Refine Your Focus | Strategic Planning for Long-term Success

by Infinity Concepts | Feb 19, 2013 | Leadership

It’s been said that every thousand-mile journey begins with a single step. But as important as taking that first step is, all the willpower, dedication, and good intentions in the world won’t help you reach your destination without a strategic plan to see the journey through to the end.

The Power of Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is a simple yet in-depth and powerful process that allows you to chart the waters ahead with a clear vision of what you want to accomplish for God’s kingdom and what it will take to get you there. On the pathway to success, strategic planning encompasses the Discovery, Knowledge, and Readiness phases. Within each of these phases, strategic planning will help you refine your future focus by answering critical questions. Here are just a few of them …

Discovery

In one concise sentence, why does your organization exist?

What are the values of your ministry that are absolutely unchanging?

What is the void your ministry fills in the world

Knowledge

What are your ministry strengths from which you can build?

What are the challenges holding your ministry back?

What will it take to break into the next level of ministry impact?

Readiness

What are the specific goals you want to accomplish — short-term to long-term?

How can you best reach your target audience with the resources God has given you?

What are the action steps you must take, starting now and continuing into the future?

Effective Ministry Leadership

Strategic planning gives you the ability to increase your effectiveness and your efficiency — your impact and your stewardship. It is critical for effective ministry leadership. For example, in my years of working for agencies both large and small, I have too many times seen organizations be inefficient with resources because they were not strategic in their approach — investing in the here-and-now with no thought of the future, rather than investing in a strategic way that allows them to build from that investment.

Every ministry wants to be more effective and efficient in God’s service. If you’re ready to refine your future focus and prepare for long-term ministry success, then perhaps it’s time to think about putting together a strategic plan. You’ll be glad you did as you continue your journey toward continually being all that God wants you to be.