The Perfect Agenda For Your Planning Meetings

As summer is quickly approaching the temptation is to wind down and relax.  The reality is you can’t afford to shut things down completely.  In fact now is the perfect time to plan and prepare for the next year.

Courtesy of Nguyen Vu Hung (vuhung)/Creative Commons License

How do you prepare for the next year?  It’s about bringing your key people together and making sure you have a comprehensive plan.  To develop a solid plan you need to make sure your meeting involves:

SPENDING TIME IN PRAYER

At the end of a long year your team is wiped out and needs to be refueled.  Taking the time to refresh with God is essential.  Make sure it isn’t an afterthought and allow your team to have time to bring God into their thoughts, words and decisions.

BUILDING THE RELATIONSHIPS YOU HAVE

You are a part of a team and that team needs to form strong relationships.  Designating relational time to your ministry should not be overlooked.  To build relationships look at:

• Doing something fun, where people learn how to laugh with one another.

• Providing opportunities to share fun personal facts that others might not know.

• Coordinating an activity where people move out of their comfort zones.

Even if your team has been together for years it’s important to spend time growing with one another.  The more you work at these relationships the stronger your ministry’s leadership will be.

CELEBRATING YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Even if you are worn down after a long year it’s important to celebrate.  When you celebrate your year you show gratitude for the hard work that has been given.  You also spend time acknowledging the goals that have been reached.

To celebrate be creative with how you review the big moments.  Reward your team with treats or gift cards.  When you celebrate your wins you create an environment where people enjoy serving.

REVIEWING THE YEAR

While there is a lot to celebrate there is also a lot to learn.  Review your year with a critical eye by using a tool like S.W.O.T. (Strengths. Weaknesses. Opportunities. Threats).  This will help you analyze:

• What you’ve learned.

• What you still don’t know.

• What is going well.

This will enable you to constructively solve issues and pour into strengths for the upcoming year.

SETTING GOALS FOR THE FALL

To reach your ministry’s vision you need to set goals.  Goals are the mile markers that let you know you are heading in the right direction.  Take time with your team to brainstorm mile markers that need to be reached.

To determine which goals are the best for your ministry make sure you keep them S.M.A.R.T. (To learn what that means click HERE).  You will also want to revision your vision and S.W.O.T. analysis for clarification.

DELEGATING NEXT STEPS

After you’ve spent time discussing, analyzing and even arguing over certain subjects make sure there is a follow through.  That means walking away from that meeting with an action plan in place.

To have a comprehensive plan you need to make sure that people are assigned to a task.  You should also make sure each task has a deadline and that there is accountability that will ensure the job gets done.

Your planning meeting needs to have direction and in order to have that direction it needs a plan.  Make sure you take the time to plan out your meeting using these 6 steps.  You’ll walk away with more clarity and confidence.