Practical planning tools
First published on this website in April 2015 and last updated in March 2023
Synopsis
This article explains the author's 'Five Themes Map' which provides a means of checking out the whole of church life without being caught in the detail of each part. There are five 'themes', each with nine 'areas'. Each of these 45 elements is explained and the article lists a number of practical applications.
The themes are:
- Godward: gathering, discipleship and spiritual development
- Usward: belonging, bonding and relational development
- Outward: openness, outreach and numerical development
- Leadership: priority, action and attitudinal growth
- Support: administration, resources and professional growth
There are then four supplementary mapping tools, explained rather more briefly:
- time lines
- physical maps
- statistical diagrams
- church database.
The whole offers a range of tools for church leadership teams seeking to assess current life and set plans for the future. The structure is based on the Church Health Review described in the Health-checks pages of this website.
Download
Here is the link to this item:
A35 - Mapping your church.pdf
Author's notes
The article was updated in March 2023 with minor amendments to the text and some reformatting.