• Home
  • About Me
  • Resources
  • My Library
  • Consulting
  • Contact Me

Executive Pastor Online

Church Leadership And Infrastructure Development

  • Leadership
  • Infrastructure
  • Finance
  • Facilities
  • Human Resources
  • Outreach
  • Technology
  • How To’s
Home Leadership Planning “Q & A”

Planning “Q & A”

Responding To Some Recent Questions On The Topic Of Annual Planning In The Church

January 13, 2021

How far in advance of the new calendar year’s Sermon Calendar do you start the planning process?
question mark

When we’re “firing on all cylinders,” we begin the planning process the first week in October. The process begins with preparation for “data day,” which is a meeting or two during which we look at the current year’s measures and other inputs in preparation for a discussion about the coming year. This includes the current year’s Sermon Calendar (also known as The Evangelistic Calendar, since it contains more stuff than just sermon series titles and dates), Key Performance Measures, stories about life change over the past year, a quick review of our target demographic information, and in general how we feel the year has gone.

The planning process concludes in mid-December when the Leadership Team approves the budget for the coming year.

Do you typically have Series planned for the whole year, down to the topics, titles, etc.?

The short answer to this question is “no.” I would add that I don’t think it’s necessary to have everything spelled out for the whole year. What would your Arts Department be doing with a series that doesn’t start for six months? I guess it depends on the series. Also, how far in advance a church can plan down to the series and weekend titles depends completely on the “wiring.” It’s difficult to stay “passionate” about a series you came up with nine months ago.

What’s important here is that you understand your demographic in two ways. First, what are their “primary concerns” or “felt needs?” With this information, you can plan sermon series “types” that will attract your demographic. For example, if the demographic is concerned about “parenting,” a series on parenting should be planned once or twice per year.

Second, how does the ministry year ebb and flow? There’s a natural cycle to the year. Series types should be planned that coincide with the lives of the people you’re trying to reach. For example, parents are occupied with sports and other activities with their children during the school year. In the summer, they are occupied with travel, vacation plans, home projects, etc.

Is the focus of BIG SUNDAYS on getting the congregation involved in inviting their friends and family? And, does the event always include a special speaker?

Absolutely! It’s important to understand The Secret To Church Growth and to leverage it. By far and away, we know that the most frequent response to “How did you find out about our church?” is that a friend or family member invited them. So, we send HTML e-mails to our congregation for every new sermon series or special event they can easily forward to friends and family. We also print and distribute invite cards to all BIG SUNDAYS and special events.

And, no, our BIG SUNDAYS don’t always include a special speaker. They always, however, include something special!

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Email

Subscribe

Search

Most Popular Posts

  • Executive Pastor Job Description
  • The Executive Pastor Is …
  • First Steps For The New Executive Pastor
  • Moving From Fellowship One To Church Community Builder
  • Executive Pastor Online Resources
  • Should Churches Require Their Staffs To Tithe?
  • How To Write An Operating Procedure
  • Strategic Planning Operating Procedure
  • The Management System
  • Infrastructure Development – Where Do I Start?

Recommended Products/Services

  • Asset-Based Stewardship
  • Church Management Software
  • Church Mobile Apps
  • Collaboration and Project Management
  • Diagramming Software
  • Donor Development
  • Church Accounting Software
  • Intentional Growth Planning
  • Staff Performance Improvement
  • Virtual Executive Assistants

Recent Comments

  • Kevin M. Stone on Organizational Chart – Ministry Staff
  • Christopher Rowney on Organizational Chart – Ministry Staff
  • Kevin M. Stone on Smart Phones
  • Michael on Smart Phones
  • Kevin M. Stone on Should Churches Require Their Staffs To Tithe?
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo

Return to top of page

Copyright © 2021 Executive Pastor Online · Privacy Policy · Managed by Credits · Log in

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.