Preparations for a new year at Lifehouse

Sharing with you our steps in preparation for a new year (for church planters and pastors). I'm including in this several resources and links that might help you as you approach the end/ beginning of the year.

1. Evaluate/ assess the following: personal life, ministry life, church life. Goal should be to invite leadership team to honestly and candidly evaluate how they are doing personally, how YOU are doing as a leader, how their ministry is doing, and then, how the overall church is doing.

• Here's the form that we send out.
• We have worked hard to create a culture that is honest, candid, and willing to embrace the brutal (in love) facts.
• Honesty and candidness are two way streets. Usually, I have to be willing to take honesty and opinions on the chin several times before my team trusts me enough, that they'd be willing to hear my brutal honesty of their leadership and ministries.

2. Review all evaluations and condense them into one document. Here's ours from this year.

3. Leadership Advance or gathering point: we go away for a day and a half each November for prayer and planning. Here's what we do when we get away:

• Spiritual renewal: as leaders, we're often working in ministry, that it's easy for us to start running on "E" and that leads toward burnout. So, I encourage and challenge our leaders to get renewed and refocused on their personal life.
• Celebrate "wins": we take time to talk about the great things God did in us and through us this year.
• Review the combined evaluation form to determine: what we need to keep doing? what do we need to stop doing? and what do we need to do better?
• Cast vision for next year. Based on prayer, vision, and evaluation, we're able to make a fair and prophetic look at what God is calling us to do next year. This should certainly start in the heart of the leader and be embraced by the entire leadership team.

4. Theme for next year: as I just mentioned, it's my responsibility to hear from God, and determine the prophetic "season" or direction of our church as we transition into a new year. Couple of thoughts on themes and annual vision statements:

• This isn't biblical, but it's also not unbiblical. Just realize that there are no expectations for having a statement or theme for every year. I have personally adopted a prayer focus as we approach closing out one year and entering a new one. There are times when I am confident that God gave me clear insight into what would happen broadly in the life of our church.
• It's important to evaluate the "season" of the church. Like the sons of Isaachar, we must be people who "know the times and seasons".
• The theme must be born of God and focus on the positive direction of the church.
• A theme might not end on December 31, so ask God if you are to continue to point towards this years theme. Additionally, a theme usually builds on last years. So, if God has been "pruning" then it might be time for growth, then fruit.

5. Calendar planning. Take time now to look over next years calendar, look for important holidays that must be planned for and around. Pay attention to "pitfall" dates on the calendar. Determine when new sermon series will begin, and when is the best time for a Friend Day, baptisms, and vacation time.

6. Planning your preaching calendar. Nelson Searcy has an incredible resource on planning your 2010 preaching calendar (listen to it here). This should be done with great prayer and fasting. Believe and ask God to speak to you NOW about what to speak on throughout 2010.

Ok, gave way more content than should probably be dissemenated via blog or email. But wanted to provide the best information to those who need it.

What do you do as you lead out of one year and toward a New Year?