culture” change. For example, if your congregation has had trouble dealing with single mothers, then it might be good to have a long-term plan for reaching them, instead of making that a goal for just one year.

8. Pray, pray, pray. Goals are fine, but if they are nothing more than our ideas on paper, then they aren’t worth anything! Pray that the goals are what God would have the congregation to do. Pray that He would, through His providence, help the congregation press forward. Pray for patience when a goal isn’t reached. Pray for wisdom as goals are evaluated. Wrap the entire process with prayer.

9. Evaluate. It’s great to set goals at the beginning of the year, but what do you do when the year is over? Many just throw the list away. If you do that, you may have missed the most important part of goal-setting: evaluation. How has the congregation done in each area? Why did it do well or not do well? Can any goals be updated and used again? Do some need to be scratched? Do some need to made short-term or long-term instead of one-year goals?

10. Don’t focus on one goal. If your congregation has 10 goals for 2010 (that’s kinda catchy, isn’t it?), don’t just always announce one of them! Share them all at different times, so those who are better equipped to help with a different goal will be motivated to continue on.

What suggestions would you add?