Session two
How to Rally Your Leaders Around Vision and the Budget
Often times, you can tell how a conversation is going to go by the way it’s started. We likely have all said things on the spur of the moment only to realize all too late, there was a much better way to approach the conversation.
How you set up the budget conversation makes all the difference. Your range of options is wide and so is the subsequent fruit. Planning your approach well in advance is critical to experiencing your desired outcome.
You could say, we are going to do exactly what we did last year. Expenses were flat, giving was on pace, and you can hit auto-play. Another way to begin the budget conversation is to pitch the assignment initially to your ministry leaders. Ask them to create their calendar and projected expenses for review by the Finance Team. Their responses can vary from a conservative leader who is extremely cautious, to a leader who views the exercise as a Christmas wish-list. Both invariably require follow-up conversations to gain the desired result.
But what if we invited our leadership into the vision process first, allowing it to create new inspiration? Give people a bigger view that is unified toward a singular direction. This will raise their thinking while it directs their steps in leadership. Clear vision calls us to lead people first, then direct the resources appropriately.
1. Start with your Bible. Ask the Lord to lead you to scripture that speaks to a moment when God’s people directed their resources to accomplish Kingdom good. A good example is found in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, which presents aspects of a specific church context, a calling to display generosity, obstacles to giving, the rewards of giving, and the role of leadership in collecting and distributing funds.
It is a helpful passage on many levels. Have you ever thought about who is training our church leaders intentionally on generosity? If we are not actively discipling our leadership in the power of biblical generosity displayed through God’s people, then who is doing the discipling? Rallying around the Bible is an enjoyable first step.
2. Celebrate what God is doing. He has been at work in your church all year, but we rarely take time to reflect. Seeing where God has been at work will accomplish several things.
First, it will give glory to God for being active in our lives. Second, it will inspire your team to see their labor was not in vain. Finally, it will open the door for you to direct the vision conversation forward. We can now begin planning for the future based on a pattern and confidence in the past.
Giving is joyous when we are in relationship with the receiver. It is doubly rewarding when we get to personally witness the positive impacts of our gifts. Taking a moment to pause at the beginning of the process to unite around the activity of God innately calls us to see our ministry through a bigger lens of what God is doing churchwide.
3. Reveal the facts. Your church has trends. These trends are patterns that need to be brought to the surface. Some churches have begun to notice that they experience certain seasons when guests are more likely to attend than others. They have also recognized that giving can start out slow, but end the year strong. Being aware of your trends helps you know when and where to invest your resources for greatest impact.
Lead with your expertise. No one sees the picture clearer than you. The past, present, and future are all connected. Discerning the trends can help you know where to head next. They call us forward with confidence.
Focus your future on your positive trends. Lean towards your strengths. No church does everything well. It is okay to acknowledge you are not called to reach everyone. We will never be able to erase our weaknesses. Direct your energies toward just a few areas where you are best. Pour gasoline on what fires you up. Focus. Focus. Focus.
4. Share your vision. Hopefully, you are now able to pull all three discussions into one forward-moving conversation. Based on scripture, how God has been at work, and where the trends are leading, we can confidently step into a more specific future.
Now is the moment to speak aloud about the five-year dream you crafted following the previous blog on “Turning Your Church Budget Process into Vision Season.” Help your leaders see what you are seeing. Then, you can create stair steps with them in line with your five big initiatives that need to be accomplished over the next five years. Finally, arriving at your one big goal before you begin current year budget planning discussion.
This is where leadership can get tricky and you will need to be intuitive. You can lead a collaborative discussion allowing vision clarity to bubble up from the team at this point. However, you need to be very aware of who your team is and be adept at leading them. Some teams enjoy specific direction while others function better with creative collaboration. Make sure you know your team and your leadership skill set.
Once you share your dream, invite them to join in the discussion by asking a few questions that will allow your team to express their thoughts and feelings in a way that will foster helpful collaboration. This isn’t a time to start with ‘yes or no’ questions, as those tend to cut off the flow of ideas. Ask them the three following questions while recording their responses in a way they can be shared later. Their thoughts can help shape language and direction moving forward.
What inspires you about this dream?
What confuses you about this dream?
What is missing from this dream?
Now you can conclude the meeting with clear next steps to move decisions forward. Lay out a time frame for the following objectives to be met.
First, create a general ministry calendar for the next year that could be best aligned with the visionary direction. Second, clear time for budget planning and preparation. Finally, set aside a few weeks to share a vision sermon series that allows for the necessary budget approval steps.
The next blog will cover all the fun that awaits your team as you plan your vision series, sharing your newly formed budget, and gaining congregational affirmation. I will also be sharing scripture texts for the series as well as tips on how to raise resources to fund your vision in advance. I hope you are finding these videos and blogs helpful. Feel free to share with me, any questions or thoughts at the link below.
Todd McMichen serves as Chief Development Officer for Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes & Family Ministries (ABCH). Prior to joining ABCH, Todd served local churches in a variety of leadership positions for over 30 years. His experience ranges from small rural churches to suburban mega-churches with several church plants in between. Additionally, he has years invested in bivocational ministry. Most recently, he served as the Director of Generosity and Digital Giving at Lifeway Christian Resources. Todd believes in living generously and inspiring others to live joyously in generosity as well.