Planning and visioning in congregations are “Holy Conversations” centered around three questions: Who are we?  Who are we here to serve? What is God calling us to do or become? The challenge of the large church is designing a planning process that engages a broad enough base of leadership voices.

Our first task in the consulting process is to help you determine what type of planning process would best suit the energy and planning needs of your congregation.  A planning process in your context may involve:

Developmental Action Planning: This is a short term planning process designed to build energy and momentum within your leadership body, and to get all of your leaders on the same page. This type of planning can be completed in a matter of months and typically builds upon a previously articulated strategic identity of the congregation.

Future Search: This is a whole systems approach to planning that typically takes three to six months to complete. The central feature of this planning approach is a weekend retreat that involves all of the leaders of the congregation. From this event, a series of innovation teams are formed to create specific action plans moving forward.

In Depth Strategic Planning: This is the deepest and most time intensive form of planning, taking congregations anywhere from twelve to twenty-four months to complete. A planning task force is formed to lead the congregation through a four stage process: preparing to plan, self-study, meaning making, and implementation. This approach involves wide-spread involvement of the full congregation in the planning process,and it engages leaders in studying their community.

Let us help your leaders design and facilitate a planning process appropriate for your context.