Laurie Kennedy“…Forgetting what is behind, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14 NIV)

It is Annual Report time for many churches. Your Treasurer and finance people will prepare a financial update. Your department leaders will prepare a short summary of Annual activities. Your Pastor will prayerfully review the year. All will be combined into a booklet called the Annual Report. Most members in your church will review it and put it on the shelf along with last years’ report. The fascinating and frightening reality is that most Annual Reports, year after year, look and read identically. Then, in the New Year we do the same activities as in previous years. Repeating the same successes and challenges of the previous years.

Pastors, Leaders let’s try something different this year. Ask your Ministry staff and volunteer leaders to respond to these 8 questions when preparing their reports. The first point is a given and obvious.

  1. Did we consistently stand firm on our Bible based understanding of God’s word?
  2. What successes were achieved in your area of responsibility?
  3. What didn’t work?
  4. What did we learn from the challenges faced in your department?
  5. What led to the successes and disappointments?
  6. What can we do differently next year to achieve more success and less challenge?
  7. Did all our activities lead to the Vision, Mission and Values that our church stands for?
  8. Where can we share and cooperate to achieve more of God’s plan for next year.

My prayer for the church and mission leaders that I work with is that Annual Reports become decision making documents. Your Annual Report should be a prayerful formal review that leads to definitive decision making to honestly improve the overall health of your Ministry.

Leadership is … prayerfully improving the health of our churches each and every year.

Yours in Service,

Laurie D. Kennedy
Leadership Coach
ldkjethrogroup@gmail.com

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