10
Putting It All Together

Congratulations! You are sooooo close to the end. Now that you have walked through the twenty questions, dreamed big, and brainstormed some smart goals for your small group ministry, you have accomplished what less than 3 percent of people in ministry have done. You are in the 97th percentile. I’m proud of your persistence and hard work. Now, what’s next?

Prioritize

Look at the prioritizing list of all twenty planning questions along with the twenty high-priority goals you chose as you worked through the book (pages 221–23). It’s time to rank the twenty goals you’ve chosen. We will do this in three stages.

First, read through the twenty high-priority goals you’ve written. You will see two columns of empty boxes beside each goal. In the first column write A, B, or C to identify that goal’s degree of importance or ministry impact.

A	=	Great importance or impact on our small group ministry
B	=	Moderate importance or impact on our small group ministry
C	=	Low importance or impact on our small group ministry

Say a quick prayer, and go do that now. Then come back and read the next instructions.

Welcome back. Second, in the second column add a numerical value within each A, B, and C grouping to identify which should be done first, second, third, and so on. In other words, consider the goals you marked with an A and assign numbers based on the order in which they should be done. So your A1 goal is the one you will do first; you will do your A2 goal second, and so on.

Then do the same for your B-level goals, marking them B1, B2, and so on. And finally, your C-level goals, in the order in which you want to accomplish them.

Do that now and then read the instructions that follow.

Third, after you’ve labeled all twenty goals with a letter and a number, pick five to seven goals that you would like to accomplish over the next twelve to eighteen months. Some goals will be challenging, some easier. This is where you have a chance to exercise daring faith. So while you certainly should exercise some reason, invite God’s wisdom in stretching your expectations.

Don’t assume you should do all of your A-level goals first and your C-level goals last. You may find that some “less important” tasks have to be done before you can start on others. Your church calendar may dictate what can and can’t happen in the next months or year. And some changes may be too much too soon for your church or ministry culture. In fact, knocking out a few of the easier goals quickly gives you and your ministry reason for celebration. And some small steps end up paying off big over time.

To illustrate, I once had some B-level goals regarding singles’ groups that I set aside as less important. I was busy working away on some of our more urgent plans, but Rick preached a sermon series that logically led to launching new singles’ groups. I didn’t think we could attempt those goals at that time, but God opened the door! The church culture at that time contributed to the easy execution of those goals.

Write below the top five to seven goals that you want to pursue during the next twelve to eighteen months.

  

  

Put Them on the Calendar

Now put your top five to seven goals, some of them in steps or stages, on your calendar. Some or all of this may require coordination with your top ministry leaders and other church leaders if you haven’t already been coordinating with them throughout the whole process. Putting something on a calendar makes it suddenly more real and more urgent. This builds faith and helps you maintain your focus and stick to your priorities.

Calendars are living documents, and erasers and delete keys exist for a reason. Some dates may “float,” depending on what else is going on in your church and ministry. If you suffer unavoidable delays, remember that God’s delays are not God’s denials.

Once you’ve written your goals on the calendar, now begins the work of making them happen. If it was easy, everyone would do it!

Timing may seem a simple concept, but the two New Testament words for “time” help us see a need for balance in our thinking. The Greek chronos (from which we derive “chronological” and “anachronism”) refers to measurable clock time—seconds, minutes, hours, years. In contrast, the Greek kairos means “opportunity,” “season,” or “fitting time.” A sequence of moments is chronos, emphasizing the duration of time; an appointed time is kairos, with no regard for duration. Chronos is linear and quantitative, while kairos is nonlinear and qualitative.

Your time-related planning requires both kinds of thinking in balance. But since each individual and church culture tends to lean toward one or the other, we have to work at keeping both in force. Those who like chronos want to stay on schedule, sticking strictly to plan, doing things right. We need this thinking to avoid drift from a good plan. Those drawn to kairos are more flexible, willing to sacrifice the “perfect” schedule if it means accomplishing something truly important, though possibly inconvenient. We need this thinking to evaluate the original plan and consider important changes to it.

These aspects of time relate to other aspects of life and ministry. Do you and your church tend to focus on doing things right or on doing the right things? Remember, both are important, and imbalance between the two leads to poor ministry health. For greatest eternal impact, assess the tendency for you, your ministry, and your church culture. Then work together to press back the other way as needed. This is why ministry is more an art than a science.

Strength for the Weak, Wisdom for the Foolish

If the task ahead of you seems overwhelming or you feel inadequate, let me tell you a little of what God has done in and through me. If I can do it, so can you!

I have a mild form of dyslexia, so when I read, I sometimes swap words or characters around, then I try to make sense as I go. In math I would work hard and solve a problem correctly, but I would invert a couple numbers and write down the wrong answer. I’ll never forget my sixth grade teacher becoming frustrated that I never spelled my name completely—“Stev” instead of “Steve,” or “Glade” instead of “Gladen.” She often asked, “How will you make it if you can’t spell your name?”

God called me into ministry, and I was sure he had the wrong person. (Later, when I was a youth pastor, kids used to tease me, saying I read from my own version of the Bible.) I ran from ministry for seven years. But much like Jonah, I couldn’t outrun God.

During my master’s program at Fuller Seminary, a guidance counselor told me I couldn’t get my degree until I actually worked in a church. Novel concept, huh? I was totally happy in my secular job, but God had other plans. I was so scared. But God spoke to me through 1 Corinthians 2:4–5, where Paul said he didn’t come with wise and persuasive words, but with the spirit of God’s power. Boom!

When Jesus chose the Twelve, he didn’t pick the most influential or the wealthiest or the elite. He picked the most obedient, and he worked with them. He will do the same with you, and you will make a difference.

Everyone experiences seasons of discouragement, and everyone has his or her critics. That’s normal. You need to deal with it as realistically as you can, but don’t focus on the negative. Keep refreshing your spirit to avoid burnout. Then get on with your good, Spirit-guided work of accomplishing your church’s and ministry’s vision and mission.

Never forget: You are not alone.

We’re All in This Together

God has placed around you many people and organizations that are there to help and support you. Look around your own community and your church. Pray and watch for connections with the people who are there for you and you for them. And beyond your local circles, you can lean on the powerhouse of small group point people who are standing beside you in the Small Group Network (see chapter 6, Q8).

Shila Garrett, from Christ Fellowship, West Palm Beach, Florida, shared in a note,

The Small Group Network provides a landscape where those who design biblical community can collaborate. As we share our individual, unique blueprints with those who are laboring alongside us, we benefit from their collective years of knowledge and experience. This environment refreshes me and preserves my creativity, perspective, and endurance in ministry.

Use the knowledge and support of those around you. This is a long game; press on and you will be successful. I love what author and speaker John C. Maxwell said:

If it weren’t for the leaders God placed in my life, I would not be able to invest in the lives of leaders around the world the way I do today. I cannot stress the importance of learning from other leaders for your life and your ministry. Saddleback’s Small Group Network creates the ideal opportunity for you, as a leader in small group ministry, to grow and make a greater impact than you would have if you had tried to go at it alone.

Go make a difference. And if I can help further, you can always reach me at steve@stevegladen.com.

God bless!