by David Smith

found in The Country Shepherds' Newsletter

Pastors are often discouraged with the slow rate of change in their churches. It seems that the each new idea is greeted with five reasons why it won't work. I asked a nationally known consultant at a recent seminar how change could be brought about in a church. His answer was that we pastors should stay in our churches five to seven years and then we would begin to see a climate for change after the congregation has begun to trust us. He added that if we were in rural congregations we might have to stay ten years before the climate for change would be ripe.

Obviously most pastors don't stay in their churches for seven years, so what can be done to quickly bring about changes that will help to enhance ministry? One method that I have seen work consistently and quickly to produce important change (without ever mentioning the word change) is congregational planning. It has worked well in churches of 50 to 500. People have accepted with enthusiasm and very little resistance or conflict changes which they had a part in planning.

We made these changes is a few months. Our people found themselves working together in harmony. Using planning we have initiated the formation of a Christian education board, modified our music programs, started children's churches, initiated evangelistic outreach, formed a variety of new committees, completely revised a church constitution, and done many other things to help us fulfill the goals of our churches.

This planning procedure releases the creativity that is present in every congregation. It empowers all the people, not just the ones who have been there for fifty-five years. Everyone from teens to senior officers have the opportunity to take part in the process. It helps to avoid the them/us conflict mentality which often is present between the "old guard" and newcomers.

I have used a number of planning methods with congregations, but the one that seems to work the best has these simple basic steps.

1. Secure board approval to do planning with the congregation explaining the procedures to be used. Talk with your board about the value of the planning process. Let them know that planning will help them to accomplish things they may have wanted to do for a long time, but may not have not been able to do. Study related Bible passages such as Proverbs 29:18; Romans 15:17-29; I Corinthians 2:2; Luke 14:28-32. Explain the process to them and ask them to help facilitate the plan.

2. Ask the congregation through bulletin inserts and verbal announcements to prepare for the planning session by thinking and praying about the question: What do you believe the Lord wants us to do as a church in the coming year? This step of undergirding the planning process with prayer is vital to its success. Personally pray for wisdom and good results. Encourage your congregation to pray with you for the Lord's direction on this important process. Use bulletin announcements and verbal requests to enlist them in prayer. Bring this prayer request to your weekly prayer services. Pray about it from the pulpit and at other times of public prayer. Ask the prayer chains in your church to pray about it. Pray about it with your board.

3. Schedule and announce a brainstorming session in place of a Sunday evening service or following a morning service. Announce this date six weeks in advance. Promote it through bulletin and verbal announcements each Sunday. Mention it in your newsletter and use posters to let people know the date is coming. Plan a meal to immediately proceed the planning session. Having a meal together gives people an opportunity to visit informally and get warmed up before the work of the planning session. It also helps to increase attendance at the planning session. Mention that children are welcome to accompany their parents for this brainstorming session. Baby sitters should be provided for younger children and a nursery staffed for infants.

4. Conduct the brainstorming session carefully. Arrange the tables in a large circle or rectangle with chairs around the outside so people are facing each other. Provide each person with a supply of 8 1/2 by 11 paper and with a marking pen or grease pen. Explain the procedures for brainstorming. Let them know that they can make any suggestion that they want and emphasize that suggestions will not be criticized or evaluated at today's session. Let them know that you are just trying to get as many possible ideas as you can and that ideas will be refined and brought later before the congregation for decisions. Let them know that they can speak for an idea today, but not against it. If someone speaks against an idea that is presented, gently remind the group that you will not be evaluating ideas today, but that will be a part of another process. Tell people that you are looking for an answer to the question: "What do you believe we as a church ought to be doing to serve the Lord better?" Tell them to write only a few words in large letters on their paper to capture the essence of their idea - preferably three to four words. Show them an example of what you want them to do. For example write, "PROVIDE EVANGELISM TRAINING," on an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet and hold it up for them to see.

5. Give people at least ten to fifteen minutes to write down their ideas. Try to keep the room as quiet as possible during this thinking/writing time. After they have had time to write, explain one of your ideas briefly and put it on the wall with masking tape. Provide pieces of masking tape for people and ask them to explain their idea and attach it to the wall with masking tape. Suggest that if their idea is related to another idea that has been presented that they put it near that idea. This will give you a start toward organization of the ideas. Remind them again that today is not the time for evaluating ideas and that just because an idea has been presented doesn't mean that it will be done.

6. Spend as much time as it takes to give everyone a chance to share ideas and put them on the wall. Have a secretary record the ideas as they are given. When all ideas have been presented, let the group know that you and the leadership of the church will be discussing the ideas further, evaluating them, and bringing them back to them for further processing and final decisions. Thank people for coming and dismiss them with prayer.

7. Collect all the ideas from the wall. Organize the ideas into a paper using logical categories. You might use heading such as Evangelism, Youth, Christian Education, Building Improvements, Youth Ministries, Prayer, Sunday School, etc. Publish this list for your congregation and distribute it with your Sunday bulletin explaining what you have done and recognizing the efforts of those who came to the brainstorming session and asking them to continue praying about the ongoing process.

