Transcript THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS

THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS
Eastern North Carolina Episcopal District of the AME Zion Church
The Summer Institute
Theme: “From Worship to Ministry”
Focus: “Becoming a Healthy Church”
June 12, 2006
Facilitator : Jan King Robinson
Vice President, Human Resources/Organizational Development
Albemarle Hospital, Elizabeth City, North Carolina
“The king’s heart is a stream of water in
the hand of the Lord; he turns it
wherever he will.” -Proverbs 21:1 (ESV)
Why does the Church need a
Strategic Plan?
• Identify critical reasons for developing and
implementing a strategic plan.
– Put faith into action
– Create a process that is grounded in scripture
and best church practices
– Become informed, prepared, and accountable
– Create process to assess performance relative to
mission
What is strategy?
• Strategy is Leadership’s Road Map to realize the
mission and vision of the organization
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Disciplined planning
Disciplined governance
Disciplined allocation of resources
Disciplined thought
Disciplined action
The Value of Strategic Planning
• Clarify and validate the church’s mission, vision, and
overall strategic direction.
• Formulate strategies that will guide and direct the church’s
continued growth and development, ministry
programming, strategic relationships, and other
community, evangelical and operational initiatives over a
defined planned horizon.
• Establish an implementation plan to support the realization
of the identified strategic initiatives and a process by which
to evaluate progress.
“Many are the plans in the mind of a
man, but it is the purpose of the Lord
that will stand.” –Proverbs 19:21 (ESV)
Critical Questions
• Who are the church stakeholders?
• What is the church’s target community?
• What are the community outreach
programs?
• What are the internal and external
resources?
• Who are potential community partners?
• How does the church measure success?
Mission
• Purpose – Why the church exists.
• Business – Main method or activity through
which the church fulfills its purpose.
• Values – The principles or beliefs that guide the
church’s leadership and membership as they
pursue the church’s goals.
Mission Statements
“….Potential supporters [and members need
to] believe not only in your mission, but in
your capacity to deliver on that mission.”
--Jim Collins, Good To Great and the Social Sectors
“We, the Holland Chapel AME Zion Church
Family, are committed to loving God and
being obedient to His Commandments. We
actively encourage fervent prayer, church
and family unity, and Community service.
We actualize this mission through
Evangelism, Christian Education, and
Stewardship and Discipleship.”
--Holland Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church
“Our mission is to equip the membership for
service through the preaching and teaching
of God’s Word; to inspire the downhearted;
to provide relief to the destitute, to assist
with healing the mind, the soul and the
body; to conduct an outreach ministry in the
community; to provide leadership; to guide
lost souls to Christ to establish and maintain
a spiritual environment where all people feel
welcomed and loved.”
--St. Julia A.M.E. Zion Church
Ministry Mission:
“To Galvanize, Mobilize, Equip, and
Empower an exceeding great army of word
trained, warring men that are full of faith
and the Holy Ghost to possess the land.”
---The Potter’s House AMEN Ministry
(Adullam Men’s Empowerment Network)
Mission-Centered Church Ministries
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Prison Outreach
Christian College Preparatory School
Counseling/Relationship Restoration
Women and Children Housed in Shelters
Healthcare and Wellness
Economic Development
Food Bank
Cub Scouts
Summer Youth Academy
Thinking Strategically
•
The Three Big Strategic Questions:
1. Where are we now?
2. Where do we want to go?
3. How do we get there?
Where are we now?
• To answer where we are now
we must gather information…
(“Environmental Scan”)
– Access the Political, Economic,
Social, and Technological
Trends (P.E.S.T. Analysis)
– Access internal and external
Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, and Threats
(S.W.O.T. Analysis)
S.W.O.T
• Strengths  Any
resources or abilities the
Church can use to take
advantage of opportunities
or fight off threats
• Weaknesses 
Deficiencies in Church’s
resources or processes that
make it vulnerable
• Opportunities 
Situations in the external
environment that allow the
Church to fulfill its vision,
mission, and goals
• Threats  Anything,
internal or external, that
might hurt the Church’s
ability to fulfill its vision,
mission, and goals.
Where are are we now?
External
Environment
Politics
Economics
Driving Forces
The
Church
Geographical
Environment
Technology
Demographics
(Characteristics:
age, gender, abilities,
disabilities, needs,
family/parental
status, employment
status, etc.)
Vision
• Where do we want to
go?
• What will “success”
look like 5-10-20
years from now?
• What do we
– aspire to become,
– to achieve,
– to create?
Vision Statements
“Our vision is to be debt-free,
100% tithing congregation,
serving our community and
worshipping in a state of the
art facility that would
exemplify the God we
serve.”
--Clinton Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church
“It is the vision of God through the St.
Paul Church community to build a brand
new state of the art worship center that will
sufficiently house the present ministries
and others that are soon to follow in this
new age. A search and planning committee
is in place and we are moving forward to
make God’s vision a living reality. This
facility will consist of:
a brand new state of the art sanctuary,
fellowship hall, office space, class rooms,
conference rooms, a family life center
which will house a day care center, tutorial
program, computer center, exercise and
weight room, gymnasium, playground,
and a singles, couples, children, youth,
men and women’ ministry and much
more.”
--St. Paul A.M.E. Zion Church
Imagine 5-10-20 Years
From Now
• How do you sustain the
vision?
• What are the steps?
• What are the resources?
The Five Tasks of the Strategic
Planning Process
TASK 1
TASK 2
TASK 3
TASK 4
TASK 5
Develop
Strategic
Vision &
Mission
Set
Objectives
Craft
Strategy to
Achieve
Objectives
(Written Plan)
Implement
& Execute
Strategy
(Communication and
Implementation
Evaluate &
Make
Corrections
(Monitoring
Progress)
Revise as
Needed
Revise as
Needed
Revise as
Needed
Revise as
Needed
Revise as
Needed
Example of a Project Timeline
Stage of Work
Stage One: Planning Preparation
Stage Two: Strategic Assessment
Stage Three: Mission, Vision,
Goals
Stage Four: Strategy Development
Stage Five: Implementation
Planning
S O N D J F M A M J J A
X
X X X
X X X
X X X X
X X X X X
Strategy Is Both Planned and
Reactive to Changing Circumstances
Planned
(or Intended Strategy)
Actual Strategy
Adaptive Strategy
Adaptive Organizational Culture
• Strong leadership concern for the wellbeing of stakeholders.
• Receptive to risk taking, experimentation,
and innovation.
• Proactive approach to coping with
challenges of changing conditions.
“Commit
your work to the Lord, and
your plans will be established.”
–Proverbs 16:3 (ESV)
Getting Ready
Groundwork
Research
Analysis
Feedback
Getting Started
• Establish why the strategic planning process is
important.
• Identify who is responsible for managing the
planning process.
• Identify what the plan should achieve .
• Identify who will be involved in the process.
• Identify who is responsible for implementation
and success of the plan.
What would the Church do, if it
knew it could not fail?
“May he grant you your heart’s desire
and fulfill all your plans.”
--Psalm 20:4 (ESV)