Are you setting SMART goals for your ministry?
It is important to have SMART ministry goals for several reasons.
They help you to measure success. If you don’t know where you are going, how will you know when you have arrived?
They help with decision-making. If someone presents an opportunity for your ministry, how do you know it’s a good idea? If you have established goals, you can identify whether the opportunity will move you toward your goal or be a distraction.
They can help you to make leadership decisions. Too often, people stay in positions because removing them would be an emotional decision because there are no metrics to measure their success or lack thereof.
When setting goals for your ministry, it's important to set SMART goals. There are many definitions for the acronym, but one that works well is:
Specific: what exactly do you want to accomplish? This can be one sentence or a short paragraph, but it should clearly define your goal.
Measurable: how do you measure success? What milestones do you need to reach along the road to success? This is helpful when working toward the goal. Are they clear? Do you have a plan to reach the milestones?
Action Items: What must you do, and who will be responsible? Some of the items will be immediate (to begin working on right now), short-term (within the next year), or long-term (more than a year from now), but each item should have someone responsible for completing it.
Resources: what resources will be necessary for the ministry to commit to the goal? For example, will the goal require money, additional people, or use of space outside your typical hours? Ministries must consider what will be required to achieve their goals and which resources are necessary.
Timeline: each action item you are measuring and allocating resources to should be on a timeline. Set specific dates for each action item and check in regularly (at least quarterly, preferably monthly) to determine if you need to make any changes. You don’t want to get too far along and find yourself off track.
Prayerfully, this will help you think strategically as you work toward your next big project!
