plan and evaluate

We are spending the day in an all day planning session with our staff here at Grace Community. At every church I have served at we have done planning different. Some we did little planning, some we did longer off site planning retreats, and some we did on campus planning meetings. Every team is going to plan differently, but if any organization is going to make progress the team has to know the PLAN. Not that our plans will last, we are limited in our knowledge but the One we serve kind of knows all. Well ok, God does know all. It does not mean we plan less. The fact that God knows all should drive our teams to gather, dream out loud, and seek the plan in prayer. Our team at GCC functions better when we have a plan and we feel like we have given God full chance to influence that plan. When we plan we have direction that guides our effort. We can say no to distraction. We can manage our time better. We can celebrate and evaluate at the end of the plan. Our planning strategy here is to gather 3 or 4 days a year for one day planning sessions. We always get away from the office and we always take time together to just be WITH GOD but other than those 2 things we keep if flexible. The pace of life moves so fast that spreading our planning days out keeps us alert and flexible to change.

So there ya go...Bayne's thoughts on planning. Go plan and trust God. One thing is for sure, your plan will change but having direction will make a huge difference in your life.