Focus everyone on the purpose
This article is part two of a four-part series, based on the following: An effective ministry leader (1) builds Christ-centered community, (2) focuses everyone on the purpose, (3) ensures everyone understands what’s happening and why, and (4) encourages everyone to grow.
The question isn’t if people focus; it’s on what. People focus—effective ministry leaders know this. And they know that what gets focused on gets done.
Let me show you what I mean. Read the following three sentences, and count the number of times the word “purpose” appears. Ready? Here we go:
You’re at the end of a difficult week, sitting at your desk, reflecting. You recognize that you’ve accomplished some tasks (writing a newsletter and planning an outreach event) and that you haven’t accomplished some tasks (preparing a message and submitting an expense report). This leaves you wondering, “Why do some tasks get done and others don’t?”
Okay—how many times did the word “tasks” appear? You weren’t expecting that question, were you? You thought I was going to ask how many times the word “purpose” appeared. That’s what you were focused on. (The word “purpose” didn’t appear; the word “tasks” appeared three times.)
My point: What gets focused on gets done—so focus everyone on the ministry purpose.
“I agree with you,” you think to yourself, “but getting people to focus on the ministry purpose isn’t all that easy. What can I do?”
Good question. Reflect on what helps you focus on ministry purpose, and then use your reflections with your ministry team. To get started, use these questions:
1. What happens when you are/aren’t focused on your ministry purpose? When I’m focused on my ministry purpose, I’m effective, I feel inspired, and I’m ready to take on challenges. When I’m not focused on ministry purpose, I let the good get in the way of the best, let goals become as important as ministry purpose, and think that the point of a given task (making photocopies) is to complete it, instead of to carry out the ministry purpose. What about you?
2. What helps you focus on ministry purpose? Two foundational things that help me focus on ministry purpose are understanding the importance of focusing on the purpose (see http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action) and having a ministry purpose statement that is memorable, memorizable (10 words or less), and easy to say.
What helps me on a personal level is praying each day about the ministry purpose, using the ministry purpose to help me plan my week, and doing weekly reflections on, “How did my activities this week help achieve the ministry purpose?”
What helps me at the team level is having team devotions related to the ministry purpose, hearing an explanation of how today’s meeting will help us carry out our ministry purpose, and being asked to explain how my proposal carries out the ministry purpose. Having an annual team retreat to think about the ministry purpose is also helpful.
Other things that help me include having a purpose-driven job description, using a template for annual planning that frames my goals and activities in terms of ministry purpose, and having the following question as part of my annual evaluation: How did you contribute to the achievement of our ministry purpose?
What helps you focus on ministry purpose?
Bottom line? Be an effective ministry leader. Focus everyone on the purpose.
What about you?
- What’s your ministry’s purpose?
- What’s encouraging/discouraging about focusing everyone on the purpose?
- What happens when you are/aren’t focused on your ministry purpose?
- What helps you focus on the purpose?
- What’s next?