As church leaders, we need to have a game plan. Churches host numerous events throughout the year, and preparation is essential. So how do we prepare? First, we need to get everyone on the same page.
Austin Largusa posted this question in our Facebook group:
“Does your church do a yearly strategy meeting? Maybe you call it a planning meeting? Calendar meeting? If so, what are the deets? What positions/titles are in the room and why? What do you accomplish? How long? Where? Etc.”
Responses:
“We do one calendar meeting in the spring (usually February or March) after our annual meeting. We have our executive pastors, worship pastor, communications director, technical director, children’s pastor, youth pastor, missions pastor, and two admins who run the meeting and keep track of everything. Basically at least one person from every department minus our bookkeeper. It’s usually a two hour long meeting over a catered lunch and we schedule everything out that we’re aware of, as well as assign tasks.” Carolyn St. Mary
“We do one in June. We have all pastors and me, the office administrator. It lasts about 2 hours. We try to schedule everything for the next ministry year. Our motto is when in doubt, put it on the calendar. It’s easier to delete it later than to try to fit in something last minute.” Maureen Kelley Small
“Staff Planning Day is held in June. All staff are invited. (Custodians usually just attend the devotional part). The calendar for the next 12 months is planned out. Usually it lasts from 9:00 to 3:00 with an hour or so for lunch as a team.” Karla Doty
“We just held ours Tuesday. Our entire staff of 12 from 8:30a.m. to 3:00p.m. Vision casting for the fall and new year. Devotions. Scripture reading. Staff logistics (small staff meeting for the week). TONS of prayer in between each segment. Calendar talk for 16 months out. Group and team-building games. Breakfast and lunch! It’s amazing!” Tina Mascari
Conclusion
Having an annual meeting is a good practice for churches. It allows your staff to collect their thoughts, get on the same page, and cast a vision for the coming months. Also, the meetings are a great time for staff members to grow together, becoming a stronger and more unified team. Hopefully this discussion from Facebook contained some helpful advice for those planning the future of their church.
