Yesterday I posted about the need for a church to plan for the future.  You can read that post HERE. In that post I shared three questions our staff worked through at our last extended staff retreat at Grace Community Church.

The questions were:

1. Missing Holes
   What needs developing?
2. Dying Momentum
   What needs tweaking or killing?
3. Gaining Momentum
   What needs energy/additional resources right now?

Here are some bullet points these questions led us to think through.  While I realize you will not understand some of them, they will help to see the types of thoughts generated with this type of brainstorming.   (Thanks to Christy Crosby on our staff for these notes.)

Missing Holes

Systems

• Recruiting Volunteers
• Surveys
• Networking
• Mentoring

Communication

• On Stage (in message, announcements, worship leaders, videos)
• Bulletins
• Grace Weekly
• Website
• Blogs, Facebook
• Flyer/Handout

Scheduling

• Overlapping
• An update at the beginning of the week of what is coming, a briefing email?

Fellowship

• Creating an atmosphere for people to fellowship on Sunday mornings
• Are we friendly on the surface but hard to connect with
• Ask Me? button

Dying Energy

• Dead Zone in the Hall, after service starts
• Set up & Tear Down
• Core Momentum
• Dream session?

Gaining Momentum

• Gathering – excitement is back
• Relevant Student Ministry– Camps, Remix
• Cross Street Live-Promotion in Clarksville Family, Billboards
• Evangelism/Baptism Effort – Re-enforcing it in EVERY area
• Community Presence – Rivers and Spires, Operation Serve
• Stickier – Not as big of a back door
• Credibility – In community and in the church circles
• Volunteers – Ready to invest in other volunteers, training
• Community Groups – Learning from each other

Of course, the key now will be actually implementing some of this, but that will need to be the subject of another post.

Related posts:

1. Are You Planning For Your Church’s Future?
2. Exciting Staff Changes at Grace Community Church
3. Reflections on Losing a Staff Member
4. Capturing The Best Ideas For Your Organization
5. Are You Prepared For a Post-Easter Sunday?