I once coached a planter who could inspire a group of people to do almost anything. He was an amazing communicator and motivator. I often chuckled that he could preach a message inspiring people to go put out the fires of hell with squirt guns and they’d be ready and excited to go do it. He had good intentions, but when they left the auditorium and went out into the lobby, there were no squirt guns available. There was no water either. There weren’t even buckets for them to go get water. All the energy came to nothing when it hit up against reality because there was no advance preparation for follow through.
Picture this
This type of situation can arise in many different ways. If you are preaching a series on spiritual gifts, do you have a way people can discover their spiritual gifts? Have the ministries of the church identified helpful spiritual gifts for their various roles? Then do you have a way to help people process ministry options in light of their gifts and to find an appropriate place in serving?
Likewise, if you are starting a mentoring ministry and you go to recruit potential mentors, do you have a training program ready for those who respond? Do you have people who need and want mentoring that you can match them with? Maybe wait to ask for volunteers until you have some of those pieces in place.
The bigger picture
One particularly dangerous—and often unintended—consequence of being unprepared when you launch is that of dashed hopes. People have gotten inspired; they’re excited to go out and serve. But then you have nothing specific for them to do. Next time they’re going to be much harder to motivate, and your own credibility has taken a hit. Good intentions aren’t enough.
One particularly dangerous—and often unintended—consequence of being unprepared when you launch is that of dashed hopes. Good intentions are not enough. Share on XBefore you inspire, before you invite and vision cast and raise hopes and generate excitement, stop to ask: What if they respond? Do I have the next steps in place? Be sure not to advertise beyond your reality. Prepare before you launch.
Resources:
The Church Planting Journey- This newly released book is a comprehensive guide for the church planter. It is the culmination of experience that includes being a church planter myself, and coaching and consulting church planters for more than 40 years. Within the pages of The Church Planting Journey, you will find wisdom, systems, and processes that can help you launch well as well as sustain your unique vision and call. NOW AVAILABLE FOR KINDLE!
Goal Setting Series– Research has consistently shown that goal setting is one of the most effective strategies for achieving success in either work or personal life. This series of resources was developed to help you, or those you coach, grow in the individual skills that are necessary to set goals and achieve them successfully.
Change Management Series– One of the key “life competencies” required of people in all sorts of different situations today is the ability to anticipate and respond effectively to any change that comes along. This series was developed to help you, or those you coach, grow in “change agent” skills. These skills enable us to lead ourselves, and ultimately entire organizations, in implementing actions that enable a personal or collective vision to be successfully transformed into reality.
Photo by Hamza El-Falah on Unsplash