3 Ways Churches can set Bigger Goals this Ministry Season

The other day, I was out for a morning run.

While jogging past a pond in my neighborhood I noticed a duck flapping its wings feverishly like it was stuck in the mud (the only reasons I noticed was because I was practicing white space).

And because I actually despise running, I stopped to take a closer look. What I discovered was fascinating.

The duck wasn’t stuck in the mud. Its webbed foot was attached to a turtle.

As in, a turtle had latched onto the duck with his jaws and wouldn’t let go. This was some straight up Animal Planet!

Now, this wasn’t a little fuzzy duckling. This was a full-grown mallard duck.

And this wasn’t some prehistoric alligator snapping turtle.

No, the duck was far bigger than the turtle. This was clearly an incredibly ambitious turtle. It was such a unique scene, I just couldn’t leave. I just stood there as the minutes ticked by, watching the life and death tug-of-war.

At some point, I had to decide who I was rooting for. Of course the obvious choice was the duck. The duck was actually cute. The turtle... not so much. Also, the duck was clearly the victim here. He was just swimming around with his buddies, minding his own business when some nasty turtle clamped onto his foot.

All this in mind, I started rooting for the turtle.

Why? I like his approach. He’s ambitious. He’s audacious. He’s tenacious. The chances of him actually catching this full-grown duck were pretty slim but he went for it.

Anyway, the duck got away and I had to finish my run, which was disappointing on several accounts. But, as I jogged back to my house, a thought popped into my head:

“I want to be the turtle.”

Here’s what I mean: The fall ministry season is right around the corner. For some of us, it has already started. For me, this is my 15th fall launch. I’ve been here before. I know what to expect. I have structures, systems, staff and volunteers in place to manage the fall ministry season. But this turtle reminded me that I don’t just want to manage. I want to be ambitious, audacious and tenacious. I want to go for it!

I’m guessing that I’m not alone here. I imagine that many of us are prepared to manage ministry this fall. But “managing” doesn’t inspire. It doesn’t propel us forward. But, “going for it!” does.

Ambitious, audacious goals propel us forward.

I want to be a little more like that turtle this fall. I’d rather go for it and fail than just manage. So, here are three areas in which I’m trying to “go for it” this fall ministry season.

1. Leading People

One of the great privileges and responsibilities of my job is leading people.

As we enter into this fall season, I don’t want to just manage my staff team. I want to lead my team.

I want each member of my team to grow and improve this year, as individuals, as professionals and as pastors.

I decided not to settle with normal but rather to push. I asked each of my staff to write down six goals that they want to achieve over the next eight weeks. I let them come up with their own goals—some of them are personal, others are job related. Then, I asked them to come up with specific measurables for each goal.

Again, the point of all of this is growth and improvement. I don’t want to simply manage during this fall ministry launch. I want to be a little ambitious, audacious and push forward.

2. Breaking Through Challenges

There are a few phrases that I want to stop accepting. They go something like this:

“That’s just the way it is.”
“That’s how we’ve always done it.”
“It’s always going to be like that.”

One of the ways that I want to push forward this fall is to stop accepting these phrases and instead be more creative and audacious with solutions.

One of the problems we have faced every year in our ministry is declining attendance as the ministry year progresses. In other words, if we start the year with "X" number of students, by the end of the year we’ll average only 80% of that. We have been stuck in this rut for, well, it seems like forever.

We’ve tried all sorts of tweaks over the last few years to correct this phenomenon but I’ve come to believe that the problem is actually our structure, which has been in place for more than a decade. This year, we’re going with the turtle approach and “going for it.” We’re changing the entire structure because “It’s always going to be like that” isn’t an acceptable answer.

I wonder if there is a challenge in your church or ministry that constantly resurfaces and never goes away. Maybe tweaking your approach will never work. Maybe it’s time to be more audacious in dreaming up solutions to the challenges. Go for it!

3. Focus on the Mission

This summer, God has been reminding what we’re supposed to be all about as churches and ministries. The goal isn’t larger attendance, more stable budgets, building projects, or even healthier people.

The goal is the Great Commission.

That is the vision and the command that Jesus left his followers.

If there ever was a “turtle” type goal, it’s the Great Commission. Take this Gospel into all the world. Wow is that big, audacious and ambitious!

This fall, I’m reminded that there are thousands of students in my city who don’t know Jesus. I’m realizing that this fall I want to be less concerned about a flawless program on opening night and more concerned about the students who didn’t show up because they don’t have a relationship with Jesus. How can our ministry build relationships with those kids and connect them to Jesus?

The Great Commision might seem like “duh” but I think it is actually pretty easy to lose the plot during the fall ministry launch. My hope for this season is that we might focus more on the mission that Jesus actually gave His church.

Wrap Up

Let me wrap this up. I hope that you don’t settle for normal this fall.

I hope that you are intentional about helping your people grow.

I hope that instead of accepting the challenges in your ministry that you audaciously tackle them head on.

And, I hope that the mission that Jesus left us is at the forefront of your mind this fall.

If you're interested in more on this topic, check out these previous articles:

How to Move People Who Don't Want to Move

3 Reasons to NOT Start Something New at your Church

Why Churches Get Stuck in the Past (and how to prevent it)