09493
June 15, 2009

What comes after vision

Prayer unlocks strategic planning, multicultural church experts say

by Erin Cox-Holmes
Special to Presbyterian News Service

George Packard leads a multicultural strategic planning session at the Big Tent event. Photo by Erin Cox-Holmes

ATLANTA — What does a church need when it gets serious about truly becoming a multicultural congregation? Strategic planning is the first tool it should pull from the box, two experts on multicultural church development said here June 12.

George R. Packard and the Rev. Wanda Lundy led a lively session on “Prophetic Plannng: Collaborative Discernment and Consensus in a Context of Strategic Prophesy and Evangelism” here at the 2009 National Multicultural Conference, one of ten gatherings under the inaugural Big Tent event June 11-13.

Packard — who’s a facilitator, trainer and consultant with Bridging Futures LLC of Santa Fe, New Mexico — says it all comes down to an initial focusing question: “What do we need to do to enable this congregation to care for and be the agent of change in this part of the world?”

The starting place is prayer, he said. “The first thing is to build consensus around what your intentions are,” said Packard. “If I were going to substitute a word for consensus, it would be prayer. They key is prayer — intercessory prayer. When we pray we are infused with God’s intention. The more we pray with our own intentions, interacting with the Holy Spirit, the more we become infused with God’s will.”

Acknowledging that there’s a danger in assuming that by prayer a church might become convinced they are following the will of God, Packard said, “You can also very quickly become infused with imperialism.”
 
“It takes courage to keep praying in the midst of planning. Whenever we start to think it’s our plan, it takes courage to bring ourselves back to prayer. Whenever you start to think it’s your plan, it’s time to get your ‘obedience costume’ on.”

Many churches are experts at short-term project planning, Packard acknowledged. Good projects increase energy and get people focused so things get done. But groups also need long range vision planning.

Once the central focus that brings a group together is established, it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty of planning. One helpful technique is to brainstorm plans using the “SWOT” method — identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

“Every group faces obstacles,” said Packard. “Sin comes in concrete ways, with powerful forces to undermine vision.”

Strategic planning permits groups to quit “wallowing in despair,” Packard said, and focus on resolving obstacles so vision can be realized.

Lundy, pastor of the Church on the Edge, in Edgewater, NJ, led a closing focus exercise, reminding the group that doing the hard work of planning lets concrete multicultural diversity flourish.

“This kind of planning is the best thing that can happen to the church, let me tell you,” said the Rev. Bob Conover, stated clerk and acting executive presbyter of Redwoods Presbytery.

Erin Cox-Holmes is associate general presbyter for Kiskiminetas Presbytery and a frequent contributor to Presbyterian News Service.