8. The ideas then can be further evaluated and refined in one or more of the following ways. Give them to the church board and ask them to think about them and be prepared to discuss them at the next board meeting. Have a special board meeting or better yet a board retreat to discuss all possibilities that have been suggested and out of this meeting formulate a list of possible objectives for the coming year to be taken to the congregation for approval.

If you have congregation of fewer than 100 you may want to simply refine ideas which have been presented into a list of possible objectives and present this list to the congregation asking them to think and pray about which of these objectives they want to pursue. Then meet with them preferably during one of the regular meeting of the church and discuss each idea and decide whether you wish to pursue it or not. This procedure may take several meetings to complete depending on how many ideas they have and how much discussion time is given to each one. Another alternate way to refine the ideas presented is to put all the ideas into a response device and give people an opportunity to put a number from one to five in front of each item to indicate how strongly they would like to see a particular item accomplished. You might want to limit the number of total points they can use in any one category. For example if you have five possible means of evangelistic outreach, you might ask them to use one five, one four, one three, one two and one one. This will force them to give some priority to the things they want to see accomplished. You might pass out such a response device in a morning service or evening service and give people ten minutes during the service to complete it. It is not a good idea to send these home as you will normally get back only a small portion of them.

9. From the results of whatever refining device you have chosen, prepare a paper listing objectives you might accomplish during the next year or two. 10. Give this written plan of objectives to the congregation and ask them to think about it for a week or two and come prepared to discuss the plan and vote on it at a special congregational meeting.

11. At the special congregational meeting give the group a chance to discuss any items in the plan. Make modifications in the plan if the congregation votes to do so. Take a congregational vote on adopting the plan.

12. After the plan is adopted, assign different parts of it to various committees, boards and individuals in the church who would logically be responsible to carry out those objectives. Put a projected date down for completion on each part of the plan. Here are three examples: Start a children's choir - October, 1995, Music Committee. Convert the oil furnace to natural gas - August, 1995, Trustees Revise the church constitution - January 1996, Special Constitutional Revision Committee The final document containing these assignments and completion dates should be distributed to the congregation with a request for them to be praying about these matters.

13. During the year meet with individuals, boards and committees to work on completing the various parts of the plan.

14. Give written and verbal reports to the congregation from time to time on accomplishments which are being made toward completing the various parts of the plan and rejoice together. 15. Before the year is over, repeat the planning process for the coming year. I believe that if this kind of planning process is carefully and prayerfully used it will produce significant changes in virtually any church. Further it will also help create a climate for continuing change and progress. It will also contribute to keeping the church vital and relevant in a rapidly changing world. Last, but not least, it can be used with success any time in a pastor's tenure from year one to year ten and beyond.

David A. Smith
Route 1, Box 54
Laporte, MN 56461

A Response by Gary Goreham

The article provides a detailed step-by-step approach on how to conduct congregational planning. It is an exciting, optimistic article that offers practical methods and solutions to some of the problems as they emerge.

The planning process is a tried and true approach that has been used, with variations on the theme, by Extension specialists, community developers, church consultants, and business, organizational, and industry specialists for many years. It continues to be used, first, because it works, and second, because it fits the participatory style appropriate for communities, congregations, and management style of a growing number of organizations. It nicely matches a congregational polity, and as churches using other polities have discovered, it augments their forms of church government as well.

The article suggests that this planning strategy is appropriate for churches of 50 to 500. Some church growth specialists believe that churches who wish to grow beyond their current numbers, and particularly those in the mega-church category, need a more directive, take-charge pastor whose leadership style may not include asking the flock for advice about direction. There may be merits to this argument.

However, if the goal is the build a Kingdom whose citizens have Christlikeness of character rather than one pastor's congregation, the method is appropriate. Why? Because participatory development/ leadership/ planning empowers the members of the organization. They take ownership of both developing and working the plan. It can bring excitement and life to a church. It can give a new sense of direction and purpose that is shared throughout the congregation.

The author provided several cautions throughout the article. Allow me to offer a few more. First, the initial brainstorming sessions must be carefully thought out (Step 4). The question to which people are asked to respond is all important. The author's suggested question, "What do you believe we as a church ought to be doing to serve the Lord better?" is an excellent one. Others could be constructed, such as "What are the gifts or assets God has given this congregation? And what do you believe we could be doing to best use these gifts?" Great care needs to be made to avoid delving too deeply into, "What are our liabilities? And why are we so stuck?" It's important to look at both sides, but there is danger in a group process where people vent their pent-up sore points and a type of one-ups-manship begins. More than one church has been unnecessarily damaged by opening Pandora's box in this manner. Again, a forum for constructive concerns must be made available, but I don't believe that this is it.

