Setting Direction

In Lewis Carroll's story, Alice in Wonderland, one day Alice comes to a fork in the road and as she sees Cheshire Cat in a tree, she asks: “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”  “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat. “I don’t much care where –” said Alice. “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go …” said the Cat.  

It is like this in the church as well.  If you really do not much care where you are heading as a church, then it really does not matter which way you go.   Direction does not matter.   But if you are concerned about what direction your church is heading, then setting direction is essential.

The value of future planning cannot be overstated.  Yet most pastors and church leaders do not spend a lot of energy doing strategic planning.  Some see it as a waste of time. Others think it is something only large churches do. Strategic planning does takes time, but it is an investment that pays big dividends in the long run.  Both in terms of changed lives and effective ministry.

What is meant by setting direction or strategic planning?  I think of in this way:  strategic planning is a process churches of all sizes use to turn God-inspired visions into realities.  Or to state it another way:  strategic planning bridges the gap between the church you are today and what God wants your church to become.  This includes determining where you are now, where God wants you to go, and how He wants you to get there.   

You might wonder if a church like yours should spend time thinking about setting direction and engage in strategic planning.  This might be something that businesses and large corporations should do, but the church?  Yet when we read the Bible we discover that God always has worked according to a plan.  For example, Isaiah tells us:   "The LORD Almighty has sworn, "Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand…. This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations." (Isaiah 14:24,26)  The apostle Paul in the New Testament reminds us "that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified." (Romans 8:28-30)  If God works according to a plan, should not we, who are made in his image, also work according to a plan?

As you turn the pages of the Bible you read how the people of the Bible thought and acted strategically throughout the centuries.  I think of Moses in his leading the people of Israel out of Egypt; Jethro’s advice to Moses how he should pastorly take care of all the people(Exodus 18); Joshua leading the people into the promised land(Joshua 6:1-7; 8:3-23; 10:6-9); the men of Issachar who understood the times and knew what Israel should do(Exodus 12:32); Nehemiah working strategically in the rebuilding of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 3-6); the missionary journeys of Barnabas and Paul (Acts); Paul's desire to go to Spain having worked throughout Asia Minor establishing churches. (Romans 15:23-24); Paul’s advice to the Ephesian church: "Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." (Ephesians 5:15-16) 

Not only do we see God and his people engage in setting direction from the beginning of time to now, strategic planning is also a recipe for overall church effectiveness. It correlates very closely with church growth. Studies of churches have shown that 85% of growing churches have re-evaluated their programs and priorities in the last five years. I have seen that as well in the CRCA.  In a recent study done in the CRCA, those churches which are not engaged in church health initiatives overall have declined in number by 19%.  In the same period, church which are engaged have only declined by 1%.  The indication is that when churches focus on setting direction there is greater membership retention and/or church growth.

While I know the value of setting direction and engaging in strategic planning in the local church, I also know and attest to the fact that while we do all this planning, God might have other ideas.   As we read, "many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails." (Proverbs 19:21)   For this reason in all our planning we must heed what James tells us: "You ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'" (James 4:15)

As a pastor or church leader, do you know the direction of your church?  What is it that God would have your church become?  Or do?  If the answers to these questions matter to you, then you would do well to devote time and energy to setting direction.   If you don't know where to begin or what to do, then I can help.  Check out this webpage or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..