This Sunday we said goodbye to a Sunday program that for the longest time served a great purpose and was a needed thing at one time, but as we gear for the future this program was not going to be needed anymore. For some, it was not a popular choice. But as leaders we need to get used to knowing that every decision you make isn’t going to please everyone… and that’s ok. You’re the leader, lead through it.

But as we have been planning, here are some great questions we had to answer in order for us to move forward effectively:

Why are we doing this? – We don’t want to do something just to do it. As tempting or cool as something might be, we want to have a purpose or reason why we are doing a certain series or event. When we answer this, we then can help get everyone on board, get our volunteers excited and everyone knows what the goal is. When you know where you are going, you can actually get there.

Is this the best we can do? – When we decide what we want to do and why, the question is, “Is this the best way possible to do it?” Am I able to give this my best? Is the best use of our resources? Can we do something else that is more effective? I stole this event process from Josh Griffin and it’s “best idea wins”. What is the best way to pull this off to make it awesome.

What are we doing that is not working? – This one is a little tougher. This is going to have you and the team look at what your ministry is doing right now and evaluate it. We might have started something a while ago but it has lost its touch, effectiveness, and spark. This will lead you to the last question, which is…

What needs to die? – When something needs to die, it needs to die. I know that everything you do in your ministry right now at one time solved a problem at one time. The question is, “Is that problem already solved and are we still doing that thing?” If the answer is “yes” then it is time to look at that thing and kill it. It points you back to the first question of “Why are we doing this?” If you can’t answer it, kill it. If the answer to “Is this the best we can do?” is “No”, then kill it. If you determine it’s not working as well as it once used to, then kill it. You will see how much more momentum you will gain when you don’t have that dead weight.

I know these questions have helped our team move forward, and maybe it can help you and your ministry move forward as well.

 

@justinknowles3