Second, the sensitivity and focus of the moderator/facilitator is almost as important as the questions to be addressed. This must be personable, skilled listener who is respected, able to see connections, objective, able to involve and draw out everyone, able to stay on task, and have a good sense of humor. A good facilitator makes his or her job look easy, but it requires a real knack or gift. Think twice about having the pastor or even the church chairperson serve in this capacity.

Third, inevitably someone will say, "Hey, what are we doing here anyway? Trying to play Holy Spirit?" as they quote selected Bible passages. Be prepared ahead of time how best to answer this concern. Next, someone else will ask, "Isn't this what they did at XYZ company? Are we trying to be like the 'world?'" Again, have you ducks lined up!

Fourth, the democratic process seen in most congregations works very well. But some churches are plagued by a very vocal minority. When votes are taken, a member of the vocal minority who voted against the plan may refuse to participate, give financial support, or even threaten to sabotage the effort. Many churches with such members have a problem with the "tail wagging the dog." Anticipate ahead of time who the nay-sayers will be. Listen to them and take them seriously; they may wisely have concerns that others in the congregation, in their exuberance, may have overlooked. Affirm them as valued and valuable parts to the congregation who have a vital role to play. But eventually, you will need to press on whether they are on board or not.

These cautions sound like an overly concerned member of the congregation trying to dissuade the pastor and lay leaders from pursuing the planning procedure. Not so! One only needs to anticipate issues that may arise, and address them before they become a problem. Best wishes to those congregations who will use the process. They will reap rewards in new ministry both inside and outside of the walls of the church.

A Response by Joe Smith

David Smith's article is a straightforward approach to planning. Followed carefully by a ready congregation, it can be the means of producing change where everyone has a chance to participate. The chief usefulness of a system like this is that it develops "ownership" of change. The most frequent trouble in bringing change into a stable (some would say sleeping) congregation is that since people did not participate in the production of change, and therefore will not own it.

Also, you wopuld do well to heed the thoroughness of the process. Lyle Shaller, in his book "The Change Agent", says that change is difficult, and often the attempt leads to pastoral demise. This has not been Rev. Smith's experience. And there are several things that might explain that.

First, not many pastors are as gifted in the leadership of meetings as he is. We need to face the fact that this is a difficult thing to do. Dave possesses incredible spiritual discernment, is gifted with wonderful communication skills, and has such an evident life of godliness that he can easily do things others can not do at all.

Second, the churches he has pastored did not have built into their makeup some of the cultural baggage that makes planning and change difficult. I do not speak here of people who deliberately attempt to sabatoge programs, but of people who for very good reasons have a different take on the subject than this article pictures.

Overall, the problem of the article is in the unexamined presumptions it makes. It presumes that the government of the church is congregational. It is not that churches with episcopal or presbyterian governments may not use this process. It is rather that those types of churches need additional instructions not explained here.

It assumes that people will contribute ideas that are rooted in God's program. That is not necessarily so. Often, there are congregational attitudes, unexpressed, that might surface in such a meeting. A friend of mine had someone insist in just such a brainstorming session that the church busses refuse to stop for children who were waiting if there was one black child in their midst. The rest of the meeting was an unmitigated disaster.

Sometimes people who are not good planners will propose plans that are grossly impractical. They may have good goals, but be so out of touch with resources as to seem ludicrous. They need to be helped through a process of counting their blessings before they plan.

A congregation may need to be prepared for change and the planning process by a careful examination of their resources and the community needs. I would suggest some time to study what the Bible says about God's promised resources and His purposes. Then they should study their community to see the challenge. After that they should study the local body to see what gifts are there. And finally they can look to what outside help they can expect. Workable plans will take account of all these things.

Congregations that have a rural, especially agrarian, make up; may resist planning altogether. Their outlook is shaped by their lives of risk. Metropolitan congregations, or even rural congregations composed of retired people from the city tend to assume that all things can be done if there is enough money, time and will. They see life as controlled by men. Farmers know that there are things that will never be controllable. To them, planning may seem presumptious, especially if it involves planning to spend money that is not in hand.

These folks need a two pronged help. First, they need to see the scriptural balance. It's true that James says we shouldn't boast of tomorrow. But Jesus warned against building a house without counting the cost.

Remember that many rural people are not as gifted in communication as others. And they need to live with the same people the rest of their lives. Brainstorming may seem to be a way to make enemies. They often talk around subjects until they sense the other's point of view before they ever propose anything. So asking for ideas from these people may not be productive.

You can help this situation by pointing out that critiquing while you are "possibility thinking" tends to limit the range of possibilities thought of. Make it clear that all ideas should be expressed, not just good ones. Then never label the idea with a person's name. It is not Joe's idea; it is the idea of monthly fellowship dinners. After the idea is adopted credit can safely be given to its author, but not before.

Second, they need to be assured that planning does not mean presumption on the grace of God. You can plan to build a building without incuring debt you cannot repay, if you set goals for having funds on hand before you start.

Please do not assume that these caveats are designed to discourage the process in the main article. Carried out rightly, this can breathe new life into any church.