Effective Christian Ministry

by Ronald W. Leigh, Ph.D.

Chapter 32 – Planning and Evaluation

Proper planning occurs in a cycle, as illustrated below.  This planning and evaluation cycle is known by many other names, including the "educational cycle."

This cycle will not work properly unless the person doing the planning has two things in his background.  First, he must be familiar with the Bible's standards, its philosophy of ministry, its ideals, and its commands.  Second, he must have had months of personal experience within the situation so that he is very familiar with the people, the programs, and the organization.

A person who comes into a situation as a leader often begins too quickly to make plans and to change things.  He may have an excellent grasp of the biblical standards, but he does not yet know enough about the situation to make wise plans.  Or, the opposite may be the case.  The person who has been in the situation for a long time may make plans for change based on his personal preferences or on the way other groups do things.  He may know the present situation well, but he cannot evaluate it properly unless he also has a good understanding of the biblical standards.

In order to make good plans, one must have both of these things in his background, a grasp of the biblical standards and personal familiarity with the situation.

Proper Planning Begins with Evaluation

In making plans for a program, organization, meeting, or activity (whether it is a new one or an existing one that "needs to be changed"), the first thing we should do is to evaluate the current situation in light of the biblical standards and thus identify the need.  When we compare the current situation with the biblical standards we will soon see where the current situation falls short.  This comparison, or evaluation, is crucial.  It is the only way to identify the true need.  Any time we try to make plans without having this true need clearly in mind, our plans are entirely beside the point.  If our planning is not aimed at meeting the real need, why plan?

Proper Planning Is Based on Clear Goals

When we have identified the need, we have, by doing so, established a goal.  After all, a statement of need is the negative side of the coin; it indicates what should be the case but isn't.  The goal is the positive side of the same coin;  it is a statement of what we hope will be the case after we have implemented our plans.

Perhaps our goal is clear to us, but not specific and concrete enough to help us make any actual plans.  If so, we should spell out several specific and achievable objectives which, when put together, will satisfy our general goal.  Often it is wise to set deadlines for accomplishing each of these objectives, especially if they involve a sequence of steps, some of which must be completed before others can be started.

Once we have spelled out specific and concrete goals or objectives, we can plan all the various details, which might include schedules of meetings, choice of curriculum materials, a list of topics for discussion, selecting the location of activities, selection of the people who will be the leaders, the listing of duties of officers, selection of specific methods, the matching of gifted individuals with certain responsibilities, determination of the communication procedures, the decision as to what records to keep, the estimation of expenditures and sources of income, or any of a thousand other details.  However, it is important to plan each detail with the goal and objectives clearly in mind.  When we get wrapped up in the details, we can easily forget the reason for all the planning – what we had hoped to accomplish in the first place.  When we are making our detailed plans, we must keep the goal and objectives in front of us.

Proper Planning Ends with Evaluation

After the plans are implemented and the new program or organization has been functioning for a while, its success should be evaluated.  When we make the evaluation the basic question to ask is, How well does it satisfy the need that was identified at the start?  At the same time, of course, we compare the new situation with the biblical standards to see if any new needs come to light.  Thus, this evaluation-needs-goals-planning-implementation-evaluation cycle is an ongoing process.  The cycle should be repeated over and over again.

The Bible and its commands, ideals, and philosophy of ministry must always be the basis for the comparison.  Success is determined by how well our programs and organizations carry out the biblical standards, not by how large the meetings are, how large the budget is, how fancy the building is, or how it compares with what other groups are doing.

An Example

The numbers below correspond to the numbers in the planning and evaluation cycle at the beginning of the chapter.

1. One of the biblical standards is that parents have the primary responsibility for the Christian nurture of their children.
2. However, the current situation in many homes and churches is that the church's schedule is too full, with different family members expected to be at church different nights of the week.  Family members find it hard to find time to interact with each other.  In fact, they may be so out of practice that they have forgotten how.  If they were given the time to interact, perhaps all they would know how to do would be to watch television "together."
3. By comparing the current situation with the biblical ideal, the need becomes obvious.  Parents need more time with each other and with their children.  They probably also need motivation and practical instruction on their responsibilities and how to carry them out.
4. Here is where a great deal of thought and creativity should be spent.  Group brainstorming is often helpful.  Specific objectives for our example might include:
   1. A cluster program in which several of the former week-night meetings are rescheduled to meet on the same evening (perhaps Wednesday).  This would allow each family to come together to church and leave together, instead of each family member having to leave home on a different night of the week.
   2. Instruction of parents regarding their responsibilities and how to carry them out.  This might be done through the pastor's sermons, adult Sunday school classes, etc.
   3. Election of elders who are family oriented.  These would be elders who have been successful family men themselves so that they are able to give wise counsel to other families.  They should be sensitive to the needs of families and able to guide the development of the overall church program so that it enhances the ministry of parents rather than detracting from it.
5. Many specific details would need to be planned to meet each of the objectives suggested above.  Of course, it is impossible to spell out all of those details here because they would depend on the unique circumstances, people, and resources in each church or community.  Again, it should be stated how easily one forgets the main objectives as one gets involved in the fine details of planning.  We would be wise to spell out the goal and objectives in writing and to keep them before us so that we can remind ourselves of them often during the planning process.
6. The implementation of our plans then becomes the new (current) situation which should be evaluated in light of the original goal and objectives, and ultimately in light of the biblical standards.

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Copyright © 1984, 2002, Ronald W. Leigh