Fr. Mark is a good man and very dedicated pastor. His commitment to the parish and his people keeps him busy from morning till evening, late evening. There is no margin in his life for exercise or social visits or extra reading or prayer or hobbies of any sort. His days and weeks are filled with meetings stacked together, events of all sorts and attending programs to meet the various needs of the groups in his parish. He goes to bed most nights exhausted and a little down. The nagging sense growing in his heart is this, “I’ve been busy all day long but I’m not sure what good I accomplished for the Kingdom.” Fr Mark ends most weeks with the same feelings, and months … he feels caught in the thick of thin things, even as a Pastor of a large parish and he’s not sure how to break out of the rut.
There is no such thing as a simple solution to a complex problem like the one above. That said, embracing proper principles of effective ministry can help move Pastors and ministry leaders in the right direction. One principle of effective ministry that may help the Fr Mark’s of the world gain a sense of purpose again, it’s called, “think steps then programs.”
I first came across this principle reading Andy Stanley’s book, The Seven Practices of Effective Ministry. Nothing has been more helpful in developing a strategic ministry mindset.
To borrow an explanation from Andy: Imagine a large meeting room with two doors on opposite sides. Let’s say you wanted to help a friend get from one door to the other.
You take a stack of paper and throw it up in the air, allowing the sheets to scatter all around the room. Then you tell your friend to step on the pieces of paper to get from one door to the other.
He might be able to do it, but he would likely travel all around the room. Some steps would require leaping long distances, putting himself at risk. Others might actually lead him away from the goal. He might lose track of where he is. Bottom line, it would not be a straightforward process.
On the other hand, you could make it a lot easier for your friend. You could: 1) strategically lay the sheets on the floor so that the path led directly from one door to the other, and 2) place the papers close together to make each next step obvious and easy.
If you were that intentional and each step was made that obvious and easy, anybody could move successfully from one door to the other door and that’s the point.
Many parishes have a “throw the papers up in the air mentality.” The calendar is completely populated with activities, events, programs, initiatives and meetings. But where are the events taking people? Are there strategic, easy and obvious steps in mind? Do your people see the pathway toward becoming a missionary disciple?
Every ministry event, program and initiative should begin with a miniature strategic plan by defining the step you are inviting people to take toward becoming a missionary disciple.
Whatever it is that you plan, make sure the step is clear, easy, obvious and strategic. In short, think steps, not programs.