Designing Your Missional Strategy, Part One
by Rev. Mark E. Tidsworth, Founder and Team Leader
“The absolutely worst outcome of any visioning, discernment, or strategic planning process is to develop a beautifully designed publication with solid information and an inspiring vision… unengaged and forgotten, buried in a stack of papers in the church storage closet.” —Frequent church leader visioning experience statement
I’m prompted to write this six article series by two real life experiences with churches. First, we completed the Crossing Thresholds Visioning Journey with four churches late this Spring, including missional strategy for implanting their missional pathways. Now the pastors, staff persons, and lay leadership teams in each of these churches are the “stewards of the vision,” those tasked with making sure the church continues to live into their calling. I’m glad about this, while still a little nervous about the hand-off, too, recognizing implementation can be the more challenging part. Second, we are hearing from other churches who have developed their mission, vision, and core commitments, yet stopped short of designing their missional strategies. Now, a few years after their visioning work, they are floundering; struggling to gain traction on their vision priorities. This doesn’t mean our CT process is superior to others, while it does raise the awareness that missional strategy is necessary for churches to get started toward implementing their vision. Support and accountability for that work is necessary too, (even chosen and mission-congruent change can be tough), often served well by implementation congregational coaching.
So, I want to invite you to join me for several weeks of missional strategy exploration. Here is where are going in these six articles:
Missional Strategy: The Bridge Between Vision And Implementation
Missional Strategy: Starting With Identity Clarification
Missional Strategy: Identifying Your Missional Pathways
Missional Strategy: Missionally Aligned Leadership
Missional Strategy: Three So-Very-Helpful Strategies
Missional Strategy: How To Get There
The Bridge
First, what do we mean by missional strategy? Simply put, this is your actionable plan for the next steps toward implementing your missional pathways, resulting from your Vision.
This missional strategy becomes the bridge over which your church and its leadership can move from vision to actionable implementation; to actually embodying the vision. Too many churches leave this aspect of visioning out, resulting in a vision that may be inspiring, yet too nebulous and ethereal. Churches need a bridge, an arch that connects dreams with daily living. That’s the purpose of missional strategy.
Hey wait, isn’t Pinnacle Leadership Associates known for adaptive transformation processes and training clergy in adaptive leadership? If so, shouldn’t we argue for Holy Experimentation at this point, keeping all options open, following the Spirit moment by moment?
Thank you to those who know us well enough to ask! And yes, we are all about adaptive transformation. When done well, missional strategy integrates adaptation right into the “plan.” The example I like to share at this point is the church with whom we worked who identified one of their missional pathways as “Conducting at least 10 Holy Experiments over the next year.” Then they developed their strategy for conducting holy experiments. Nice! Adaptation can be integrated right into missional pathways and strategy from the beginning.
Resources
As we move along with this series, we will share any relevant resources, including what we offer here at Pinnacle. Please find a description of the full Crossing Thresholds Visioning Journey on our website here https://www.pinnlead.com/crossing-thresholds-visioning-journey. Very soon, you will also find the CT One Day Missional Strategy Consultation on that same page. Several churches are engaging this One Day Consultation as we speak; and we will make it more available to others very soon.
Thank you for joining me for this first article, bridging toward embodiment. May God bless every effort, extending our actions far beyond their limits, influencing us toward the reign of God as disciples and churches.