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It's not wise to make major change, add staff, call a pastor, build a building or inaugurate a ministry, etc., until you understand and begin the Continuous Improvement Cycle in your church or organization. Proper planning will save your church and the Christian community millions of dollars and even more in terms of human resources. Below we have presented an overview of this process. It is designed to help your church organize its improvement (or change) effort.
1. ASSESS. An assessment is necessary to reveal the current status of the church organization and to determine the areas where improvement is needed. Our Church-Wide Improvement Opportunity Survey is designed to find the areas of opportunity or the areas where problems lie so that more thorough analysis can be done. We compare the Church-Wide Improvement Opportunity Survey to a metal detector that is used in a large field to locate areas where digging should take place. The metal detector locates places where metal lies under the surface. It doesn't tell the operator what kind of metal object it is. It only finds the location. Then the digging and discovery must take place.
2. PLAN. Planning is the activity that includes root cause analysis and many other activities that help set direction, goals and objectives. Strategy and long-range planning take place at this time. Action plans are developed at this stage, too.
3. IMPLEMENT. A lot of church organizations spend time and money on assessment and planning only to think these are an end in themselves. A plan doesn't mean a thing unless it is implemented. Action must be taken. Improvement teams should be developed, Gantt Charts (timeline) designed, assignments made and accountability and reporting maintained. Measurements must be made and recorded during implementation for only through measuring can an organization know if it has reached the goals and objectives.
4. EVALUATE. The measurements made in the implementation stage must also be used to evaluate progress. Changes in the church and community environment must be taken into account. Adjustments may need to be made in activities, personnel, timing and methodology. The idea is for the church, both as a spiritual organism and as an organization, to improve by becoming more efficient, effective and adaptable in fullfilling its purpose (mission) through following its plan to reach its objectives and goals.
5. BEGIN A NEW CYCLE. When the goals and objectives have been reached or have been determined that they cannot be reached; when top leadership has changed; or when a significant amount of time has passed (a year to two years), another assessment needs to be done. Over time, when the same assessment instrument is used, a data base can be developed and the church progress over time can be tracked to help in future planning. The data from the new assessment is used to update the existing plan or to start the strategic planning process again.
This cycle is a basic, continuing process that people and organizations follow when they want to be excellent. It is never finished in this life. We are on a pilgrimage and we are sojourners destined for perfection ("Christ-likeness"), but not in this age. The joy is in the journey at this point. Using this basic process and the tools that God has made available to us opens up limitless varieties of possibilities for all kinds of churches. Continuous Improvement Ministries is ready to help you in your improvement efforts. If you would like more information, please complete and submit the form below.