A month ago, I finished my Leadership Training School in which I learned to plan the next 5 years of ministry life. Even my speaker for this week's teaching understood why I wasn't very excited to sit through another lecture about planning.
"Oh boy. This will be an interesting week for you, won't it." my speaker Dave Swan responded.
But it was! In the best way possible
Many times I've seen movies and read books (such as Poisonwood Bible) that display the kind of missionaries that barge into a different culture and immediately begin "fixing" things. One of my biggest nightmares is to do that very same thing.
This week I learned how to avoid that. The key is asking questions. Searching out the need. Hearing it from the source of the people. Learning the felt needs and the actual needs.
Dave showed us that only after building good relationship with the people, finding the root of the need, getting a wide range of perspectives, and doing your research do you even begin to plan your ministry according to that need. And the planning of course comes before even the action.
We practiced this in class. Our leaders pretended to be the people of down town Tijuana, (mothers, children, pastors, police, teachers, social workers, etc.) and we asked strategic questions to hear the cries of the people.
Then and only then did we begin to plan. And want to know something else? It was exciting.
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Here's an example of the planning project my group did in class:
El Amor de la Madre - The Mother’s Love
Target group: Mother’s or women actively in the motherly role of the child and their children in Zona Norte.
Brief description:
Intercession interlinked with a heart to reach mothers and their children. Rent a hotel room hourly in Zona Norte in a different area each week to do intercession and worship. Eventually buy or rent a building in the residential area near Purple Rain as a center for worship and intercession. This would be the main focus for the first year. Once a month run some sort of activity or course for moms and offer childcare for children and also start a community garden. Long term vision is to equip the building with a laundromat with discounted prices, an indoor playground for children and their moms, and a kitchen they can use for cooking meals for their family and each other. The purpose of the Laundromat would be to attract the moms to interact with their children on the playground. The mothers will come to do their laundry, and as they wait for it to finish, they will be playing with their kids. We would also continue to run classes and support groups for moms.
Our foundational verses:
Malachi 4:6
He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”
- Our focus group
John 1:5
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
- We want to be a light in the darkness with our intercession
Our Goal:
To bring the Kingdom of God into the family sphere in Zona Norte, specifically between mothers and their children.
Or
To strengthen relationship between mothers and their children in Zona Norte.
Objectives:
To have 3 people prayerfully committed for 2 years to carry the ministry
- (Structural not really an objective)
To find a location for intercession in Zona Norte within the first month
To have a team of 5-10 consistent people who are committed for one year within first month
In the second 6 months, establish contact with 50 mothers in the community through a range of monthly courses/activities
By the end of the first year, have $1000 a month to rent/lease storefront
- (More for budget not objectives)
Equip 50 women with cooking, cleaning, gardening, and Kingdom based parenting skills over the course of 2 years (goes into the third year)
Women will take ownership of classes and support systems for them and their community
Activities:
To do one hour of intercession a week in various hotels around Zona Norte for the first three months
Create a budget and begin sharing vision with supporters and working on fundraising
To rent a room in the fourth month to use for the rest of the year
Create website describing ministry
Do 5 hours of intercession a week and hold regular 24 hour prayer events (including the local churches)
Hold an open house for families to come and see what we’re doing and join with us
Run monthly courses/activities on hygiene, sewing, cooking, arts and crafts etc. and simultaneously offer childcare and activities for the children.
Have a family game/movie night and tea party
Find a fantastic building to lease
Create main play room
Create laundry area
Create kitchen and community dining area
Create community garden
Continue once a month activities, moving into once a week parenting classes in the second year
Monitoring:
Have a sign in book with the names of mothers, their children and their ages for each time they come
Have the families create a profile with a picture of themselves (hang them on the wall)
Have moms create their own objectives for the progress of their children
Have one-on-one type check-ins or interviews with mom’s about how the child is doing
Go back to original records of interviews and requested needs monthly to see if we’re meeting those needs
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