The New Year is a great time for your church leadership to meet and set goals for your next year of ministry, and to lay down the framework for how those goals will be achieved. With 80% of U.S. churches in decline, it’s probably safe to say many of these goals are the same: increase attendance, create opportunities for attenders to get more connected within the church, facilitate spiritual growth and maturity, etc. But how do we get there? Where do we start in laying the foundation for these goals to be achieved?

 

Rick Warren wrote a great article entitled “5 Big Goals for Each New Year of Ministry,” in which he outlines not only the church’s goals (centered around the five biblical purposes of the church), but also thought-provoking questions that will get you thinking about the nuts and bolts of how to reach those goals. 

Here’s where it all starts:

“GOAL #1: We will increase our weekend service attendance.

The first step in our disciple-making process is drawing our surrounding community together on Sunday to be part of our crowd. Jesus drew large crowds and then challenged them to commit. Peter challenged the enormous crowd to follow the resurrected Jesus on the Day of Pentecost, and three thousand did so.

We want as many people as possible to be brought into close proximity to the gospel, so that they will hear about Jesus. That’s the starting point, for most people, on the journey to spiritual maturity. So what will you do in the upcoming year to increase your primary weekend worship attendance?

  • How will you use social media?
  • How will you utilize local media outlets?
  • How can you leverage local events or host special events?
  • What invite tools will you put in the hands of your members?
  • What major campaigns will you use as an entry point for new people?”

(Did you know that 9 out of 10 people will come to church if invited? Equip your church to invite newcomers with these invitation tools: Guest Invitation Cards)

GOAL #2: We will help attenders to get better connected.

GOAL #3: We will help our members grow in spiritual maturity.

GOAL #4: We will deploy more people in ministry and develop more leaders.

GOAL #5: We will fulfill the Great Commission locally, globally, and cross-culturally.

Read the full article here for more about these goals to make this your best ministry year yet!