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It’s a new year and with that comes the time when people are most likely to reflect and examine their lives. We often determine resolutions or goals that we want to work toward throughout the year. It’s a worthwhile practice and one of the most notable philosophers of all time advocated for regular examination of our lives.
[su_quote cite=”Socrates”]The life which is unexamined is not worth living.[/su_quote]
If you’ve already started working on your goals for 2017 that’s great! Setting and achieving personal goals is a big part of being a successful leader. I always feel so good when I set a goal and I’m able to see progress and eventually achieve it. But have you considered setting some resolutions or goals for your ministry in this new year?
Being in college ministry and working within the academic calendar we tend to evaluate our ministries during the summer, but I think we can gain just as much by conducting a midterm evaluation. It may not be the best time to make sweeping changes to your ministry. Sometimes over the summer we almost have to start over from the beginning. Think of this as more like editing the final draft of a document.
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There’s a few simple questions you can ask to evaluate and tweak your ministry heading into the spring semester. Questions like:
What is working?
What isn’t working?
What part of our ministry is thriving and why is it doing so well?
What area is struggling and how can we improve it?
Are we hitting our goals?
If we didn’t set goals in the fall, what goals can we set for this semester?
Once you start having these conversations I’m sure you’ll come up with even more in-depth questions. I’m writing this to serve more as a reminder about the importance of evaluating your ministry regularly, but it’s also a great way to ensure that your leadership team is all on the same page. If I were to apply Socrates’ principle to ministry I would go so far as to say, “The ministry which is unexamined is not successful.”
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I’m praying that 2017 is a great year for you and your ministry!
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