Ministry Outcomes
Goals are numeric measurements attached to each value or defining objective. They describe a preferred ministry outcome. Numeric goals include anything that measures your vision-aligned objectives:
Lead vs. Lag
Every goal needs a measuring stick, but not just any measuring stick. Centering your goal on the right measure is one of the most important things you can do to improve execution.
What’s the difference between lead and lag measures? Here’s a quick definition:
The key idea is to take weekly stock of several lead measures, then show the lag measure they impact. Over time, positive movement in the lead measures should impact the lag measure in the right direction (attendance, participation, etc.).
Take a look at some lead and lag measure examples:
SMART Goals
Many goals fail because they aren’t clear, don’t seem important or aren’t likely to happen when you need them to. The solution is to use SMART criteria to make goal setting, well, smarter.
SMART goals use a mnemonic acronym to guide the setting of objectives:
The first use of SMART criteria to describe goal-setting occured in the November 1981 issue of Management Review in George Doran’s article, “There’s a SMART Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives.”
Doran wrote that objectives should be:
How do your ministry goals stack up against the SMART standard?
Make your goals specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. It’s a fact: SMART goals make goal setting smarter.
“SMART Criteria,” Accessed August 20, 2015, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria.
Worksheet Tools
Create measures and set goals with these worksheets and resources:
We provide open access tools to help ministry teams lead, grow and serve.