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Fulfilling the Mission: Momentum to take the next step

If I were going to sum up what I've discussed over the past few months it would be something like this:

Our Mission: To fulfill the Great Commission by helping people take the next step on their journey with Jesus
Our Vision: To fulfill the Great Commandment by being a place that honor's God while being irresistible and indispensable to our community.

Milestones Ministry

Next a strategy is needed to accomplish the mission and vision of our church. I call that strategy our Milestones ministry. At it's core it's simply a way to establish goals, a way to plan how to reach those goals, and a way to hold ourselves accountable.   Fulfilling the Mission: Creating the momentum to take the next step.

In order to take the next step we need to ask two simple questions:  (1) where are we going?, and (2) how do we get there?  The answer to question number one is about our goal.  Our goal in helping folks take the next step is to make fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.  The second question answers how to get there.   So as church leaders and workers we need to ask ourselves what are the milestones that we all need to reach and pass in order to reach our goal of being fully devoted Christ followers.

Alongside these individual spiritual milestones, the church also has organizational milestones.  It's important for us to understand that the Christ follower needs a strong church in order to stay on course and the church needs strong, on course disciples to continue its job of building disciples. So alongside our spiritual milestone track, we must also ask ourselves what milestones do we all need to reach and pass in order to be a fully integrated member of our church.

So from an organizational perspective (fully integrated member of our church) milestones might look like:
  1. Connect
  2. Get to know us 
  3. Get involved
  4. Get on board
  5. Grow with us
From a spiritual perspective (fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ) the milestones may look like:

  1. Relationship
  2. Belief
  3. Service
  4. Maturity
  5. Mission
The next step is to work to ensure that we have ministries/events/opportunities that represent each milestone and then to work to encourage and to inspire each individual to take the next step to reach that next milestone. This is the point where we begin to actually plan, organize, and startup actual ministries of the church.  We move from just doing things because we've always done them, or because we enjoy doing them, or because its just what we think churches do.  Instead, we plan our activities and ministries based on whether they either mark or lead to a milestone we believe is essential to reach in order to become a more fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ.

So we ask ourselves questions like:
  • What are we doing to encourage our community to have an ongoing relationship with us?
  • What do we do to encourage and to mark someone's belief in Jesus as their savior?
  • Do we offer opportunities for people to get involved in ministry?
  • How de we encourage a commitment to use of God's word in spiritual maturity?
  • How are we inspiring and marking the next step in our children, our youth, our newcomers?
  • What are we spending energy, money, and time on that isn't working to reach our desired milestones and are we ready to cut it and move to something that will.

Our goal is to move to church programming that is based on goals, priorities, and values and results rather than traditions, personalities, or outdated models.  We're asking what works right now to help reach the next milestone for our particular group.  This leads to more relevant and more focused and more actionable ministry.

So a milestone ministry plan might start out as something like:


  • Relationship: (regular attendance>outreach>follow-up>newcomers group>church membership)
  • Belief (water baptism< new believers class< gospel presentation< decision moments<altar times
  • Service (ministry involvement< gifts class< newcomers group
  • Maturity (biblical worldview/life style< bible based fellowship groups< accountable relationships)
  • Mission (Regular giving, missions support, ministry leadership, personal calling, 


    • This post is the last one regarding church mission/vision/strategy.  I hope its been a bit instructive for leaders, staff, and anyone else interested in church dynamics.


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