Setting Goals

We’ve all done it before. We go into the new year with big hopes and dreams and with new goals, and then we fail to actually follow through and DO what we intended. The reason is simple. We forget and fail to pray and plan! Planning is critical. Prayer is essential! Those with no plan are being influenced by other people’s plan, while those who have created the time to establish a plan are influencing those with no plans. Sadly, isn’t the cultural trend of failing our New Year’s resolutions exactly what the church looks like right now? 

James 1:22-25

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”

Looking Back

James uses this imagery of looking into the mirror to depict the consumerism of people in the church. We come to church, hear a message with a lot of information preached to us, and then go on with our weeks with little to no change. Then, we do it again. This comes down to reflection and vision. We need to learn how to reflect on what God has done in our lives and learn to leverage what He’s done to see what God is doing and allow that to establish our actions. We must reflect on the Word and our lives to see the patterns of what God’s done in the past and the promises for the future to set vision for what needs to still be done. And, we must set plans accordingly. 

When we open up the Word and see the Story that God is doing, we can see what God is working towards. When James says, “…being a doer who acts…” we know that a person who acts has a plan to do what was set as a vision before them. The church is like sailing a ship… It must have rudder that gives the people the ability to steer the ship, a compass to know which direction to go and most importantly, a destination to go towards. It must be driven by a purpose.

[bctt tweet=”The church is like sailing a ship… It must have rudder that gives the people the ability to steer the ship, a compass to know which direction to go and most importantly, a destination to go towards. It must be driven by a purpose. ” username=”breathepartners”]

Moving Forward

One of the concepts that we teach our students at Breathe School of Ministry is how to exegete the Bible and culture. Both are very important. Exegeting the Bible teaches us what God wants us to do as the Church. Exegeting the culture we want to reach and that we live in teaches us methodology, or how to contextualize Biblical truths to reach the people that live in that culture. Be rooted in your theology and be open with your methodology. Marry the mission, date the method.

With Missions Teams that come on experience trips with us, we help develop people’s worldview’s and shape them to think how to do these two things not to necessarily reach the area they are temporary visiting, but to give them purpose and desire to be on mission in the mission field in which they came from and live. Both our students and people that come and serve on missions teams learn how to become doers of the Word.

Set vision for your church. You, as the Pastor of the ship set the direction the people must work towards. Set goals for your team to accomplish. Provide them the opportunities to become doers of the Word… Go and Make Disciples.

Do something good. Do anything good. And, do it with the Lord.

We would love to pray for your church. We would love to plan goals with your church. Connect with us!